Saving Flower Bulbs - July 10, 2019 @goldenoakfarm
Back in June I wrote about saving my special tulips:
https://steemit.com/homesteading/@goldenoakfarm/saving-the-tulips-june-25-2019-goldenoakfarm
Digging the Bulkhead and East gardens brought bucketfuls of multiple types of bulbs:
Daffodils
Giant allium
Dutch Jumbo Crocus
Snow crocus
Chiondoxa forbesii
Wood hyacinth
Snowdrops
Star of Bethlehem
Grape hyacinths
None of these were special, though the grape hyacinths and crocuses had been in the gardens since 1985. I wanted to save the best of the bulbs, if I could.
We kept all the bulbs with any size, but there were literally hundreds of tiny ones we left behind. When the contractor moves the soil and saves the top soil, I will have naturalized bulbs all over the septic system and the yard.
My intern was to be here today and I thought this would be a good project, mostly done in the shade. Here’s the method I used:
First we raided all my storage areas for the biggest pots we could find. Then we collected all the stuff we needed:
A tote of soil from the Big garden
A pail of BulbTone bulb food
The buckets of bulbs
2 chairs in the shade
A bucket of too small wooden stakes
A large black magic marker
A sled for transport
A shovel
First we put soil in the bottom of the pot, then a handful or 2 of BulbTone, depending on the size of the pot. Then we covered the BulbTone lightly with more soil.
For large bulbs like daffodils and giant allium, we spaced them 2” apart, usually 7 - 8 in a 8” – 10” pot. The above bulbs are Star of Bethlehem, a pretty small bulb so we placed them closer together in a 6" pot. Then we covered them with more soil, to level with the top of the pot.
Because she has a steadier hand than I, my intern made the plant labels for each pot.
L – R: Chiondoxa forbesii, Star of Bethlehem, wood hyacinth, giant allium, daffodils, Walla Walla onion that survived the winter and is now flowering
Then we took them over to the cleared area in the Big garden and put them into the rows we dug for soil.
It was getting pretty hot by the time we got this far, so we quit for the day. I still need to pack more soil around the pots, put down hardware cloth and a stone on top of each pot, and mulch them and water them.
My helper friend will be here tomorrow and perhaps he can get to this. I will be digging the rest of the gardens with my (not) delighted husband.
Is is possible for bulbs to die naturally? Three years ago I bought a set of 4 lily bulbs. Bought 4 more. Six sprouted. A couple snapped. Next year Only five sprouted, and another snapped. Last year I had 4 and two snapped. This year I only had two sprout, and one withered before it blossomed.
Two years ago I planted about a dozen crocuses corms that were slightly sprouted. I gave them excellent top layer of soil, but the under soil was very compacted and filled with tree roots. Protected them all with a plastic screen buried in the soil to prevent squirrels from digging them out. None of them sprouted or bloomed ever.
Either they are rotting or something is wrong with the soil location I'm guessing.
I know what you're going to say. "Get a soil test!". lol
At least I'm having better luck growing ginger and turmeric. watching change in the foliage of these plants has taught me how to better guage when it can (and should) be dug up to let them recharge for the dormancy period. With bulbs we always leave them alone once they are naturalized, but maybe I should get into the habit of digging them up each year. I might learn that they are becoming diseased, eaten, shrinking, or being removed animals.