Costco Connection - February 2010

A
B
C
D

35 cents per bulb less than competitors charge for
smaller bulbs. Kevin says, “We blow the competition
out of the yard with a superior-grade bulb and sav-
ings of up to 50 percent. You’ll find many landscape
designers getting their bulbs at Costco.”
To make it easier to see the bulbs so that they
can be checked for premature sprouting, smelled for
mold and felt for size and firmness, Costco bulbs are
packaged in soft bags with breathable mesh and a
see-through window. Easy-to-follow instructions
are individualized for each type of bulb.

Dave Strabo, president of Longfield Gardens, Costco’s bulb supplier, joins our conversation. He reports, “Members will never know the care we take with this bulb program to make it quality from the ground up. We have totally revised the industry’s business model. Instead of nurseries, garden centers and online boutiques getting the cream of the crop, we deal with growers of impeccable reputation who ship their superior, high-grade bulbs directly to us.”

A bulb for every season

In order to guarantee the freshest bulbs, Costco’s bulb program runs within an eight-week window, with displays continuously refreshed.

Summer bulbs (which require a late-spring planting after the ground is thawed) first start appearing in the more southern warehouses around the ;rst week of January. As the country warms up, the program spreads north and eastward.

In the fall this process is reversed because spring-blooming bulbs require three months of chilling in the ground (below 40 degrees F). Hardy fall bulbs make their warehouse appearance about six to eight weeks before the earliest frost in the colder north ;rst (usually around mid-August) and then spread south.

Both the spring and fall programs launch with the “bulbs to bloom” collection ;rst. Next comes the “enduring blooms” bare-root perennial collection (spring only). ;e last to arrive are the large mixed-variety landscape groupings.

Bulbs to bloom

;e “bulbs to bloom” collection includes a broad range of at least 130 selections, with nearly 60 available at a time, including many new varieties.

Each white bulb bag contains anywhere from four to 120 bulbs of the same variety and color, as well as bulbs in two shades of the same color. Member favorites include gladioli, begonias, lilies, cannas and dahlias in the spring and crocuses, da;odils, tulips, irises and hyacinths in the fall.

On the left, Costco’s gladioli (A) and dahlias (C) display more and bigger blooms than many others on the market (B and D).

Enduring blooms

Perennials are a favorite choice of gardeners, o;ering a huge variety of form, color and bloom time and requiring only a minimum of care to keep them healthy and growing year a;er year. Costco’s bare-root perennial collection (look for the purple bags) is available in the spring.

Mixed landscape

Costco’s mixed landscape varieties are limited seasonally to 42 mass-planting packages. Filled with visually stunning combinations of up to 100 varietal bulbs, each grouping is created exclusively by Costco. Priced at $19.99 (prices may vary slightly due to shipping), these blue-bagged, themed combinations are planned to greatly reduce guesswork and orchestrate exceptional floral fireworks for shaded or sunny areas.

My particular favorites for this upcoming spring are “Butter;y Garden,” with a selection designed to attract hummingbirds and butter;ies; “Cut Flower,” a collection of plants that give you cut ;owers such as gladioli and dahlias throughout the summer; and “Slug Resistant” and “Sun Tolerant” packaged hostas. (Note: Some bulbs, including many summer bloomers, cannot survive cold winters and must be dug up, dry-stored and replanted in the spring. If you want plants that will return year a;er year, look for the word “perennial” on the package.)

Some Southern and warmer-climate warehouses do not sell bulbs because the weather is simply too hot for them to grow. Costco.com, however, o;ers a full range of bulbs, including tropicals from legendary seventh-generation Dutch bulb grower K. Van Bourgondien & Sons Inc. With up to four months’ advance reservations possible, these bulbs are shipped when they are ready to plant based on a hardiness zone schedule. Savings are up to 42 percent versus the prices o;ered by other online retailers. (Not available for Hawaii.)