Timing, bulbs and the cheapo gardener
By Evelyn Alemanni
My obsession with growing flowers for bouquets means that I just LOVE spring bulbs - tulips, Dutch iris, scilla, daffodils and narcissus of all kinds. Spring flowers that grow from corms, rhizomes and tubers such as ranunculus, calla lilies, and anemones are also favorites. Here in our zone 9.5 climate, bulbs MUST be planted in the fall - starting with freesias in September, the rest in October. Planting later is risky business.
Many of these bulbs come from Holland, and in the last few years, shipping costs have driven up the prices. So, at the end of the fall "bulb" season, I call the local wholesaler and ask for his closeout list. He's anxious to empty his warehouse to make room for lily bulbs, dahlia tubers, and gladiolas. In January, which is way too late for any sane gardener in our climate to plant bulbs, he offered me great prices on freesias, anemones and tulips. He promised that his tulip bulbs had enjoyed the requisite six+ weeks in the cooler, pretending it was winter.
Here's what I learned: squirrels love tulip bulbs. Of 400 bulbs, I got about 40 flowers and a family fat and happy squirrels. Next time I will plant tulip bulbs in wire baskets in the ground and maybe give preference to daffodils because they are are toxic to vermin. The tulips I potted to grow on in my little greenhouse all rotted. Overwatered, perhaps? The ones that did best were in glass jars grown in only an inch of tap water, no soil.
The freesias? WOW. Success. They started blooming right after the fall-planted bulbs finished. So did the anemones. This is a wonderful way to extend the blooming period. Next year, I'll test the iris as well.
My obsession with growing flowers for bouquets means that I just LOVE spring bulbs - tulips, Dutch iris, scilla, daffodils and narcissus of all kinds. Spring flowers that grow from corms, rhizomes and tubers such as ranunculus, calla lilies, and anemones are also favorites. Here in our zone 9.5 climate, bulbs MUST be planted in the fall - starting with freesias in September, the rest in October. Planting later is risky business.
Many of these bulbs come from Holland, and in the last few years, shipping costs have driven up the prices. So, at the end of the fall "bulb" season, I call the local wholesaler and ask for his closeout list. He's anxious to empty his warehouse to make room for lily bulbs, dahlia tubers, and gladiolas. In January, which is way too late for any sane gardener in our climate to plant bulbs, he offered me great prices on freesias, anemones and tulips. He promised that his tulip bulbs had enjoyed the requisite six+ weeks in the cooler, pretending it was winter.
Here's what I learned: squirrels love tulip bulbs. Of 400 bulbs, I got about 40 flowers and a family fat and happy squirrels. Next time I will plant tulip bulbs in wire baskets in the ground and maybe give preference to daffodils because they are are toxic to vermin. The tulips I potted to grow on in my little greenhouse all rotted. Overwatered, perhaps? The ones that did best were in glass jars grown in only an inch of tap water, no soil.
The freesias? WOW. Success. They started blooming right after the fall-planted bulbs finished. So did the anemones. This is a wonderful way to extend the blooming period. Next year, I'll test the iris as well.
Posts
