No. 118: Just relaxing for a bit.

Well, it's autumn, you wouldn't say so now, but the short days give it away! Our autumn-flowering bulbs really need to go into the ground now. So I get to announce the annual sale of these lovely bulbs. Think of Autumn Crocus, think of Saffron Crocus, Autumn Snowdrops, Sternbergia, and other Autumn Crocuses. We will first process the "regular" orders for these bulbs, so you can still order them if you want to be sure of what you're getting.

You still have over 2 months to plant your own small bulb field! We are already busy delivering your spring-flowering bulb orders. This week, some more imported bulbs arrived; the downside of a large assortment is that it takes a long time for everything to be complete. And then there are rhizomes of plants that are still dying back, such as Peonies. The latter will only arrive later this month; we buy them directly from a quality grower.

This week we picked up a truckload of enormous bulbs. In recent years, we have increasingly specialized in extra-large bulb sizes. The advantage is that you can expect 2-5 flower stalks (each with 4-5 flowers). Not everyone feels like carefully planting the bulbs in soil, which keeps them "under tension." The bulbs also bloom diligently when dry, producing many flower stalks, after which you can discard them... exhausted. This year, we can offer 22 beautiful varieties; you can find them here:

Last year there was a global crop failure of this hugely sought-after plant. Fortunately, for 2024, we were able to make a large purchase of this graceful, enormously popular, beautifully coloured foliage plant, in the form of large tubers. You can already order these (rarely beautiful) Caladiums for delivery in 2024! Order them here:

They've just arrived, the strange and oh-so-funny Voodoo Lilies. Reasonably hardy, with good protection, but you can also store them frost-free and dry until spring 2024. Large, complex leaves and hilariously smelly flowers. You can find them here:

View the entire Sauromatum assortment

Together with the impressive Dragon Arum and the White Calla Lily, they form a budding group of the large Arum family, of which we will receive many more during the winter!

We have succeeded in finding a very suitable and passionate grower for our old varieties (see last Newsletter). He already has around 100 varieties in his collection, and we will be working closely together, so you will likely experience a significant expansion by August 2024.

Many thanks for the 120 enthusiastic registrations, I am still busy sending everyone a personal email. Hopefully I can do that before my holiday!

The allium family is very large, there are many ornamental varieties (almost all of which are also edible), you can plant them until December, and here is an overview:

The most famous Allium is, of course, Garlic! Many sources claim that you should plant them by October at the latest, but that's not quite right for a perennial plant. In fact, you can plant garlic all year round, as long as the cloves are healthy. If planted very late, they might be a bit smaller, but the size of harvested garlic depends more on watering during drought (in the growing season) than on the planting time. You can find an extensive cultivation guide here, which also applies to other members of the onion family. We still have stock and will replenish it if possible; here is an overview of available varieties:

A well-known example is the Mother-of-Thousands plant (Kalanchoe daigremontiana). As a child, I already found these plants fascinating, they were in our conservatory. I've since learned that they like to be outdoors in the summer to grow extra sturdy. We have a beautiful mother plant that diligently sheds young plantlets from the leaf margins. We let these develop a few more roots and sell them in packs of 5. You can order them here:

Another easy “pass-along plant” is Pregnant Onion. Lots of light, occasional water, they don't need more! Do they become unsightly after a period of neglect? No worries: cut them back and they will grow again. You can find this easy and funny plant here: