Which Costco Flower Perennials Are A Hit (And Which You Can Pass On)

Costco is a reliable source of budget-friendly flower bulbs in the spring and fall. The problem is that these bargains are often buried among plants that aren't quite as pretty or economical. When digging for treasures in the garden section, search for perennial bulbs that are sought after, hard to find, or pricey at other retailers. Knowing how much your favorite flowers cost elsewhere can help you spot a deal. Meanwhile, it's best to avoid most bulb mixes, which may contain an unattractive combination of blossom colors and styles.

You're likely to find quite a few perennial bulb mixes in your local Costco's selection. These may include daffodils, tulips, and other popular spring-blooming flower bulbs. Some Costco shoppers have reported clashing colors in these mixes. Plus, you're unlikely to get exactly what's pictured on the package. For example, a 40-pack of white and yellow daffodils might have 38 yellow ones and just two white ones, even if the picture shows 20 of each. When you buy single-color bulb packages, you know what you're getting, which makes planning your garden easier.

If you're not sure where to start your Costco bulb search, look for Longfield Gardens flowers. There are all kinds of gorgeous options, and most are about $14 or $15 per bag. That's a steal for several types of flowers they often carry, especially certain allium varieties. To get a sense of each bulb's value, consult the Longfield Gardens website. It will also allow you to see which bulbs are especially popular. Sometimes, they're sold out on their site but in stock at Costco.

There are lots of deals to be found when Costco unveils its selection of springtime bulbs. Sweet-smelling Acidanthera murielae, also called Gladiolus murielae, have stunning milky-white flowers that bloom in the summer. Costco offers 100-bulb bags of this beauty for about $14, or a per-bulb cost of 14 cents. The same bulbs cost 44 cents each on the Longfield Gardens website, where they have an average rating of 5 stars from customers. 

Another Longfield Gardens perennial with many 5-star reviews is Blazing Star (Liatris spicata). The company sells these butterfly-attracting magenta flowers for 52 cents each on its website. At Costco, you'll spend just 18 cents for each specimen.  Like Blazing Star, crocosmia technically grows from a corm, which is like a bulb but without the onion-like layers of scales. Costco Longfield Gardens' fiery red 'Lucifer' cultivar goes for 23 cents per corm, while you'll spend about 64 cents apiece if you order them through the Longfield Gardens website. 

Shopping for bulbs to plant in the fall for spring blooms? Costco also has bargains on these. YouTuber Hello Garden recommends exploring the store's selection of Longfield Gardens allium bulbs. She scored hard-to-find 'Pinball Wizard' alliums for $3.75 each after seeing them for $10 apiece elsewhere. This bargain shopper also found one of her personal favorites — firework-like 'Schubertii' alliums — for $1.50 apiece. These showstoppers tend to cost at least $2.70 each at other retailers. Her best bargain on a recent Costco trip wasn't alliums, though: It was Longfield Gardens' paperwhite narcissus  'Ziva' bulbs, which were 60 cents each, despite costing $1.60 each at online retailers she'd visited.