A Tale of Two Boxes

Just when you thought the season of spending was ending, two Dutch companies say…’not so fast.’ I am accustomed to Royal Colors continuing their offerings well into spring, but these are mostly just varieties that haven’t sold out and are patiently awaiting buyers while in cold storage. But this season, now not only are they selling stored bulbs, they are tossing in some freshly harvested offerings right into summer. Is the amaryllis biz about to go year ’round?

Another company that quietly joined the ranks of online sales is to be found at Sonatini.com, the website promoting Andre Barnhoorn’s breeding. For added enticement, not only are they selling their well known ‘Rascal’ series and others offered previously as hardy garden miniatures, they are also allowing some ‘pre-release’ varieties to leave the greenhouse. Sign me up! The ordering process is not as quick and easy as Royal Colors, but you feel as if each customer is being handled by the breeder personally. And indeed that is the case. Each email correspondence regarding the transaction was written by Mr. Barnhoorn himself. The costs were estimated with shipping by email, and direct wire deposit to their bank in The Netherlands is required (a costly funds transfer with my credit union). Still, with all costs considered, each bulb came in under US$8.00, not bad at all.

Both orders were slated for April delivery, and both arrived on time. The Royal Colors box contained some big Dutch hybrids that must have matured too late for the major season in the Northern Hemisphere. Big, fresh bulbs one and all, with excellent fleshy roots. Scape development shows that though they are ‘late’ to market in the conventional sense, the cool programming was done properly. Last season saw some variable quality and mislabels from RC when the firm offered some of the really rare cut-flower types. No problems with these big boys!

The Sonatini order arrived with a vented box, honest paperwork regarding the value of the contents, and a few problems. Sent from grower WF Leenen directly, it appeared that these bulbs had been in storage for quite some time.

While some of the bulbs (‘Eye Catcher’, for instance) were firm and well sized for the class, others were not. Live roots were not to be found, and a couple of bulbs were outright duds.

So, is the Sonatini order all gloom and doom? Of course not! These tough little bulbs are mostly growing and putting forth scapes. So, while not all were in great shape upon receipt…here is a taste of some of the new (new to Emaryllis at least) varieties to be added to the galleries over the coming days and weeks 🙂