On 10 Sep 03 at 9:45, James Waddick wrote: > Yesterday's mail brought the catalog for Peter DeJager Bulb > Co.... > Being a bit of a Lycoris nut...I went to those pictures to see if > they were actually selling L. chinensis or L. aurea... looking more > closely the color of L. squamigera seemed far too pink. Then it > Struck me - GASP!!! > > The three different species were actually THE SAME PHOTO- two > mirror images and 'Photoshop'-colored to fit the name: Red L. > radiata, Bright pink , reversed L. squamigera and Yellow L. aurea > reversed back!! Absolutely identical pictures, totally computer > manipulated. Then I wasn't sure that any were actually the species > they named. > > This sure got me thinking. If the company would be so > outrageous to foist doctored pictures in the catalog, what would > they send? Nearly anything. > This is a very misleading and disturbing practice. I got > to looking at more pictures and although none jumped out as > similarly doctored, I then thought hard if I even wanted to place an > order. If your local garden centre carries bulbs in boxes with a big, pretty color picture on the front, look closely. Some of them are clearly not true to life. Typically, blue flowered forms have had the picture doctored to make it look much bluer than in real life. > I hear rumors about practices of wanton substitution and use > of incorrect names since American bulb buyers are not as > discriminating or complain less than others. Well I plan on > complaining and will not order. I can't relate any info on the > quality or identity of bulbs they actually sell, but I sure do not > like this practice one bit. Enough to tell others Buyer Beware! The Dutch bulb industry has been the target of complaints about mislabelled bulbs since at least 1950. Somewhere in the AGS Bulletin around then, I think, you can find a brief rant by E. B. Anderson on the subject. Perhaps this is the most important point to be made for newbies: don't for a minute trust the labels. When your new bulbs bloom, check them against reliable information (the web is very good these days if you are selective in your choice of sites). > Still fuming Don't fume. It isn't good for your heart. There are two things you can do when you find that a bulb is not true to name: one, return it to the seller with a request for a refund; two, complain to whoever enforces advertising and trade standards in your state/province/ country -- in the US, probably the FTC. I once ordered a white oriental poppy cultivar from the now-defunct Cruickshank's, in Toronto (whose catalog featured the exact same cultivars as "new introductions" for decades, or so it seemed). Said poppy came up flaming orange. I dug it up and shipped it back, roots, leaves, flowers, dirt, and all. Got a refund too. The FTC might be very interested in your comments on the DeJager catalogue pictures. Your complaint might be the very pebble that starts an avalanche. Also remember that somewhere along the line, imported bulbs had their names written down on phytosanitary certificates and such, and some authorities might not be amused to find that the lists were sprinkled with little lies. However: the sellers, though legally responsible for selling you misnamed bulbs, are actually at the mercy of the wholesalers and brokers further down (up?) the food chain. But the more people who put pressure on the bulb industry from below, the greater the likelihood that there may be some reduction in these disgusting practices. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island