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I’m a landscape professional. How do I purchase from your site?
Colorblends.com is designed to take orders both from landscape professionals and ambitious amateurs. You do not need to set up an account before placing an order. If you have any questions about the ordering process, please don’t hesitate to email us or call us at (888) 847-8637.
How do I change my order?
Once you have placed an order, the only way to alter it is to email us or to call us at (888) 847-8637. When you write or call, please provide your order number so we can get to your order quickly and make whatever adjustments you need.
How late can I plant my bulbs?
In cold climates, you must get your bulbs into the ground before the soil freezes. If you forget to plant or are too busy to plant and the soil freezes hard, you might be able to get your bulbs into the ground during a winter thaw.
In climates where the soil doesn’t freeze during winter, you have a different deadline. The bulbs are harvested in the Netherlands in summer. They tolerate being out of the ground for many months, but they will eventually dry out and die, just like an onion. Also, bulbs need time, after planting, to make roots and prepare to grow and flower in the spring. Colorblends stops delivering bulbs by mid-January. After that time, bulb viability declines and the possibility of a poor performance in the spring increases.
Can I plant bulbs in containers?
The answer depends on where you live. Most spring-flowering bulbs are incredibly cold hardy when planted in the ground, but in a pot, with the cold coming in from all sides, they can be killed if temperatures remain below freezing for an extended period. In warm climates, heat, not cold, is the concern. If bulbs don’t get sufficient cold, they will fail to perform as expected.
So where is it safe to plant in containers? Depends on where you are, depends on the severity of winter, which no one knows in advance. Until you get some experience, please go slow. Colorblends guarantees its bulbs the first spring after planting, if planted in the ground, but bulbs in pots are at your own risk. For more information, see our article Risky Business: Bulbs in Outdoor Containers.
Something is eating my tulips. What do I do?
Tulips are a preferred food for many rodents and also for deer and rabbits. If you see signs of nibbling, there are two options: try to block access to the tulips with fencing of some sort or apply a repellent that deer and rodents find objectionable. There are many repellents available at home and hardware stores and at garden centers. They are applied as sprays. Most are based on putrescent egg solids, a polite way of saying rotten eggs. The odor soon fades for a human nose but continues to repel animals for a week or more.
Long-term solutions include fencing your property (expensive) or keeping up a regular spray program during spring (every 7-10 days) beginning when the leaves emerge. Neither of these options will deter burrowing rodents (voles, chipmunks, gophers). There is a Plan C: Plant bulbs, such as daffodils, that animals don’t like.
Why are my tulips flowering short?
There are two reasons tulips may flower shorter than expected. One is due to weather, the other to climate.
A warm spell in spring can sometimes push tulips to bloom before their stems have had a chance to fully elongate. As flowering continues, the stems usually stretch, eventually reaching normal height.
In warm climates (generally Zones 7b and warmer in the South, Southwest, and California), tulips may bloom short if they don’t get enough winter cold. Bulbs that are to be planted in such areas should be prechilled—placed in a refrigerator for six to 12 weeks before planting.
Does Colorblends print a catalog?
Colorblends prints one annual catalog that is mailed starting in July. To sign up to receive one, request a catalog HERE.
Is Colorblends a GCSAA member?
Colorblends has been a member of the GCSAA for 32 years. In fact, the company got its start by marketing its concept of pre-blended tulip combinations to golf courses. As a small token of thanks to our early supporters, we extend pre-approved credit to all GCSAA members. Reserve your bulbs at your convenience. We’ll invoice you after delivery in the fall.
Do you ship blend components without mixing?
The varieties in a blend are mixed in the Netherlands before packing. There is generally no way to differentiate between the varieties after they are mixed. Our customers appreciate that we have done the work of blending, as mixing bulbs can require considerable time and effort. If you are interested in ordering a variety that is part of a blend, let us know. We may stock it separately.
Does Colorblends accept purchase orders?
Purchase orders are accepted from approved institutions, companies, and organizations. Government agencies, cities, states, counties, and public schools are automatically approved. Call us for details.
What payment methods are accepted?
Colorblends accepts the following cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Credit cards are not charged until bulbs are delivered in the fall. We also accept Paypal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay online.
Commercial customers with whom we have an established relationship may apply for terms. To request a credit application, please call us.
How do I order?
To reserve flowerbulbs for fall delivery and planting, you can:
- Use This Website
Click on an item, enter the desired quantity, and then click “Add to Cart.” Add other items in the same manner. When you have finished making selections, click on the shopping cart at the top of the page and follow the step-by-step directions to review your order, enter shipping and payment information, and place your order. It’s fast and easy.
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- Order by Phone
(888) 847-8637- 9–5 ET Monday–Friday
- If paying by credit card, please have your card handy when you call.
- Mail Your Order
After September 15, please place all orders through this website or by phone.
