Bulbs: What new bulbs are you planting and where did you get them?, 1 by DonnaMack

DonnaMack wrote:
I reinstalled my Angeliques and White Trumphiators along with some fresh bulbs of those types. Those second year bulbs are always good sized. And when I dug up my abyssinian glads. Some of the bulbs were very small.

I figure, what the heck. Some of last year's bulbs, especially the multiflowering bulbs, had split into smaller bulbs. I toss them all in the hole, and I do it when they are even smaller than yours. Being back in the ground, they will continue to develop.

Now, of course, if you are dealing with a formal display, it's different. Sometimes I take my second year bulbs and put them in a less formal space. Once my bulbs go past the second year they are usually planted separately. But I have noticed over the years that they start bulking up, if fed, and some actually approach the size of first year bulbs. This year I put in Angelique and White Trumphinator together. Had to do it. My neighbor across the street (the very studly battalion chief fireman - who looks pretty darned good in that battalion chief uniform) was blown away by Angelique last year. He came across the street to ask what it was, and said it was gorgeous. People around here tend to gravitate toward strong colors - almost all of the peonies and roses here are red - so I was surprised. Heaven forbid I should disappoint such a gorgeous man, so I planted it again in the same spot.

I used to order a dozen Angelique, a dozen Mt. Tacoma, a dozen Maywonder (a glorious deep rose double that has disappeared, along with Holland Chic, which was fabulous) together with a dozen White Trumphinator. And then I let allium christophii naturalize in the bed, so I had a white, pink, rose amethyst party going on, with White Trumphinator, with it's terrifically strong stem, lending a striking accent. I did notice that Mt. Tacoma was never as strong as the others, and was contemplating trying double Maureen, which is new. I ended up ordering Perestroka, and then discovered that it has an orangy cast which then turns pink. Didn't want to deal with even a temporary clash, so I moved it away.

There is one Big cultivated bulb that does not decline. Single late Maureen. I was unable to get it out of the ground for three years, because I put it in rather deeply. It came back looking like a first year bulb - but then single lates have that reputation.

I usually don't buy bulbs in stores because they look so unhappy in their packages, but I went into Platt Hill Nursery here and was VERY surprised to find leucojum Gravetye Giant for sale. I put in a few, perhaps 5, from Old House Gardens a few years back and they exploded. So I thought that they would be easy to establish here and only dug up a few. I put them in semishade, and they have turned up their noses at me ever since. So the opportunity to put some back in full sun was more than I could resist. And the bulbs looked great.

Here is how they looked at my former house. Posing proudly in front of a crabapple, knowing they are LOOKING GOOD!