bulbs at Sams

christi1996

13 years ago

They have some bulbs at Sam's (Canna, Crinum, caladium, Dahlia, Tigridia, Ranunculus, Oriental mixed Lilies, Anemones, Calla lilies, Gladiolus). They all say they should have already been planted for our zone (like between Feb and April) so is it too late to buy them or should I not worry about it and just not expect as much from them this year.

Are any of these hard to grow or really easy? It is going to be a joint project with my 10 year old and I hate to set us up for failure but I would love to make it nearly idiot-proof. Either way, I plan on doing more research on the bulbs before we plant, I just wanted some imput on what I should focus on (or knock off my list).

Thanks!

Comments (5)

alina_1
13 years ago
Dahlias have been very easy and very rewarding for me. Oriental Lilies might not be suitable for your zone - they need vernalization (chilling) every winter to bloom.

It is still a good time to plant summer blooming bulbs. The blooming will be delayed.
Donna
13 years ago
You live in Texas. Based on my Mississippi gardening experience (fairly even with Dallas area), I'd say go with the canna, crinum, caladium for sure. The glads and and callas will probably do alright for you if you like them(callas need moist/wet shade). The tigridias might do alright, but their bloom time is extremely short, so unless you have plenty of space, there are better choices. Pass on the oriental lilies and Dahlias, since as a rule (and with rare exceptions), they hate the lower south. (Yes, some can grow them here, but only with lots and lots of specialized information and lots and lots of babying). Assuming the anemones are DaCaen, those should have been planted last fall, so it's too late for them.

FYI: Most elephant ears (Alocasias and Colocasias) are extremely invasive in the deep south. Plant them only in pots unless you want about ten thousand of them next year. Consider yourself warned. This does not include the gigantic tubers we see in bins in the stores every year.
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flowergirl70ks
13 years ago
Look inside the boxes first before you buy. Cannas and dahlias were mouldy when I got them.
cynthianovak
13 years ago
I open the boxes and smell the bags.

Their caladiums are wonderful! I bought mine in early Feb. Planted them this evening. Some went bad waiting, most were fabulous. My local Sam's sells out of the caladiums fast.

If you have the ranunculus or anemones already, save them until next winter....if you see them go on big sale, you could do this too. Like the other folks said about the rest. All good advice!
christi1996
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for all your input. I ended up finding some smaller containers at walmart discounted and steered clear of the mushy ones (which I would not have thought of before). I also had a much better idea of what would and wouldn't work around here.
Now I need to get to planting them before I let them rot ;-)

Thanks again!