bulbs from Costco
Rodger Whitlock (Thu, 02 Sep 2004 03:35:13 PDT)
On 30 Aug 04 at 8:01, Diane Whitehead wrote:
The garden centres here have had large bins of "King Alfred" for
sale for a week or so, but they are from our local fields. The
bulbs might be any of about a half dozen cultivars, but everyone
knows the name "King Alfred" so they use it. These are extras from
the cutflower fields which get dug up during the summer, the bulbs
sorted, some replanted in fallow fields, and the extras sold at low
prices.
I would not be surprised if these bulbs were widely distributed
across North America. The "King Alfred" daffodils Judy Glattstein
saw in "sticky icky humid New Jersey" may very well come from BC.
As Diane says, that there's no telling what cultivar you are actually
getting. I've heard remarks to the effect that the real King Alfred
is long gone and anything now sold under that name is some other
cultivar; very similar to KA, yes, but not the same.
There is some reason to be leery of overly cheap daffodils, as they
may be infested with bulb fly, nematodes, or viruses.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
"To co-work is human,
to cow-ork, bovine."