Friends,
Well, if you are reading this email, then the subject line caught your attention. While walking through Krogers (American grocery/supermarket chain store), I found these daffodils being sold in the floral department. They were sold in bunches of five with foliage and were labeled “Field Grown – Canada.” They look to me like ‘St. Keverne’ 2 Y-Y. They cost $2.99/bunch. My question is: “Where in Canada would find field grown daffodils in January? Vancouver Island?
Ted
Theodore E. Snazelle, Ph.D. 101 Water Oaks Drive Mississippi |
Hello All,
Years ago I had the pleasure of visiting Van Treghts Daffodils onVancouver Island . It came from a happy coincidence – I gave a guest lecture at Victoria Uni and had a daffodil badge on. After the lecture one of the students came up to me and asked about the badge – she then surprised me by commenting that her grandfather and father had a large daffodil farm on the Island and that she could organize a visit. She did so and we spent a very pleasant afternoon on the farm with her Dad. Their cut flowers were in trays and were pre-cooled and grown in tunnel houses to get the early market. They were cut with foliage. The bulbs were replanted and left for three – four years until they were flowering size again. I was told that the flowers were sold through the Safeway Chain. The other part of their operation was potato growing They are still in operation – I looked up their web-site when Les and I were trying to organize a tour beginning at Murphys and ending in Vancouver .
Hope this throws some light on the question Ted posed.
Peter
Ted, Linda, Peter, Elise and All..
I think I can shed some light on this question. Very good question Ted !
It just so happens that I work for Krogers Corporate Office as a Tech Support agent for the programs that each market around the country uses to send out pricing, shelf tags and special computer ordering data. I believe this store in Mississippi is located in our “Delta” marketing area. Even though I’m in the Corporate Office, I don’t know very many people in the different merchandising offices. As a coincidence, I DO know someone that I worked with in a store some years ago who happened to get married and move to Florida where she worked in Krogers floral packing warehouse. I had a little computer chat session with her today and she was able to tell me that these bulbs are grown in Calgary BC and forced in a greenhouse.
SO, I’m guessing that these bulbs are “Grown” in the fields in Calgary, then brought into the greenhouse to be forced for the very early markets in grocers around the country. Just as Pots of Tete-a-Tete are showing up in our local Kroger stores here in Cincinnati !
so, mystery solved !
Thanks for the question Ted !
Tom
Still anticipating the green noses poking up through the beds in the ‘borrowed’ gardens until we can move them to our new place !
Calgary is in Alberta which is under deep snow until well into the spring with temperatures below zero. B.C., on the other hand is warmed by the Alaska Current coming up from the south and enjoys a much more temperate climate. These field must be along coastal B.C.
Kathy Andersen
Mystery solved………….. Matt Groves, where are you?!!!…………but Calgary is on the border of B.C., but is in Alberta. Let’s not take it away from them. I just bought a pot of Tetes here at Safeway. You just can’t resist. In Oregon, when January comes, you think it should be almost Spring.
Barbara in Corvallis.
Hello to all from Canada…..just a little clarification on the ” Canadian Field Grown Daffodils”. They almost certainly came from Vantreight Farms near Victoria, B.C. Their website is the coveted http://www.daffodil.com.
No disrespect intended but they are not always accurate in labeling their product. The flowers in question were undoubtedly forced in some form of green house as it will be another month
at least before there are any field daffs available even in our `balmy“ corner of Canada. Our little local flower show is usually mid April : http://www.bradnerflowershow.com/
The flowers in question may have been exported by a Calgary company but I can assure you that no bulbs or flowers are grown commercially in Calgary…too darn cold!
Our coastal Southwestern BC climate is very similar to Seattle and Portland and is mainly influenced by the warm North Pacific Current.
Our normal blooming season here in the Fraser Valley (just east of Vancouver) starts at the beginning of March while Victoria is often a couple of weeks ahead of us because they are right beside the ocean.
Hope to see lots of you at Murphys…….Cheers, Matt Groves
Theodore E. Snazelle, Ph.D.
101 Water Oaks Drive
Clinton MS 39056-9733
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