Buying bulbs

I often see bulbs being sold in chain stores such as B&Q, Morrisons, BnM etc.. relatively cheaply.

What are the signs to look out for that the bulb is still alive and not copped it through the heat of the store? Are there any warning signs that people should be looking for?

 

Craig to judge a bulb by looking at it is not easy . You can look for obvious signs like damage through crushing etc . Some others on here may have a few pointers though.
I have bought most of my bulbs from B and M , Wilkos , Ebay ,discount warehouses etc. and not had any problems. In fact Wilkos stock turnover on bulbs is so fast you can guarantee it is fresh from the stockist , and not been in an overheated store for 6 months !

 

Check for soft bulbs. If there's only one or two it might not put me off, but if say 10% are soft then there's probably loads more not very far behind.

If they're in plastic packaging look for signs of mould, as they can still appear to sweat even in perforated plastic. Must be how the packets are stored in bulk.

It's a bit late for autumn planting bulbs now, but I've picked up some bargains in the past like £2.50 - £3 packs reduced to 10p, but planted them in pots and still got them to bloom.

When Wilkos bulbs get reduced by 75% or so they're a real bargain. Watch this thread for posts like this http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/wilkos-half-price-sale.42517/page-10#post-743903

 

If in doubt, have a surreptitious feel ;-)!

 

Ive bought bulbs that have been reduced with various results, I also get from ebay and Wilkos. Its worth a gamble last spring I got a few summer flowering bulbs from Homebase well reduced in price and they did ok

 

Snowdrops must never dry out, so those that you see in packets in the stores are probably dead, or severely set back. I've bought tired packets the money the 50% off sales started and only 50% of them made it, so that wasn't worth it ... If you are buying cheap for long term that may be OK, but its not worth it for short term. For "this year" displays the flowers I have had on quality bulbs, like De Jeager, have way surpassed things I got from the Sheds. Although I expect that Good Brand is not a racing cert, but does stack the odds in your favour - at a cost though.

If you want Snowdrops, Daffs, bluebells etc. for a bold statement then I would get them from a bulk supplier like EuroBulbs (1,000 snowdrops for £70 and IME they seriously cannot count!! so you get near double that number)