I think the general public is not knowledgeable about the many bulbs out there so the stores just stick to the well-known ones. Even so, I am always amazed at how few people plant crocus - they are cheap, easy to plant and a joy to behold in early spring. Walking around town, looking at gardens, I am dumbfounded at how few crocus I see.
I found myself searching several stores to get a package of liatris corms at a reasonable price. The nursery was selling small pots of them, already sprouting, for $6. How silly when you can get 20 corms for same price.
I wonder if one spoke to manager of nursery and requested better variety of bulbs???

I wholeheartedly agree with this. We actually have a VanZyverden Bulb Warehouse in our town that has fabulous sales twice a year. You would think I could find anything. Nope. Never have I seen crinums other than Ellen Bosanquet. (A lovely one, but it only blooms once a year. Not enough to pay its rent when others bloom repeatedly.) Many of my favorite bulbs I would not have lest I had been given them or traded for them: Snowflakes, Atamasco Lilies, Spider Lilies, zephyranthes (these should be in EVERY southern garden in my opinion! Nothing is easier or gives more show for so little care), Byzantine glads, cammassia, etc.Perhaps it has to do with the difficulty in keeping bulbs fresh. I have read that Snowflakes need to be planted immediately after they are dug. (Exactly how I got mine.) Maybe they are too risky for retailing?

I do have to say that I have had great luck with buying bulbs on the internet, both through "catalog companies" like Brent and Beckys or Old House Gardens, AND through E-bay sellers. I can honestly say I have never been disappointed.

Honestly, I think it is because tulips and daffodils lend themselves to long term storage and shipping. A Mediterranean bulb that likes to be dehydrated and sleep through a dry summer takes well to storage. A lot of the rarer bulbs need to be kept moist.

Also, the standards are easy to grow. I'm a newbie gardner who's tried some of the exotic things, and yet I have a much higher success rate with grap hyacinth.

Funny you mention Liatris...Lowes just had a sale on them, and I bought a bunch just becase they were cheap. The fact you put a lot of effort into buying some makes me feel good about my decision. (Why did you seek them out?)

I get my exotic bulbs online (American Meadows and Bluff View Nurseries) and from local Native Plant societies. Got some great Cammasia quamash from American Meadows.

I'm making a new perennial/butterfly bed and needed a vertical accent. I have Liatris elsewhere in garden and love it. It looks pretty paired with yellow flowers. I'm recently retired, have to be more budget-conscious, so I sought out the corms.
Grape Hyacinth is another good one. Multiplies like rabbits for me.
I've be eyeing Cammasia quamash for a while. Just need to find the right spot for it. When/how long does it bloom for you?

jerseygirl07603: No idea how long it blooms, I just planted it last Fall. All I know is I planted 6 bulbs ineptly at wildly wrong times of year (3 of them in a virtual swamp) and all six are coming up right now. Given my inept gardening, I expect a certain casualty rate...anything that consistently survives me has to be tough.

I planted a bunch of Liatris corms without knowing what they were. I planted them in a border in front of a Yew with Grape Hyacinth, Nodding Onion, and Daffodils. Is that a decent location for them? I didn't realize the height...will they be a threat to the Yew?

(I go back and forth between native bulbs and what I can find on sale, but there don't seem to be many native bulbs...)

How big is the yew? I don't think liatris will be a threat. And if you are not happy with the location , you can always move them.

The Yew is huge. Since I have such bad luck planting things in the first place, I pretty much don't move them. Three or four feet tall and twice that "deep".

If I realized how big they were, I'd have planted them BEHIND the Yew...if they could survive the shade long enough to get tall, it would be neat to have them coming up from behind it.

Does the color scheme sound like it would work?

This post was edited by edlincoln on Fri, May 2, 14 at 22:30

I think color of liatris will look nice against the dark yew. Mine are in half sun and grow about 3 1/2 feet tall. I'm not sure yours will get taller than the yews if planted behind them.

jerseygirl07603: FYI, the Cammasia quamash I planted just started blooming.