I participated in a bulb co-op a few years ago that Bert at Touch of Nature was having. By the looks of the forum it look like he had several. I received great quality bulbs and would love to get more of them. It looks like he has not posted in quite some time and his website is no longer active. Does anyone know what happened? Did he go out of business?

Thanks,

Dianne

hmm I remember that, I don't recall seeing him around for some time now.

Bert sold his business. I belong to a co-op that has started taking orders for daffs, alliums, Amarillys for fall delivery if you are in need of a co-op.

The co-ops are no longer a "big thing" in online groups. I had a Calla lily bulb co-op for several years, but stopped due to low interest. Bert also tried to start several co-ops, but interest level was low, so he said he wasn't going to have them any more.
It's a shame, I've gotten some nice plants from co-ops. It's a huge amount of work for the people running them, though.

Diane,
I know of 2 groups that are doing group orders for fall bulbs on a different forum. If you're interested, I'll pass the info along - depending on what you're looking for. Just message me so I dont miss a post.

I've done group orders before and it IS alot of work. And if you dont have enough interested people, you can't meet the minimums.

What are you looking for, by the way?

I'm interested, Val!

Val it IS you! I don't think I knew you were on NGA.
Kay from Susie's

I am also interested, I loved the co-ops and ordered tons of lily bulbs from Bert., sure miss them.

Shirley

Thank you all for your reply! I just saw the responses.

Kabby & vma4922 please let me know of any of these co-ops. I am very interested! I am really interested but not limited to Alliums, asiatic lilies, amaryllis and daffs. :)

Hi Shirley! :)


Thanks again for the replies!!!!!

Dianne

I haven't seen Bert from Touch of Nature, Inc. post here in a long while and apparently the link to his website is no longer viable.

The last posting on their FaceBook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Berts... was 2016. Maybe they went out of business.

Hi Dianne, so good to see your post. It has been a long time.

Shirley

Shirley let me know if you are interested the co op, I can get you fixed up. @mrsspeedsgarden

The amaryllis and daffodil co-op is closing soon so if anyone is interested in BUYING at cheaper prices, message me please. The amaryllis are selling for only $9 apiece, many daffs 50¢. Must have Facebook account.

He's out of the biz

Our mid-atlantic gardening friends have been banding together for "local pick-up" group buys, often (when we can) in conjunction with one of our plant or seed swap parties. I highly recommend ADR Bulbs... they make a point of supporting garden clubs and similar groups. While you can get even better prices on crates of daffodils etc., they also have most things in smaller boxes (75 daffodils, 150 muscari, 50 oriental hyacinths... just to give you an idea of their per-box amounts). Even if you have just a few people who like planting in sweeps of color and are willing to order 25 of one variety rather than 5 at a time, you can make a go of a group buy from them. Their minimum order is only $300, which also helps. Just email them, tell them what you're trying to do, and they'll give you a log-in (otherwise you can't access prices or place an online order).

You can look in this forum for threads from past group buys I've organized. This year, we did a quick early by-the-box purchase, and I was surprised there wasn't more interest in a later offer to order bags/boxes to split up... but I've found our bulb buys, particularly, go in cycles. Next year might be another delivery via shipping pallet.

I wrote an article on doing group buys and a pair of how-to articles detailing the way we do our bulb buys. It's SO SO much easier to organize a group purchase that doesn't require products to be re-shipped, so ask around your local garden friends and see what you can do!

Anybody out there from Zone 3? I'm looking to replace a huge Norway Pine with something that will grow to around 20 - 25 ft and a tree that birds love... crab apples have come to mind, and my researching brings up Flowering Dogwood. Any ideas welcome!

Chava!

We get into some good plant choice discussions in our Mid-Atlantic forum... check out your regional gardening forum. Go to the "Community" tab at the top of the page and choose "forums," then scroll down until you see "Regional Gardening."

Birds do love fruit trees, but keep in mind that choices like Wild Cherry or Mulberry can result in technicolor "bombs" on your car, deck, sidewalk...

Other forums may be useful also, from "ask a question" to "landscape design" or "trees and shrubs" or "gardening for wildlife." I'm not suggesting you repost your question in a dozen different places, but check out those forums and see which one appeals to you... Your question is a good way to introduce yourself!

Thank you all for the replies. I am just now seeing all of them! I am still interested in any group buys if anyone knows of any for this fall.

Jill, has there ever been a Mid America group buys for iris? Thanks

watch the classified ads for iris deals in mid-summer.

The mid-Atlantic forum hasn't done a group buy for irises, because our local iris society has a great rhizome sale in mid-July.