Flower bulbs

[dyna99]

I am looking for some spring flower bulbs...daffodils, crocus', and others. Where is the best place to find some? I looked into the bulb magazines but the shipping is out of this world... but had lots of pretty ones!!

[lavender]

You want to plant those bulbs in the fall. They will be available in the local stores then.

[Petee]

You can find daffodils anywhere.  Just dig them up (not from your neighbor's garden without permission) and divide them after the flowers are done.  Prepare the planting bed well and spread them out to at least a foot apart.  In about three years they will start to fill in and you can leave them in place without crowding or losing blooms for at least ten years.  Look on the internet for planting directions or call your county Master Gardeners for specific planting information.  Clearfield and Jefferson can call 849-7361.

 

Once those bulbs are done flowering this spring you can dig them up and store them in a refrigerator in peat moss till fall if absolutely necessary, or you can transplant them directly back in to the garden.  They will not flower as well if they are dug up then but they will survive.  The new planting location must be prepared well.

 

You can also mark where they are in a current garden and dig them in the fall when they are already fat and sassy from summer bulb growth.  Then they will flower better next spring. 

 

You can also find them in local stores about the end of August although there isn't a lot of variety like you will find in the catalogs.

 

You can also call me and come with a shovel in a few weeks for daffodils.  Mine have been in place successfully since 1993 and they bloom great.  If the bed is not prepared well they will get overcrowded and not produce many blossoms for as long.

[mollycan]

You can find daffodils anywhere.  Just dig them up (not from your neighbor's garden without permission) and divide them after the flowers are done.  Prepare the planting bed well and spread them out to at least a foot apart.  In about three years they will start to fill in and you can leave them in place without crowding or losing blooms for at least ten years.  Look on the internet for planting directions or call your county Master Gardeners for specific planting information.  Clearfield and Jefferson can call 849-7361.

 

Once those bulbs are done flowering this spring you can dig them up and store them in a refrigerator in peat moss till fall if absolutely necessary, or you can transplant them directly back in to the garden.  They will not flower as well if they are dug up then but they will survive.  The new planting location must be prepared well.

 

You can also mark where they are in a current garden and dig them in the fall when they are already fat and sassy from summer bulb growth.  Then they will flower better next spring. 

 

You can also find them in local stores about the end of August although there isn't a lot of variety like you will find in the catalogs.

 

You can also call me and come with a shovel in a few weeks for daffodils.  Mine have been in place successfully since 1993 and they bloom great.  If the bed is not prepared well they will get overcrowded and not produce many blossoms for as long.

I received a tulip plant, when it is done blooming what should I do with it so that it can be planted in the fall. I never have had luck with bulbs other than my iris.

[Bon]

Same thing as the daffodils.

 

I have taken the tulips that I have had in the past & planted them in the ground. Mine were next to the house. I put blood meal & bone meal down when I got the hole ready. They came up the next year but no flowers, the following year they bloomed.

 

Chippys, squirrels, dogs, skunks, & other critters like to dig them up & eat them. You can take chicken wire and lay it flat over the area you planted your bulbs, then put dirt over top of it. Keeps themfrom digging them up.

[lavender]

I'd say stick it in the ground. It will go dormant immediately most likely and the chances of it blooming g next year are slim. If you can get it through another season it will probably bloom the following year. Bulbs build up strength after they bloom. That is why they say to leave the foliage intact. Pot bulbs rarely are able to store what they need to produce the flower bud that is formed in the bulb during the winter. That is why they need a chilling period. So it usually takes one full season in the ground before they will bloom.

That said everything eats tulips from squirrels to deer. They eat off the blooms, the leaves and will dig up the bulbs. Stick with daffodils as they are poisonous. Crocus are sometimes eaten but work better than tulips. Most of the minor bulbs like grape hyacinth and squill are mostly carefree. Hyacinths are occasionally eaten off by the curious deer but mostly they aren't bothered. They just get the flowers and nothing eats the bulbs.

