I have planted very few bulbs in my garden in the past, so I have no idea what to expect performance wise of the goodly number I planted this fall.
Starting the last week of Sept thru mid November I planted many bulbs that were advertised to be fall bulbs, expecting to see foliage and flowers, beginning with crocus probably in late January.
Much to my surprise, several varieties of allium appeared immediately, dutch iris are now filling the space with green, muscara is pushing strong stalks through the mulch and windflowers are showing green; today, I discovered the tips of crocus peeking through the soil. We are having very unusual weather so far this year, but wow!
Since this is my first real experience with a variety of "fall bulbs" my question is: Will all these be killed back when we get really cold weather during Jan-Feb?
This message was edited Dec 18, 2014 10:51 PM
Surprise from fall planted bulbs
Made me look! LOL
My alliums and muscari are still slumbering. . . BUT . . . the day after Christmas, my crocus was sprouting (some even so much that there were patches of 3" fine grass) and there were blooms on one of my Lenten Roses (also 2 months early).
I, too, wonder about the crocus. I expect their above ground growth to vanish with frost/snow, but will the bulbs then die, having futily expended their stored energy without being able to replenish it for next year's blooms.
Photo #1: Hellebore variety Ice Follies in my side flower bed
Photo #2: crocus section of the same flower bed
I'm seeing green sprouts from many of my spring bulbs now, and typically do at this time of year. They just remain there, ready for spring, and aren't bothered by cold weather. It gets somewhat colder here, so I wouldn't think you'll have any problems. It isn't uncommon here to get cold weather and even snow sometimes in April while they're all blooming. Many lay down flat while frozen, and look like they're done for, but when it warms up they stand back up and look fine.
Also, Dutch Iris and many varieties of Muscari are known to produce foliage in fall and/or winter, so that's probably normal for yours.
Gemini, thanks, that's good to hear. We are expecting a couple days of 15 degree lows here this week.
This is what sprouts in Fall for me: Sparaxis, some Rananculus plants (although some do not show up until Spring), Some Anemone (and in fact The Bride bloomed all winter for me) and Erlicheer Daffodil. I have learned through trial and error that I have probably lost some of my plants in the past because I watered so sparsely in the Winter and occassionally we have warm days. Also, Dutch Iris sprout in the Fall for me as well. We just had 3" of snow and of course I am a bit worried for a few of these early sprouters but was encouraged by what Gemini-Sage had to say on this subject above. One I can say I know has survived is a rare early bloom on a Hyacinth that bloomed before the snow hit and it did not seem phased in the slightest.