Print an order form and mail it to:
Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs
U.S. Distribution Center
747 Barnum Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06608
- Order by Phone
- If you have any questions about ordering, please call us.
What is the minimum order?
Our minimum order is $60.
Small orders often require as much handling (or more) as large orders. In order to keep our prices wholesale, we ask for a $60 minimum for each order.
When are bulbs delivered?
The flowerbulb crop for fall planting arrives in the United States in mid-September. We begin delivering bulbs during the last week of September.
Planting time for tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and other spring-flowering bulbs is late September through December—when soil temperatures drop to about 55℉. We ship to colder areas first, working our way south (and west) as the weather cools. Read More
How are shipping charges calculated?
Small package orders are shipped via FedEx Ground. Pallet orders go by LTL carrier. Shipping charges are calculated based off the size of order and shipping location. Read More
What is the return policy?
Returns are accepted when pre-authorized by Colorblends within 5 days of receipt of order. A 20% restocking fee—with a minimum of $20—will apply for any order returned or cancelled after shipment. Shipping and handling are not refundable.
Why does Colorblends charge sales tax?
We collect sales tax on behalf of the various states and localities that charge sales tax. The money just moves through our hands. Dealing with sales tax adds to our costs without providing any benefit to our business.
In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2018, Colorblends is now required to collect sales tax on shipments to the following states, unless we are presented with a resale or exempt certificate. Read More
Does Colorblends guarantee the bulbs?
The Colorblends Guarantee
We will deliver premium-quality, commercially propagated, disease-free flowerbulbs of the stated size.
None of our bulbs have been collected from the wild. All flowerbulbs have a certificate of health issued by the USDA and either the Dutch or the British Department of Agriculture.
Colorblends guarantees its bulbs the first spring after planting, if planted in the ground. Bulbs planted in containers are not covered by this guarantee.
Our liability is limited to the purchase price of the flowerbulbs.
If there is a problem with an order, please call us at (888) 847-8637 within 5 days from receipt of the order.
I’d like to mail in my order. Do you have an order form?
Yes we do. You can download and print it here.
Do you have gift cards?
Yes! To purchase a gift card, please visit our Gift Card page.
Do you ship to Canada?
No. Shipping to Canada requires permits that we do not have. We ship only to the lower 48 states of the USA.
Do you offer free shipping?
Shipping is never free. When you are offered free shipping, the cost of shipping is built into the price of what you are buying. The profit margin on bulbs is low. Meanwhile, bulbs are heavy and therefore expensive to ship. We could pump up our prices, as some of our competitors do, to cover the expense of shipping, but we prefer to offer a competitive price on the bulbs and show the shipping cost on its own.
Which of the varieties you carry are good for forcing?
Colorblends is focused on offering varieties that perform well in the landscape. We have some knowledge of forcing (i.e., handling bulbs in such a way that they will bloom indoors in winter), but we are not experts. These things said, if you are interested in forcing, drop us a line, and we will try to be of help.
Can you tell me the names of the varieties in your blends?
We can, but we won’t. Colorblends goes to a lot of trouble to develop blends, photograph them, and present them on this website. Some competitors are only too happy to borrow our ideas. We appreciate your understanding of this position and hope that you support Colorblends.
Why do you pack most tulip blends in quantities of 100?
This is the minimum quantity needed for a beautiful display.
What does Early, Mid, and Late blooming mean?
These are relative bloom times within the spring bulb-flowering season, which varies from place to place and from year to year. They are intended to help you plan a sequence of bloom from very early to very late season. If you have specific questions, drop us a line or give us a call, and we will try to help.
Can I order additional bulbs in the fall?
Yes. Turnaround time on fall orders is very fast, but we recommend ordering early, as some selections sell out quickly.
When is the best time to plant bulbs in my area?
Cool fall weather arrives at different times as you move from north to south across the United States, so the answer is variable. See our Ideal Fall Planting Times map.
When should I order my bulbs?
Colorblends accepts orders for bulbs until our warehouse is empty—usually toward the end of December. For best selection, we urge you to order before the middle of September, when many items begin to sell out. Payment methods are not charged and invoices are not mailed until the bulbs are shipped in the fall.
What do I have to do to get my amaryllis bulb to bloom again next winter?
After your amaryllis blooms, remove the flower stems—NOT the leaves—and continue watering as before. Begin fertilizing with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer. When all danger of frost has passed in spring, move the pot outdoors to a shady location and increase the exposure to sunshine day by day over the course of about ten days, until the plant gets full sun (six hours or more of direct sunlight per day in the North; partial shade is fine in the South). You can either leave the bulb in its pot or transplant it into the garden. (If you keep the bulb in its pot, you may need to move it into a larger pot if you find that the potting mix dries out rapidly.)