[lavender]

Bon's advice about planting them next to the house is good, too.  Or a path. Animals seem to dig them up less when they are near something solid.

[Petee]

Feed a potted tulip well with bulb food.  Nurseries aren't concerned with the feeding of the bulb this year.  They fed it last year and then stopped.  When the leaves die back naturally then plant it where you want it to come up next year.  They are candy for varmints so how well you protect it will determine whether you ever see it again.

 

Dig a nice sized hole in fairly good planting soil.  No water should accumulate near the hole at any time.  Add some bone meal and stir it in.  Try not to disturb or damage the roots when you are transplanting it. Plant it with the top of the bulb at least 2-4 inches underground, add a scrap of fencing large enough for the leaves to come up through but no larger.  Fill the hole with bone meal amended soil.  Firm soil and add a handful of gravel on top. 

 

If the bulb got "fat" enough before it was planted or if it gains enough weight during this summer then it could bloom again in the spring.  If not then you will probably see a tulip in spring 2018.  Surprise!!

[lavender]

Same thing as the daffodils.

 

I have taken the tulips that I have had in the past & planted them in the ground. Mine were next to the house. I put blood meal & bone meal down when I got the hole ready. They came up the next year but no flowers, the following year they bloomed.

 

Chippys, squirrels, dogs, skunks, & other critters like to dig them up & eat them. You can take chicken wire and lay it flat over the area you planted your bulbs, then put dirt over top of it. Keeps themfrom digging them up.

Bon, didn't the blood meal and bone meal attract crtters? I had tulips dug up one year after I put in bone meal. Whatever did it left the bulbs so I'm guessing it was after the bone meal.

[Bon]

Bon, didn't the blood meal and bone meal attract crtters? I had tulips dug up one year after I put in bone meal. Whatever did it left the bulbs so I'm guessing it was after the bone meal.

Nope!!

 

The only year I had trouble with bulbs is the year I planted Queen of the night & red tulips together. It wasn't any critters that caused the problem, it was a weirner dog puppy. Buffy The Groundhog Slayer was eating the bulbs after I planted them. I was so pissed!!!

[WMJ77]

Buffy The Groundhog Slayer           

[Bon]

Buffy The Groundhog Slayer      

 

Can you guess what show my hubby liked/likes??

[WMJ77]

buffy was deadly sexy

[mollycan]

Thanks all!!

[steelnut]

First thing this morning I went outside to check and all of the daffodils were frozen along with the crocus

About half of the lilacs were frozen too.

I love tulips and planted over 100 bulbs back about 10 years ago. The critters seem to love those bulbs. I planted all colors. Here's the weird thing, the only tulips that I have left are the purple ones, how is that possible???

[Petee]

Your frozen daffodils may perk back up on a warmer day.  I've thought they were frozen but unless they look waterlogged and transparent they may not be dead, just protecting their cells till it's warmer.

 

There are different kinds of tulips, species which are the originals and hybrids which have been crossed for colors, height, season and anything else they have think is a selling point.  Species tulips seem to be hardier.

[dyna99]

I do know of a couple places that daffodils grow wild! Will have to carry my small shovel with me and get a few to plant in my flower beds.. Would love to have some tulips too!! 

 

If anyone has any bulb flowers that they would like to share, I'll be there!!! I used to have many many bulb flowers, but over time have lost them....    I ordered some from a fundraiser 2 yrs ago and they came up nice this year....

[Petee]

Try to aim for species tulips which are stronger and live longer.  For hybrids, dig deeper, feed well and expect that they may fail after 2-3 years, but not always with careful nurturing.

 

In about a month anyone will be welcome to come and take a huge shovel full of daffodils from my fence line.  Just contact me first.

[dyna99]

Try to aim for species tulips which are stronger and live longer.  For hybrids, dig deeper, feed well and expect that they may fail after 2-3 years, but not always with careful nurturing.

