Question on importing bulbs

Lesley Richardson via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Tue, 15 Apr 2025 08:52:21 PDT
Ok. So thank you everyone who replied. I followed up on all the
suggestions. Buying directly here in Washington State in the quantities I'm
looking for requires me to be a business as the lovely sellers in Skagit
are wholesalers for quantity as far as I could ascertain.
Based on feedback on Camas spreading readily, which was not my experience
on the East Side of the Cascades, I am ordering only 1000 instead of 5000.
I planted a pound of camas seed when I lived on the East side of the
Cascades. I got maybe 50 plants and those took 3 years to flower and hardly
spread in the 13 years I was over there.
However, on the West side, where I now live, I've got an area of moss and
grass that is wet in winter, dry in summer that I'm going to turn into a
meadow and it's fine if the camas spreads there.
I also followed up on another suggestion, which was to call the company I
wanted to buy from directly and did so today. Van Engelen has 1000 bulbs of
Camassia quamash for $155.75 that will be on sale by the end of May. The
lady I spoke to said there will be a 6% surcharge and that is all.
So I not only got an education, but I'm sorted for now.
PBS is a bulb brains trust!
Thank you all, again.
Lesley



On Tue, Apr 15, 2025 at 5:34 AM ken isaac via pbs <
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:

> Hi Lesley,
>
> To follow up on your question, I was also pre-ordering for fall (and spring
> 2026), as that's how far out these orders are typically placed.
>
> I directly contacted my Holland bulb supplier to ask about potential
> tariffs. Their response was: "Since our US imports don't start until
> August, we have time to evaluate and adjust to potential changes (on your
> order.) If tariffs are active when imports restart, these costs will need
> to be passed on to our customers."
>
> So, it seems any tariff costs are decided as of shipping date, not
> pre-order date.
>
> This makes decisions difficult so far in advance, but that's how pre-order
> bulb imports work since their customers are worldwide. Last year, I waited,
> and the bulbs I wanted sold out months before shipping began.
>
> Given the circumstances, I have no choice but to walk away from my bulb
> sales.
>
> Unfortunately, the Pacific Northwest doesn't grow the bulbs I'm looking
> for.  Your supplier might be different, so you may have options I don't.
>
> Best regards,
> Ken
>
> On Mon, Apr 14, 2025, 12:23 PM Lesley Richardson via pbs <
> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:
>
> > Morning:
> > I'm planning on ordering large (5000-10,000) quantities of bulbs for
> > naturalizing a meadow during fall planting? Based on my research for
> > companies that sell bulk orders, it appears that the bulbs come from
> > Holland.
> > I am concerned that I might get hit with large surcharges on orders later
> > in the year, even if I order and pay now, which is what I was going to
> do.
> > Does anyone have any information on whether bulbs from Holland are likely
> > to have tariffs now, or later?
> > Lesley
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