When the weather cools in the fall (many gardeners wait until the first frost blackens the leaves), dig the bulb from the garden or knock it out of its pot, and cut the leaves off just above the top of the bulb. Then place the bulb in a cool (55°F is ideal), dark place such as a basement for 8-10 weeks. At the end of this rest, pot the bulb (leaving the top third exposed) and water it. If your amaryllis fattened up over summer, it should reward you with one and perhaps two flower stalks during winter.
My soil is very dry, especially in the summer. Should I avoid planting bulbs?
To the contrary. If you have dry soil, chances are good that you will succeed with bulbs. Most bulbs need ample moisture in fall, when they are making new roots, and in spring, when they bloom and store up the energy they’ll need to grow and flower the following spring. In the summer, when they are dormant, they prefer to be dry. If your soil stays dry in fall or dries out early in spring, you may need to irrigate your bulbs. Otherwise, plant and enjoy the show!
Are there any bulbs that grow in wet soil?
I have a very shady yard. Can I plant bulbs? Which ones?
Spring-flowering bulbs already have next year’s flowers nestled inside them when they are delivered to your door. So no matter how shady your planting site, you are pretty much guaranteed a good display of blooms the first year. If you want your bulbs to flower well in future years, you need to plant them where they will receive ample sunshine until their leaves wither in late spring.
Many early-flowering bulbs, such as crocuses and snowdrops, are able to satisfy most of their light requirement before deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves in fall) leaf out in spring. The higher the lowest branches are above the ground the better. Almost nothing will grow beneath a low-branched conifer (a pine, spruce, etc.), but if the limbs start well up the trunk, these early bloomers can get by. For a listing of bulbs that succeed in shade, see our Shade-Tolerant Bulbs page.
And what about tulips and daffodils? Tulips will flower in a shady location, but they will lean to the light and may be knocked down by a heavy rain. Daffodils will tolerate shade better than tulips but need lots of sunlight, even after the trees leaf out, to store the energy they will need to make next year’s flowers. If they are in too much shade, they may go blind (make leaves but fail to flower).
Daffodil foliage seems to take forever to disappear. A friend of mine folds up the leaves and wraps them with rubber bands, which at least keeps things neat. Does this harm the bulbs?
Yes. The leaves must have access to sunshine to store up the energy needed to produce next year’s flowers and foliage. Folding the leaves reduces the surface area exposed to light. To get a perennial display from daffodils, you have to allow the foliage to wither unmolested. Here’s an easy formula to remember: This spring’s leaves = next spring’s flowers.
Last year I planted a hundred daffodils in my backyard. They bloomed beautifully, but the flowers faced the neighbors’ house instead of ours. Why?
Daffodil flowers face the prevailing direction of the sun. If you plant them in a sunny location and you view them from the south, they will tend to look away from you. To make sure you can see your daffodils, plant them to the north of the point from which you will view them, or plant them against a background such as a house or a hedge.
I’ve seen terrific photos of Daffodils growing wild in a field. Can I have that look on my property?
In principle, yes, but there are a few things to keep in mind before you get started.
1) Daffodils rarely produce viable seeds in North America, which means that achieving that wild look means planting lots—probably thousands—of bulbs. You may want to start with several hundred bulbs in one area and add to your planting every fall.
2) Planting in unprepared soil can be rough going. The task will be especially slow and difficult in rocky soil. You might want to consider investing in our Step-on Daffodil Planter. It won’t allow you to break up rocks, but it can get through hard soil and muscle past small roots.
3) To have a natural-looking planting, you must plant the way nature plants and avoid straight lines and predictable patterns. Articles on naturalizing daffodils often recommend that you toss handfuls of bulbs out onto the ground and plant them where they lie.
4) Daffodil foliage takes a long time to yellow and wither, and there’s nothing you can do to hasten the process. You’ll have to wait at least two months before you can cut the grass, by which time the grass will have grown very tall.
Can I grow Daffodils in Southern California?
Yes. You can grow many of the daffodils we offer, and you won’t need to refrigerate the bulbs as you would those of tulips. The place to start is our Daffodils for the South page. Most of the daffodils that do well in the South also do well in Southern California.
I live in the Deep South and would like to grow Daffodils. I haven’t had much luck with the big yellow daffodils I see in catalogs. Are there daffodils that will perform well for me?
Many of the daffodils we offer can do well in the South. We have gathered them together on our Daffodils for the South page.
After my tulips go dormant, there will be a big bare space in my garden. Can I plant something on top of the tulips?
Most certainly. The tulip bulbs sit below the reach of most plant roots, and they benefit from upstairs neighbors that take up extra moisture in the soil (tulips like to be dry during their summer dormancy). The ideal companions are vegetables and annual flowers, because they can be planted after the tulip leaves yellow and they can be pulled up in fall, making way for the reappearance of the tulips the following spring.
