May
05
Posted under
Flower bulb care
With fall just around the corner and the gardening season winding down, it’s hard to think about planting. But that’s exactly what you should do if you want to see some bright blooms early next spring. Tulips, daffodils, crocuses and other spring flowers start with bulbs planted in the fall.
What’s nice about these early spring flowers is that they are usually done blooming before perennials and other plants take over the flower bed. Keeping that in mind, take a walk around your yard and look at areas where you want to add some early color to your landscape in the spring. Garden catalogs with pictures of different types of bulbs can help you select the type and color of flowers you want in your yard.
Consider different heights and colors of plants and how they might look next to each other. A row of lavender tulips, for example, can provide the perfect backdrop for a row of shorter pink hyacinths. You may want to sketch out your plan on some paper to indicate where you would like to have spring flowers in your yard. This will also give you an idea of how many bulbs you will need to purchase.
If you are as comfortable around a computer as you are the garden, you can try landscaping software. Some programs let you plug in a picture of your home and simulate various plantings. While it might be a bit of overkill if you only want a spring flower plan, it can give you a more holistic approach to your landscaping. You can map out a strategy of what to plant so you will have blooms all summer long, not just in the spring.
You can also take the low-tech, no planning approach of a spring surprise. Try randomly planting different bulbs in flower beds and other areas of your yard. Consider planting some in areas of your lawn that are fairly protected like under trees or near your home. If the grass starts growing, you can always mow around the plants until they are done blooming. After a long winter, it’s a pleasant surprise to see colorful blooms popping out of the ground from bulbs you forgot about.
Most spring bulbs appear on shelves in September and October. If you are a bargain hunter and willing to take a little risk, watch for clearance sales on bulbs late in the fall at garden shops. I have planted these clearance bulbs late in the season with a decent success rate of blooms the following spring. Be sure to plant before the ground freezes.
While you are at the garden shop, be sure to buy a bulb-planting tool to simplify your work. Most spring bulbs should be planted at a depth of four inches or more, depending on the type of flower. Be sure to follow the instructions on the package and check how much space you should have between each bulb.
Once your bulbs are in the ground, you may need to protect your investment from deer, chipmunks and other garden invaders. A publication from University of Vermont Extension by Dr. Leonard Perry suggests placing fine mesh over your plantings to help prevent rodents and other animals from digging up your bulbs. After your flowers bloom, the same publication recommends leaving the leaves on the plants until they turn yellow to ensure the bulbs get enough nutrients for the next season.
With some advance planting and a little luck, your work in the fall will be rewarded the following spring. The bright blooms will help you forget about winter and get you motivated for another season of gardening.
Apr
22
Posted under
Flower bulb care
Autumn is the time of year when the weather cools, the tree leaves turn vibrant colors and we gardeners need to think of the Spring. What? Think of spring in autumn? Why? Well, Autumn is when we must plant the bulbs that will give us those early flowering beauties which herald the growing season.
Before summer is through the garden centers are already bursting with possibilities. There are great displays of Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus, Snowdrops, Grape Hyacinths and Alliums among others. My mailbox is full with mail order catalogues which offer a greater variety of these old-time favorites plus others you might never see in stores. I defy anyone to look through a few and not fall in love with something new and different every Autumn. Those catalogues are a danger to wallets so pace yourself. In general you won’t spend a single cent without it giving you endless payback. Bulbs multiply readily with some naturalizing quite enchantingly.
When wishing to create a dazzling Spring flower display one needs to prepare the planting sight which should get ample sun exposure. Remember that in early Spring there are no leaves on trees to shade out the sun so planting under trees is usually all right. Ridding the intended space of weeds and fortifying the bare soil with compost tilling it in well is the best thing you can do to ensure wonderful productivity. Good rich, well draining soil is a must. This has to be done first because once planted these bulbs need never be disturbed except for dividing.
After the sight is prepared one needs to decide what flowers to plant. The best Spring displays I’ve seen in Botanical gardens (and I’ve seen plenty in my many travels around the US) are those with a long blooming time. To achieve this a good mixture of bulbs is required. This doesn’t mean you have to have Daffodils with Tulips or Hyacinths with Crocus unless you like that look. Combinations look amazing when done with contrasting color and shapes. Experiment and you might surprise yourself. Most people, however, seem to prefer a bed devoted to one flower. The look is stunning I must admit but I find it limited. Once they flower, mostly all at once, you’re left with bare ground again. How boring it that?
What I see as the good alternative to the sole flower approach for the home garden is layering the bulbs this way you have a continuous display which can last for over three months if properly thought out. When purchasing these bulbs they are usually labeled
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Feb
05
Posted under
Flower bulb care
In the summer, the sun is shining and everything is vibrant. Even the summer flowers are brighter and bolder. No meek pastels or pasty whites here; summer flower bulbs are vivacious. While less hardy plants are dried, brown, and dying, summer flowers are bright, alive, and thriving. Summer flower bulbs are flowers that bloom in the summer. Some examples are daylilies, lilies, gladiolus, dahlia, begonia, and caladium.
Summer flower bulbs should be planted in early spring. They need to be planted in an area with adequate drainage. Flower bulbs will rot in standing water. For this reason, they should never be planted at the bottom of a hill.
Summer flower bulbs vary in their sun requirements. Dahlias, lilies, and daylilies, for example, thrive in full sun to partial shade. Gladiolus, on the other hand, requires full sun and iris prefer partial shade. When planning your arrangement, pay special attention to the amount of sun your garden or flowerbed receives and pick your flower bulbs accordingly.
All summer flower bulbs require loose, workable soil. If the area has never been used for growing, add some compost or peat moss. Most bulbs will not require any special fertilization, but follow your package directions carefully.
These flowers work best in masses. For the best effect, do not plant a single bulb or a thin line of bulbs. They look best when they are clumped as in the wild.
Summer flower bulbs should be planted when the soil is dry and free-flowing. Did the hole six to eight inches deep, and place the bulb in with the pointed side facing up. Cover the hole with dirt and pack firmly. Water thoroughly.
If you plant your summer flower bulbs in an appropriate location and give them the most basic attention, you will be abundantly rewarded. When all the other plants and flowers are dying, you will have a bed of bright, vibrant flowers.
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Dec
31
Posted under
Flower bulb care
Bulbs are a great addition to any garden as they will provide color year after year and can even provide additional flowers to be divided and planted in another part of the garden. Unlike, annuals, bulb flowers do not need to be planted each year.
Bulbs are hardy in nature and there is a color, shape or size that should suit any gardening need. Here’s some favorite garden bulbs and their planting needs.
Crocus
Crocus bulbs are often the fist blooms we see in early spring or at the end of winter. Their tubular shaped flowers range in size from 1” to 3″ long. Crocuses are planting in almost every garden and have a wide range of colors to suite any taste. Other types of crocus, such as the saffron crocus, bloom instead in the fall, and the flowers can rise from the bare ground weeks, or even only days, after the bulbs are planted. Crocus bulbs should be planted in the fall. Plant the bulbs 2 to 3 inches deep and space 3 or 4 inches apart. Crocuses require well drained soil, regular watering and will grow in full sun or partial shade.
Dahlia
Dahlias have a long bloom time from summer through fall and like many other bulbs come in a large variety of colors, sizes and shapes.
These flowers are so diverse that there are varieties with flower sizes ranging from 2 to 12 inches and from under a foot to 7 feet tall! Plant dahlias in spring after threat of frost has passed. Plant between 4 and 6 inches deep with spacing of 1 foot for short varieties and 5 feet for the tall variety’s. Dahlias like full sun unless you are planting them in a very hot climate where they might do well with a little shade. As with most flowers, make sure these are watered regularly.
Galanthus Nivalis
This plant is more commonly called the snowdrop and is one of the first plants to bloom after winter. They are short plants about 6 inches tall and have two bell shaped flowers. They thrive in colder climates. Plant snowdrops in fall, dig down 3 to 4 inches and plant 3 inches apart. These flowers like full sun but will tolerate partial shade. Water regularly during the growing cycle.
Daffodil
The daffodil may be the most easily recognizable of all bulb plants, and it rewards its gardener with a generous display of beautiful blooms. Besides the traditional white and yellow varieties, daffodils also come in shades of orange, apricot, pink and cream. Daffodil bulbs should be planted twice as deep as they are tall, and they should be spaced between six and eight inches apart. Daffodils benefit from full sun and regular watering during their growth and bloom periods.
Tulip
Tulips are a favorite flower around the world and one of the most easy to recognize. These are among the most hybridized of all flowers, with hybrids available in a staggering array of shapes, sizes, colors and textures. Tulips bloom from mid spring to late spring with different varieties having different bloom times. Tulips should be planted in fall and each bulb should be planted about 3 times deeper than the size of the bulb.A 2″ wide bulb would be planted 6″ deep. It is important to leave sufficient space between the planted bulbs as well, from four to eight inches depending on the size of the bulb.
