Autumn is here, it is time to ship bulbs!
Dear readers,
The last varieties we offer in our web shop have arrived at our warehouse, which means it is almost time to get to packing orders. And also finally time to start visiting Amaryllis growers! The first
Amaryllises are already in our cold rooms. Just when you think things are slowing down on the
Tulip- and
Daffodil front, the next flower bulb is already there, ready to go. Luckily, the Amaryllises need about eight weeks in a cold room first. They will be kept at about 13 degrees Celsius. They need that time to prepare themselves to grow, so when they are placed in your warm living room, they can start flowering. These few colder weeks are a bit like their hibernation, and the switch to room temperature will make them think it is spring, and therefore, time to go and grow. If you were to skip this cooling period, an Amaryllis would take ages before it starts to flower once you put it in your house.
At the moment, Amaryllis growers are busy digging up the bulbs. They are looking healthy this year, though I also heard a few growers who wanted them to be a little bit larger, since we had such a warm summer over here. Amaryllises like that warmth when they are planted just as much as they like to be in a nice and warm spot in your house later. Above a radiator is their ideal spot.
But maybe it also makes sense, our summer has seen exceptionally high temperatures, and at some point, that sunlight shining right onto a greenhouse probably gets a bit too much. We are very happy that most of the varieties we were planning to offer have more than enough good bulbs to actually make it onto the web site, but there are also a few we will not be able to sell this year. That’s okay, next week we’ll know just what we are going to get, and next Sunday, our assortment goes online. You can then start pre-ordering Amaryllises, which we will start shipping about halfway through October.
Amaryllis Bright Nymph
Next week, I’ll talk more about Amaryllises. For now, let’s get back to the Spring flowers! Tomorrow, on Monday the 21st, Autumn officially starts, and therefore, we start shipping. There are exceptions to that timeframe: orders from Northern Scandinavia are on their way, just like Crocusses speciosus and sativus. Those need to be planted right about now, so they get a head start.
Crocus Speciosus
A bit mean of me to show you this one, because she’s already sold out. This is a Crocus speciosus I have had for years, it is fully integrated in my garden and comes back every year. If you are heartbroken to know you can no longer order this beautiful flower, there is always the option to be notified when she is back in stock. You can leave your e-mail address on our website, and we will inform you when they are back in stock. That is going to be somewhere next year, but time flies by so fast lately, the wait should not be too long. And you can set a reminder for any variety we offer that you missed out on this year, that option is used a lot and people tend to be very happy with it and order as soon as they get a notification from us.
What else is there? Too much, probably, there are endless flower bulbs I love, so if there is still room in your garden, I am sure you can find a couple of perfect varieties on our website.
Oh, I almost forgot! This week, we find out who has grown Burgerbrug’s largest pumpkin. Burgerbrug has just under 900 inhabitants, so you can in fact measure every participant’s pumpkin, and as you can imagine, winning this competition is very good for your social standing. Here, you see judges Irene and Monique Kramer measuring my pumpkin, but I obviously stand no chance of winning. I have neglected my pumpkin too much this year, it was very dehydrated and it shows. But I am looking forward to the awards ceremony, and I am excited to see who has taken the best care of their pumpkin this year. I’ll let you know!
See you next week.
Kind regards,
Carlos van der Veek
PS. I did find some more Crocus speciosus in the warehouse, so if you’re lucky, you can still snatch them for this year!
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