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Cheap Flower Bulbs Online

FayeGFayeG Posts: 34
edited August 2022 in Plants
Hi

Does anyone know where I could buy cheap or reasonably priced bulbs online please?

I've planted quite a lot of roses and clematis etc this year and have lots of space for things and not much in the way of a spring garden so I though bulbs might be a good call but would need quite a variety so I don't want it to run too expensive.

Any ideas for fool proof uk options would also be great x

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Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @FayeG I am not sure cheap bulbs are the best option. Oten they are smaller and of a lower grade which can mean poorer flowering. I would add it may also depend on what bulbs you are buying. Tulips are often grown for just one season and then thrown away, some varieties however are worth keeping for one year or more. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • WAMSWAMS Posts: 1,960
    I have had very good luck with Wilko bulbs and tubers. 
  • RoddersUKRoddersUK Posts: 537
    I bought a load of Peter Nyssen bulbs last year, lucky if half the tulips flowered. 
    Maybe price doesn't matter!?
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    If you can make a list of what bulbs you want and then look at some of the specialist companies - as @GardenerSuze says, going for the cheapest option is not always the best bet. 
    Estimates of "cheap" or "reasonable" are quite personal - if you go back a couple of hundred years or so, a Tulip bulb could cost the earth  ;)
  • FayeGFayeG Posts: 34
    edited August 2022
    Thank you all - all comments and suggestions noted. 

    Was on the Nysson site too - so glad you mentioned that as I went searching and someone has recommended to someone else on forum and I had a basketful, so I'll be a little more cautious and shop around maybe. 

    Wilko don't have any in at the moment which is a shame because at their prices it's not so bad if some fail.

    I wasn't necessrily looking for the cheapest, more a case of getting in 10's and 20's for realistic prices rather than being over-priced.  I wondered if there was somewhere online that knew of a good place at sensible prices that I didn't know of.

    I didn't realise tulips are often thrown after one season - so I need to do some research on bulbs first maybe too.

    The 2 I've seen are the Nysson and Farmer Gracy today but I'll keep looking and perhaps make a few smaller orders at different places so I can compare and not risk too much.

    Again, thank you all.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I’ve  always been happy with J. Parker,   Cheap and cheerful.
    They do sell out quickly though, I missed the boat last year,  hyacinths were all sold out. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I've been buying my bulbs in B&Q for years. Not the widest selection of varieties, but always good sized bulbs at a  good price and I've never been disappointed with the results
    Devon.
  • gjautosgjautos Posts: 429
    As @lyn says, j parkers are good for bulbs. Just don't buy perennials from them! If you want bulk you can buy from there trade site too which is much cheaper.
  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,511
    edited August 2022
    Over the years I have spent a lot on bulbs..... and a little on bulbs and speaking from experience I can say that sometimes it really does not make a lot of difference and it's pretty much potluck,  IMO.....sometimes expensive ones turn out to be wrongly labelled and not worth the premium price, cheap ones are usually smallish and sometimes carry diseases but other times great and give excellent value for money.  The mixed ones that are often on offer in supermarkets and elsewhere, or even free, really are that, MIXED.  They are made up of bulbs that have lost their labels (sometimes really good), small size ones and downright losers and those that don't pass the test. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose. So my advice to a newbie is don't spend too much but choose the ones you like the look of.
    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If you want a lot of one variety for impact, it works out significantly cheaper to buy from J. Parkers wholesale site/catalogue rather than the retail one.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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