Gladiolus
Gladiolas are among the most popular of all bulb plants, and their distinctive sword shaped leaves and funnel shaped flowers are instantly recognizable to gardeners and non gardeners alike. Gladiolas are best planted in the spring, but only after the soil has warmed. Gladiolas do best in full sunlight and they should be watered regularly during their blooming and growth phase. In much of the country, gladiola bulbs can be left in the ground over the winter months, but many gardeners choose to dig them up and store them during the winter. If you decide to take this approach, it is best to dig them after the leaves have turned yellow. The bulbs should be placed in a single layer and stored in a cool, dry and dark place to dry for two or three weeks. After the bulbs have dried sufficiently they should be stored in nylon stockings or onion sacks and kept in a cool and well ventilated place.
Hemerocallis
Hemerocallis is the scientific name for the daylily, and it is one of the most well known types of bulb plants on the market. Daylily hybrids can grow as tall as six feet and bloom in the spring and summer months. The daylily produces flowers ranging in size from three to eight inches, and they are available in a wide variety of colors. The daylily is actually a tuberous root variety of bulb, and they are best planted during fall or early spring. Daylilies should be planted between inch and 1 inch deep and space between 2 to 2 inches apart in the garden. As with other varieties of bulbs, it is important to water daylilies on a regular basis during their growing season.
Hyacinths (Dutch Hyacinth)
The Dutch hyacinth is one of the most instantly recognizable, and most popular, of all the varieties of bulb plants. The Dutch hyacinth blooms in the spring and features the well known foot high spires with their small bell shaped and very fragrant flowers. Hyacinths come in a wide varieties of colors, including red, pink, buff, white, blue and purple. The Dutch hyacinth grows best in colder areas, and it can last from year to year. In these cold water climates, the hyacinth is best planted in September of October. It is best to plant hyacinth bulbs four to five inches deep, and to space them from four to five inches apart as well. Hyacinths grow best in full sunlight, and they benefit from regular watering, especially during their blooming and growth periods.
Iris
The most frequently seen variety of irises are the bearded varieties. Bearded irises are striking plants, and they appear in a dazzling array of colors and combinations of colors. Irises appear in a variety of sizes as well, with very small varieties and very large ones as well. Irises should be planted in July or August in cold climates and in September or October in warmer areas. Irises are actually rhizomes, and they should be spaced from one to two feet apart, with the tops placed right below the surface of the soil. Irises grow best in full sunlight or light shade, and they benefit from a regular watering schedule during their growing season.
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Oct
19
Posted under
Flower bulb care
There is nothing quite as welcome as those beautiful spring flowers that seem to emerge from nowhere to welcome the arrival of spring. Bulb type flowers are really unique plants, because they spend most of their days resting quietly beneath the surface of the soil. Then right on schedule, up they come, full of bloom and vigor, and then almost as fast as they came, they go. Except for the green leafy part of the plant that tends to linger longer than we would like them to.
Despite their short bloom time and unattractive foliage after the blooms are gone, they are still a wonderful addition to any landscape. But how should you care for them? First lets talk about how to use them in your landscape. Flowers of all kinds are best when planted in groupings. Many people buy 25 or 50 bulbs and just go around the yard planting helter skelter. Thats fine if thats what you want, but when planted that way they tend to blend in with the landscape and really dont show up well at all. When you plant them in large groups they are a breathtaking showpiece.
In the early spring start thinking about where you would like to create a bed for flower bulbs. Prepare the bed by raising it with good rich topsoil, and if at all possible add some well composted cow manure. Do this in the spring while you are in the gardening mood; you may not be in the fall. Over the summer fill the bed with annual flowers to keep the weeds down, and to pretty up your yard for the summer. Come fall all you have to do is pull out the annuals and plant your bulbs to the depth recommended on the package.
If you think you could have a problem with squirrels digging up the bulbs and eating them, you can also wrap the bulbs in steel wool, leaving just the tip of the bulb exposed so it can grow out of the little wire cage youve created. Or you can just plant the bulbs and then cover the bed with chicken wire or plastic fencing until the bulbs start to grow in the spring.
When the bulbs come up in the spring and start blooming, you should clip off the blooms as they start to wither. This keeps the bulb from producing seeds, which requires a lot of energy, and you want the bulb to use all of its available energy to store food in preparation for the bulbs resting period. Once the bulbs are completely done blooming you dont want to cut off the tops until they are withered and die back. The million dollar question is how to treat the tops until that happens.
Many people bend them over and slip a rubber band over them, or in the case of bulbs like Daffodils tie them with one of the long leaves. This seems to work because it is a very common practice among many experienced gardeners. However, Mike is about to rain on the parade.