 

In about a month anyone will be welcome to come and take a huge shovel full of daffodils from my fence line.  Just contact me first.

Awesome Petee! I will try and remember this!! I want more spring flowers!   Thanks!!

[lavender]

Its darn hard to freeze a flowering spring bulb. They have a sort of "antifreeze" in their cells. The tulips are usually blooming late enough to avoid the spring snows but the crocus often get hit. My daffs are rarely frozen.  I have daffs, scilla, grape hyacinths, crocus, primroses and hellebore blooming now. All were under he snow and all were fine when it melted. When a flower or plant freezes the cell walls rupture and there is no coming back for the frozen. By the way,  I highly recommend the scilla. They are a "minor bulb" but have a major impact if you want to naturalize bulbs.

 

Why one type of tulip bulb escapes the appetite of critters and another doesn't is a mystery. I suspect that some of the bulbs produce something that makes them unpalatable just as some people are not bitten by mosquitos.  It's the same with plants. It is hard to tell what's going to get eaten although some of that is just deer with plant specific appetites.  I just don't think that tulips are worth planting unless you are critter free. The deer eat off the flowers if the bulbs manage to escape. I've even tried growing those tiny specimen tulips and they only lasted a few years. They were growing among the scilla so it would have been a very meticulous squirrel to have picked them out. 

 

Beware! The daffodils on the walkway are not growing wild and we shoot to kill.

[Bon]

Beware! The daffodils on the walkway are not growing wild and we shoot to kill.

 

 

[steelnut]

Its darn hard to freeze a flowering spring bulb. They have a sort of "antifreeze" in their cells. The tulips are usually blooming late enough to avoid the spring snows but the crocus often get hit. My daffs are rarely frozen.  I have daffs, scilla, grape hyacinths, crocus, primroses and hellebore blooming now. All were under he snow and all were fine when it melted. When a flower or plant freezes the cell walls rupture and there is no coming back for the frozen. By the way,  I highly recommend the scilla. They are a "minor bulb" but have a major impact if you want to naturalize bulbs.

 

Why one type of tulip bulb escapes the appetite of critters and another doesn't is a mystery. I suspect that some of the bulbs produce something that makes them unpalatable just as some people are not bitten by mosquitos.  It's the same with plants. It is hard to tell what's going to get eaten although some of that is just deer with plant specific appetites.  I just don't think that tulips are worth planting unless you are critter free. The deer eat off the flowers if the bulbs manage to escape. I've even tried growing those tiny specimen tulips and they only lasted a few years. They were growing among the scilla so it would have been a very meticulous squirrel to have picked them out. 

 

Beware! The daffodils on the walkway are not growing wild and we shoot to kill.

My daffodils are still splayed out and just sick looking for some reason. I only have a few scilla and they're just fine and the crocus are okay, too.

[lavender]

Funny, I always find that daffs are sturdier than crocus. We are getting more cold weather, which is a shame as the spring bulbs were the nicer this year than they have been in a long time.

[Bon]

Funny, I always find that daffs are sturdier than crocus. We are getting more cold weather, which is a shame as the spring bulbs were the nicer this year than they have been in a long time.

I always thought daffodils were hardier also. Seems like they have an invisible wall around them. Perhaps a nice blanket will keep them nice & toasty!

 

Never, ever cover plants with plastic. If you do, make sure the plastic doesn't touch the plants at all!!

[lavender]

Buckets or large pots work best. They provide an insulated air layer and don't squish the plant. You can also leave them of for a couple of days without doing any harm. Plastic is indeed harmful. Better than nothing, I guess but I wouldn't use it. I don't cover much anymore. Too much work. I just put my tomatoes and such out later and the ornamentals have to shift for themselves. This is from someone who once got out a ladder and blankets and tried to cover a dogwood tree. Guess I'm getting old.

PS Lungwort is blooming too. That is another good spring bloomer even if it isn't a bulb. And is spreads but not aggressively.