Buying tulip bulbs in the Netherlands

I investigated several years ago. Bulbs are much cheaper here. I don't know about customs, but the report above sounds correct.

It's been ten years since we were in Amsterdam, and it was mid- April. We went to the famous flower market (I can't remember what it was called) in the city and there were lots of stalls selling packages of all kinds of bulbs in that netting just like here in the US. I bought some daffodils (nothing really special, just to have some in the yard to remember the trip) and IF I remember correctly they had a customs label already on them, since they were marketed to tourists. On the other hand, they were total duds and after about five years ( when I had forgotten about them!) some sickly leaves eventually appeared one spring!

Maybe you can look around online more with gardening experts for advice. good luck!

While you are at Keukenhof in May you will place your order for delivery to your home in October. You plant them at that time and they bloom the next spring. On another trip through AMS in October I bought bulbs in the airport and brought them home and planted them at that time. I declared them at the ag inspection station in Chicago. When they saw the seal on the bag that showed they had been inspected / approved for export it was "have a nice day". And they are just now coming up again this year.
After the 1st year the fancy, exotic, multi colored tulips did not come up again. While the single color bulbs still come up after 4 years. My local garden center guy said that so much plant genetics goes into these fancy bulbs they are not as hardy as the single color bulbs.

Travel tips plus garden tips. What a web site!

The tulip bulbs that I purchased in Amsterdam three years ago are just starting to pop up in my garden bringing back wonderful travel memories. If you want to purchase bulbs they must be in an inspected bag with a seal on it. If you are unsure, ask a sales person if you can bring them into the USA (make sure you tell them the country, laws vary)they will know if you can. Pack them separately because you will have to declare them going through customs and will have to go through a separate line so the Agriculture people can inspect them. If you don't have the proper packaging, they WILL confiscate them. DO NOT TRY TO SMUGGLE THEM IN YOUR SUITCASE!! You don't want to have them find them and start sorting that mess out! You WILL get fined and the bulbs will get confiscated. And they WILL FIND THEM. Not worth the time and trouble. Allow yourself extra time to go through the Ag. line in the customs hall. They were very nice about the inspection as I had them packed separately and all the bags had a government seal on them.

The bulbs are perfectly fine and have bloomed every year. I got my bulbs in the flower market in Amsterdam as they had the best choices and they were government inspected/sealed.

2 summer ago we were in Amsterdam and also wanted to buy some bulbs. We went to the "Flower Mart" area which were multiple flower barges on the canal. Maybe not the best place to buy bulbs, but we didn't make it out to some of the better countryside areas and still wanted to try.

While there we were directed to the fact that there were some packages with bulbs that would go through inspection and some that wouldn't but neither my wife nor I can remember if they even explained the difference (maybe it was the dirt aspect). We bought a few packages and when we got home we put them in the refrigerator as advised and then planted them in October. We had mixed luck in the spring as some came up fine and some not. We'll see how this spring goes.

I would be extremely surprise if "bulbs are much cheaper here". My mother is a horticulturist and has the ability to buy wholesale and she is constantly amazed by the price I pay for bulbs, plants, and cut flowers over here in the Netherlands (even after the euro/dollar conversion).

Hi Anne--My husband bought some for me at Schiphol airport right before he left the country, so they had the little sticker on them that said they were okay to carry on the plane. They bloomed beautifully, and I thought they were a great souvenir! Even though I can buy bulbs here, it was still nice to think that those flowers in my front bed were a gift from my husband straight from Amsterdam.

Hi, Anne! I brought back bulbs in late 2007. Be sure to check the packaging carefully and get the ones that are cleared for customs.There's absolutely no problem getting they back in the U. S. I bought some at the flower market in Amsterdam and then bought more at the airport. The ones that have been certified for export are more expensive than the others but the non-certified ones will be confiscated. I had the bulbs I bought in the airport in my carry on and Petey the bulb sniffing customs dog came right up to my bag. Fortunately I had the correct bulbs (and had resisted the temptation to try to bring back some Cuban cigars).My hyacinths have just bloomed and my tulips will be blooming soon. I love having a living souvenir. Think about getting one of the tulip bowls, too.

We bought bulbs in Holland. They have bulbs prepared especially for bringing them back to the US. Ask the vendor and they will direct you to the specfic packages for the US.