I strongly disagree with this theory because back about 6th grade we learned about photosynthesis in science class. To recap what we learned, and without going into the boring details, photosynthesis is the process of the plant using the suns rays to make food for itself. The rays from the sun are absorbed by the foliage and the food making process begins. In the case of a flower bulb this food is transported to the bulb beneath the ground and stored for later use.
So basically the leaves of the plant are like little solar panels. Their job is to absorb the rays from the sun to begin the process known as photosynthesis. If we fold them over and handcuff them with their hands behind their back, they are not going to be able to do their job. Its like throwing a tarpaulin over 80% of a solar panel.
In order for the leaves to absorb the rays from the sun, the surface of the foliage has to be exposed to the sun. On top of that, when you bend the foliage over, you are restricting the flow of nutrients to the bulb. The veins in the leaves and the stem are a lot like our blood vessels. If you restrict them the flow stops.
You decide. Ive presented my case. Bending them over seems to work, but Ive spent a lot of money on my bulbs. I want them running at full speed. What I do is clip the blooms off once they are spent, and just leave the tops alone until they are yellow and wilted. If they are still not wilted when its time to plant my annual flowers, I just plant the annuals in between the bulbs. As the bulbs die back the annuals tend to grow and conceal them. If one shows through I clip it off. It seems to work well for me.
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Sep
20
Posted under
Flower bulb care
At Ultra Growth we like to plant our bulbs without much fuss or expense, using as few gadgets as possible. We prefer a garden shovel and pointed trowel. Most gardeners do not plant enough bulbs to make much of an impact in their early spring flower beds.
In fall when the garden is still full of foliage from the summers perennials and annuals, it is hard to remember how stark the beds can look in early spring. The following is a sure fire step by step guide to planting your spring bulbs.
1) Spring flowering bulbs thrive in full or partial sun. Good drainage is a must for healthy bulbs. Do not plant your bulbs in soggy or low lying areas of your garden as water will pool in these areas during spring thaw.
2) Once you have chosen a site, prepare the soil by adding some compost and/or peat moss mix. This is also a great time to add Ultra Growth Compost or Ultra Growth Soil Conditioners. You really want to make sure you have good drainage and healthy soil at this point.
3) Bulb size will dictate how deep to plant them, i.e. large bulbs 8 – 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) deep and smaller bulbs 4 – 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) deep.
4) When spacing your bulbs size also matters, i.e. large bulbs should be spaced 3 – 6 inches (8 to 16 cm) apart and small bulbs from 1 – 2 inches (3 to 6 cm) apart. Always plant your bulbs pointy side up. If you are confused as with tubers like windflowers just lay them sideways and they will right themselves as they grow.
5) Now that you bulbs are planted, cover them with soil and water well. When the soil starts cooling later in the year apply 2 – 3 inches ( 6 to 12 cm) of some type of a mulch as this will help to prevent the soil from drying out as well as help stabilize the temperature of your bulbs throughout the winter.
By following these basic steps you will have great blooms from your bulbs year after year . When buying bulbs you want to look for healthy bulbs that are firm with no soft spots or white mold as these are signs of poor quality bulbs. Do not forget your bulbs are an investment in your garden and a part of your home.
Bulbs do not require any fertilizers at the point of spring planting but for really vigorous growth you can apply Ultra Growth Plant Food and a bulb booster rated at 5 – 10 – 10.
Make sure you do not allow any of the actual bulb booster fertilizer to come in to contact with the bulbs as the fertilizer will burn the bulb. By using Ultra Growth Plant Food and soaking the bulbs prior to planting will give you amazing results once your flowers poke their heads up and start their growth.
If you follow these steps you will have a beautiful spring display of bloom. After the flowers have faded, deadhead the plants so that they are not wasting energy producing seeds. Leave the foliage in place to allow the plant to recharge itself for next springs performance.
This will take some restraint as leaves may not look that presentable. Another idea is to look at your bulbs like annuals and simply pull out the clumps and put them into cold storage until next spring or even that fall. This can help you decide the perfect place to for a particular set of bulbs as you can experiment throughout your garden.
Hopefully this information will help you to ensure great results at a time when nature is just starting to show her colors, Spring. Personally we can not wait to get back to our outside gardens.
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Aug
25
Posted under
Flower bulb care
Although spring is upon us there’s still time to get your snowdrop bulbs in the ground ready for next year. Snowdrop bulbs can be planted right up to the end of September so if you are thinking of starting a garden then this is one plant worth considering.
Not only does it flower early in the spring but to me the Snowdrop marks the end of the winter, when I see the snowdrops up I know that it won’t be too long before the weather starts to get better and the summer will be on it’s way.
