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kelli_23

red tulip bulbs bloomed purple???

kelli_23
16 years ago

I bought a box of 70 (or so) RED holland tulips at sam's last year. I planted them, and now they are just starting to bloom. All look very healthy- The only problem is they are all PURPLE. Dark purple tulips!!! They do not resemble the color red AT ALL. Does the soil acidity have any thing to do with the colors of tulips like with hydrangeas (sorry I'm not sure if I spelled that right). Did I do something wrong? Or, did they just accidently put purple tulip bulbs in the red tulip boxes???

Comments (5)

  • ladychroe
    16 years ago

    They were mismarked. Let me guess... you got them at either Home Depot/Lowes, Walmart or Costcos!

  • alina_1
    16 years ago

    Ladychroe, no need for guess: Kelli mentioned that Tulips are from Sam's club :-)
    Kelly,
    Ladychroe is right, big box stores sell many mislabeled bulbs. Well, I've received wrong bulbs from very reputable vendors like Brent&Becky's and John Scheepers as well. Nothing to do with soil PH. And yes, you spelled Hydrangea correctly :-)

  • ljrmiller
    16 years ago

    I figured it was "big-box" or a less-than-reputable mail order vendor. If you want to be absolutely certain you get the variety and color you want, you use a good vendor like Brent and Becky's, John Scheepers/Van Engelen, Colorblends or Old House Gardens.

    I put all my packing slips in a binder, and put all of the package labels in a paper bag in the garage. Then, on those rare occasions when a good vendor sends me a mislabeled variety (alina is right--it happens from time to time) and I genuinely wanted the correct variety, I take a digital photo of mislabeled plants, scan the labels and packing slips, and send it all in an email to the vendor. Good vendors always issue a credit, a refund, or otherwise make it right.

    I don't keep records and packing slips just because I "should". I do it for several reasons--one is to keep myself from ordering more of something I already have. Another is so that I can order more of whatever I completely fell in love with. I also like to know roughly where I planted it (I only note down to the flower bed level--"south center back bed") so that I can watch for it and get way too excited when I see signs of life. Finally, I keep packing slips, labels and receipts as a way to say to myself: "Lisa, don't you think you have ENOUGH plants/bulbs already?" Sure, the answer is always: "Not yet", but I order 10 bulbs of something instead of 100 when I look at the running total of 3000 to 4000 bulbs in the past 5 years :-)

    Lisa

  • patwood
    16 years ago

    Every supplier makes a mistake from time to time. I've been averaging around 1000 bulbs each fall, and I get most from HD, Lowes, Costco, Brent & Becky's, Van Engelen, and Netherland Bulb. Overall, Costco, B&B's, and Van Engelen have had the best quality and fewest bad bulbs (Costco takes them back without question, and will let you combine the bad bulbs from several bags into one for a refund; no shipping charges, either, but you do pay sales tax).

    I've even purchased some hard-to-find items from suppliers on ebay, with very good results (but mostly for small quantities, and mostly rhizomes and tubers, not bulbs).

    All of the mail order companies I've dealt with, even Breck's, which is a shadow of its former self, have been really good about refunds for bad bulbs. I have been fortunate with respect to mislabeled bulbs. Just one or two out of the last 4000 or so.

    Pat

  • EPORTER3333_COMCAST_COM
    12 years ago

    IF YOU DON'T WANT THEM SEND THEM TO ME.

    I'M DYING FOR SOME DEEP PURPLE ALMOST BLACK IN COLOR.

    ANY SUGGESTIONS?

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