Do tulip leaves and flowers need to be protected from late frosts?
Most spring-flowering bulbs, tulips included, are very frost hardy. They are rarely injured by late cold snaps. Unless you have observed frost damage on tulips in your area in the past, there should be no need to protect your bulbs.
Are there things I can do to encourage my tulips to bloom well for more than one spring?
Here are three things you can do.
1) Remove the spent flowers as soon as the bulbs finish blooming. Snapping off the top 3 inches of the flower stem prevents seed formation and focuses energy instead on bulb growth.
2) Allow the foliage to wither completely before you remove it.
3) Avoid summer irrigation. Tulips prefer to be dry during their dormancy.
The first spring after I planted my tulips, they were perfect. The second spring I got only a handful of flowers. Can you tell me what’s wrong with my bulbs?
In all likelihood, there is nothing wrong with your bulbs. Most tulips flower best the first spring after planting. In subsequent years, flowering diminishes and eventually stops entirely. If you want a knock-out display every spring, consider digging and discarding tulip bulbs after they bloom and replacing them with new bulbs in the fall. For many gardeners, the cost and effort are well worth it. If you’d like to learn more about why tulips don’t perennialize well, see our article on Perennial Tulips—or type “why didn’t my tulips come back” into your internet search engine. You will see that many people have the same question.
I’ve heard that people who live in mild-winter climates in the South and California have to “pretreat” tulips before they plant them. I live in Los Angeles. What do I have to do?
Tulips (and most other spring-flowering bulbs) need a long cold period at temperatures between 35 and 45° F to bloom properly. In zones 7b to 10 in the South and in California, the soil temperature never drops below 45 degrees or it doesn’t remain there long enough. To have a good tulip display in these areas, gardeners and landscapers must prechill the bulbs in a refrigerator (not a freezer) for 6–10 weeks before planting them in late fall (late November – early January). For more on prechilling, see our Prechilling FAQ.
How long do I have to wait before I can remove bulb foliage?
You must wait to remove bulb foliage until it has yellowed completely. If you cut, tie, or fold the foliage while it is still green, you are depriving your bulbs of their means of producing next year’s flowers. The leaves are the food factories of bulbs (and of all plants). They have the ability, through photosynthesis, to transform sunlight into the energy they need to grow and flower. If you cut the leaves early, you are essentially cutting away next spring’s flowers.
After my bulbs flower, the leaves look fine for a while, then turn yellow and brown and finally dry up completely. Are my bulbs diseased?
After they bloom, spring-flowering bulbs store up energy for the following year’s display, then go dormant, usually within six to 12 weeks. They will not produce leaves and flowers again until the following spring. As they go dormant, their foliage yellows and withers and finally dries up. This is perfectly normal. See A Spring-flowering Bulb’s Growth Cycle for more information.
Do my bulbs need any attention after they finish blooming?
We recommend that you remove the spent flowers of tulips, a practice known as deadheading. Deadheading tulips prevents the bulbs from expending energy on producing seeds and instead directs that energy to bulb growth. The spent flowers of all other bulbs need be removed only for aesthetic reasons. For additional information on caring for bulbs after they bloom, see Bulb After Care.
Do bulbs need to be fertilized? If so, when?
The bulbs we ship already have next year’s flowers set inside them, so there’s no need to fertilize at planting time. If you intend for your bulbs to be long-term players in your landscape, you may want to fertilize them in early spring, when the shoots begin to push through the soil. We suggest that you have your soil tested first to identify any nutrient deficiencies and that you correct those deficiencies with an organic fertilizer, which will release nutrients slowly.
I’ve never planted bulbs before. How do I do it?
There are two methods of getting bulbs into the ground. The first is to dig a hole for each bulb using a trowel, bulb auger, or other tool (see our selection of Planting Tools). Small bulbs can be planted three, four, or more in a single hole. This approach is best used for informal plantings or for minor bulbs such as crocuses, squills, and snowdrops.
If you’re planting large quantities of tulips, daffodils, or hyacinths in a bed, you may find it easiest to excavate the entire area to be planted, set the bulbs in place, and then backfill the soil.
I wasn’t able to plant my bulbs before the ground froze. Can I wait to plant them until spring?
No. The bulbs must be planted in the ground to establish a root system before the arrival of winter. If you have a January thaw, you might be able to get your bulbs into the ground before the soil freezes again. Do not wait to plant until spring. The bulbs will dry out and die over winter, and even if they somehow survive, they won’t grow and flower correctly if planted in spring.
I just received my bulbs, but I can’t plant them right away. How should I store them until I can get them in the ground?
First, open all crates and boxes so that air can get to the bulbs. Then put the bulbs in a cool, dry area with good air circulation. Temperatures between 50 and 60°F are ideal, but your bulbs should be fine within a range of 35–70°F.