There are different types of Snowdrop you can plant and these can be bought from the garden centre in nets for around 2.50. At boot sales or in garden shops after the summer you can often find nets of snowdrop bulbs on offer at a really low price.
You can get autumn flowering varieties but it’s usually the white early spring varieties which are the one’s seen most in gardens and at the road sides.
The snowdrop will grow in any good soil, they also grow well in grass and it’s nice to see snowdrops popping up in little clusters around the lawns of some houses as your passing. They brighten up the wintery days and seem to signal the coming spring.
You can also grow them in pots but you might find that they don’t last as long as when they are in the ground, I have no ideal why this seems to be the case but if you haven’t a garden you can get a little bloom of snowdrops in a large pot to brighten up your patio or window box.
There are a few varieties to choose from.
Galanthus Elwesii as it is known is slightly larger than the snowdrop we see in spring, it’s flowers are still white but the inner segments are a rich green colour.
The G.Ikarie which flowers in March also has white flowers but these are more glossy than the other varieties.
The one we all know is the G. Nivalis, other known as the Common Snowdrop or Old English snowdrop and this has little white flowers. This will double if left in the ground so that the year after flowering you will have double the amount of flowers than last year. This makes it a good variety to plant and to forget about, it’s low maintenance and you if you plant it in the right place and don’t want to move it the year after it will come up year after year doubling in amounts of blooms each year.
There are a few other varieties to look for and you will be able to find them at the garden centres, the names of the bulbs will be written on the little sacks for purchase, quite often you will get a picture of the bloom on the pack which gives you more of an idea of what you will be getting.
For me the Snowdrop is on of the best plants around, it has great significance marking the end of winter and ever since I was little I can remember looking out for the first Snowdrop in the garden, then the thrill of seeing one cheers me up as I know that soon the weather will be warmer and the days will be longer. Barbecues, Relaxing, Holidays and everything good which follows the winter blues.
Have fun x
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Aug
17
Posted under
Flower bulb care
So what are bulbs really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about popular bulbs, info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.
Now that we’ve covered those aspects of popular bulbs, let’s turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.
Flowering bulbs are among the most popular of all ornamental plants, and they have enjoyed striking popularity for many years. Bulbs are renowned for their hardiness, color and variety, and there are enough types of bulbs to please even the most discriminating gardener.
With so many bulbs to choose from, it can be difficult to choose the right ones, so we present here a quick rundown of some of the most popular varieties of bulbs for the garden.
Crocus bulbs typically bloom in early spring or in late winter, and they feature tubular shaped flowers ranging in size from 1” to 3″ long. Crocuses come in a rainbow of colors, and they are a staple of many gardens. Other types of crocus, such as the saffron crocus, bloom instead in the fall, and the flowers can rise from the bare ground weeks, or even only days, after the bulbs are planted. It is important for crocus bulbs to be planted as soon as they become available in the fall. The best way to plant crocus bulbs is two to three inches deep, with a spacing of three or four inches between bulbs. Crocus bulbs should be planted in good quality soil with good drainage, and they should be provided with full sun or partial shade and watered regularly during their growing and blooming seasons.
Dahlias bloom from summer through fall, and they also come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. The size of dahlia flowers can range from two to twelve inches, and the height of the plants themselves can vary from just under a foot to more than seven feet for certain stake varieties. It is best to plant dahlias after the last frost of the spring, and the roots should be set between four and six inches deep. Tall dahlia varieties should be spaced four or five feet apart, while shorter ones can be spaced from one to one and a half feet apart.
Dahlias should have access to full sun, but in areas where the summers are very hot they may benefit from partial shade as well. It is important to observe a regular watering schedule during the bloom and growth cycles of the dahlia.
Dahlia bulbs can be left in the ground if the winter temperatures do not go below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but most gardeners prefer instead to dig the dahlia bulbs up at the end of each growing season. To do this, you should wait until the foliage has yellowed, then cut the stalks back to approximately four inches. The clumps of the roots should be permitted to dry in the sun a few hours, then placed in boxes in a single layer and covered up with either sawdust or dry sand. The bulbs should be stored in a cool dry place over the winter and replanted the following spring.
Galanthus Nivalis
The galanthus is more commonly known as the snowdrop, and it is one of the first plants to bloom at the end of the winter. These plants are typically six to eight inches in height, and they feature one bell shaped flower on each side of the stalk. Snowdrops are best suited for colder climates, and the bulbs are best planted in the autumn of the year. The bulbs should be planted from three to four inches deep and about three inches apart. Snowdrops typically do best in full sun or partial shade, and they like regular watering during their blooming and growing cycles.
Those who only know one or two facts about popular bulbs can be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you’re learning here.
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