Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs
Everyone at my Bedford, New York farm is busy with fall chores.
My gardeners and outdoor grounds crew have been hard at work preparing the greenhouses for storing all my precious tropical plants, moving heavy potted specimens to their designated winter shelters, and planting various trees before the ground freezes. Around this time, we're also starting to plant thousands and thousands of spring blooming bulbs - this year, striped squill, Spanish bluebells, Camassia, alliums, daffodils, and more. Many of this season’s bulbs are from Colorblends Flowerbulbs - a third generation wholesale flower merchant in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. Colorblends works with growers in the Netherlands to get top-sized bulbs, or the biggest bulbs harvested.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- It’s always so exciting when the bulbs arrive at the farm. Here’s some of our delivery from Colorblends. Ryan checks each variety off on a master inventory list to ensure we picked up everything we ordered for the season.
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- The Colorblends facility is housed in an old factory originally built in 1879. Colorblends has been selling bulbs for more than 50-years. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- The Colorblends warehouse is filled with all kinds of bulbs that arrive from the Netherlands in early fall. Most of them are already packaged and ready to ship. While Colorblends does handle some bulb order pickups, the company mainly ships bulbs to customers via online catalog orders and by phone. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- I usually order them in batches of 50, 100, 500, and a thousand. All the bulbs are carefully checked for quality before they’re delivered. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- Once orders are ready, they are shipped off directly to professionals and ambitious residential gardeners – all in time for planting season. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- Bulbs come in a variety of sizes depending on the flower – the bigger the bulb the more time it has to grow and the bigger the flower bloom. These are allium bulbs. Allium is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants that includes hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives. ‘Globemaster’ has giant 10-inch diameter violet flower heads on three-foot stems. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- Allium christophii, or Star Of Persia, also has huge 10-inch diameter pinkish flower heads. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- Here, one can see the size of this daffodil bulb in comparison to the quarter. I plant early, mid and late season blooming daffodil varieties so that sections of beautiful flowers can be seen throughout the season. Daffodils are one of the most hybridized flowers in the world. The blossoms come in many combinations of yellow, orange, white, red, pink and even green. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- Daffodils are among the most popular spring blooming flowers because of their resistance to deer and rodents – they just don’t care for them. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- The Colorblends catalog provides helpful tips for planting daffodil bulbs. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- These tulip bulbs are 14-centimeters in circumference. Tulips are are grown for their graceful leaves and bright and cheery flowers. Tulips have a fascinating history. Although closely associated with Holland, tulips were first cultivated in Turkey. The name tulip is believed to be derived from the Turkish word for turbans, “tulbend,” because of their resemblance. They gained popularity in Europe in the 17th century, peaking in 1636 to 1637. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- These bulbs are Blue Squill – excellent for naturalizing beneath trees that lose their leaves. Blue Squill is one of the first flowering bulbs to bloom in spring. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- Crocus is also among the first flowers to appear in spring, usually in shades of purple, yellow and white. There are about 90 different species of crocus that originate from Southern Europe, Central Asia, China, the Middle East, and Africa. They only reach about two to four inches tall, but they naturalize easily, meaning they spread and come back year after year. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- Muscari is a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers resembling bunches of grapes in the spring. The common name for the genus is grape hyacinth. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- These are trout lily bulbs – more elongated than other bulbs. Trout lily flowers provide a nice spark of yellow in the garden. The delicate blooms, which resemble turks cap lilies, shine in dappled light. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- Of all flowering bulbs, amaryllis are the easiest to bring to bloom. The bulbs are large – as big as one’s palm. This flower originated in South America’s tropical regions and come in many beautiful varieties. They can be forced in winter just in time for the holidays. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- And these are Crown imperial bulbs, Fritillaria imperialis. They come in red, yellow or orange blooms with impressive “crowns” atop three-foot flower stalks and flower in late spring. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- Some bulbs are specially packed. At Colorblends, these Crown imperial bulbs arrive at the warehouse in bulk, and then wrapped in newspaper to protect the roots and to keep them from growing through the mesh bags. If they cannot be planted right away, always store all bulbs in a cool, dark place until they are put in the ground. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- And once the bulbs are ready, they are delivered according to a planting map. After the first frost in one’s area, bulbs can be planted safely for about two months. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- And then come spring, these bulbs erupt with gorgeous color. Colorblends opens its spring garden and Colorblends House to visitors. The half-acre idea garden features 40-thousand spring flower bulbs of various types that bloom in sequence to create an ever-changing display. If you’re in the area, stop and visit. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
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- And here is my long and winding pergola last May, when all the alliums were in bloom – such a gorgeous sight. I hope this inspires you to get some bulbs and start planting this weekend – you will love what comes up next year.
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