Hi Everyone!
I've got a little dilemma here and could use some advice. I've been going crazy buying bulbs this fall. I just this morning discovered that a number of the bulbs I bought are not hardy for our area (I'm in zone 6b). So I'm debating with myself about What To Do....
Options I am considering are:
1. Return the bulbs and buy bulbs that are hardy for our area.
2. Plant the bulbs in the spring after all danger of frost is past and the ground is warm, and hope they bloom before it gets too cold, then dig them up and store over the winter.
3. Plant them indoors in containers and put them outside once it is warm enough.
4. Plant them in cold frames.
The bulbs (and amounts) in question are:
18 Ixia (mixed colors)
36 Sparaxis "Wand Flower" (mixed colors)
10 Freesia (mixed colors)
30 De Caen Anemones "Grecian Windflowers" (mixed colors)
15 Ranunculus (mixed colors)
Love the looks of all of them (and Freesias are my favorite flower because I love their fragrance) but..... It's expensive to treat them as annuals (meaning planting the bulbs after soil is warm and danger of frost is past and NOT dig them up). It's a lot of work to plant them in the spring then remove them before the cold (plus I'm not sure the growing season would be long enough for them to bloom)....
I don't need to return them just to buy more bulbs...I've got over 600 hardy bulbs to plant--crocus, daffodils, narcissus, hyacinth, tulips, Spanish bluebells, Glory-of-the-snow, allium--plenty of other bulbs. As you can see, I will have my work cut out for me this Fall. But now I'm not sure about what to do with the non-hardy bulbs.
The sparaxis, Ixias, De Caen anemones, freesias, ranunculus, etc., are only hardy in zones 8 or 9 and above. So obviously they are not going to survive the Ohio River Valley without some pampering. Have any of you spring planted these? Did they bloom before the frosts of Fall? Was it worth the trouble of digging them up and storing them over the winter and did that work? One of the bulbs is supposed to be stored at something like 77 degrees! I don't have anywhere that is in my house that is that warm in the winter.
Have any of you tried using a cold frame to plant them earlier in the spring (before the danger of frost is completely past)? In short, have any of you planted any of the these bulbs and what was your experience with them?
I have a little time (next 10 days) to make up my mind and decide whether to keep them or return them to the store. Luckily I got them at a shop, not through mail order. Please y'all, help me decide what to do!
What would you do? Please advise!
Hi,
I am not God's gift to gardening, but after reading your post, I would return the bulbs. It seems like a lot of work to plant and dig up and replant, especially without knowing if you'll get results planting in the spring.
My experience has been that your better off staying close to your zone, and having a few high maintenance plants (Dahlia's for me) that you take in and out.
Good luck with all your other bulb's. I have naturalized my backyard with Daffodils and am putting in 2,000
Scilla around the daffodils, wife thinks I am out of my skull, she's right.....
Hi, kev--
I'm not too familiar with your bulbs either, having only grown the anemones and the rans in California Zone 9, but it sounds like the first three are South African type bulbs and can be grown much like Amaryllis in Zone 6, and probably the last two, too.
---Pot up and keep in a cool dark environment (maybe a basement or garage?) until you want them to grow, then put in a warm room with good light and water until they bloom. It doesn't sound like there are many $$ tied up in them so it's worth a try rather than try to return them....even if just for one season of bloom.
You could try a cold frame if you have nice sandy well draining soil or pots with such, and a warm microclimate in your yard, but it seems like you would not be able to 'recreate' a Zone 9-10, even with a cold frame...I guess I wouldn't try to just store them in their bags and boxes until spring. A much higher chance of losing them--rot, mildew, vermin, bugs, etc., although I do think people plant rans in spring like glads.
So, I couldn't resist giving my two cents, even though I'm not too experienced with them! I would try the Amaryllis method and go for it. A little bit of work, but you must like bulbs if you bought 600!
klanigan--good luck with your bulb project. I'm trying to naturalize daffs in my woodland garden, too. But I think with your kind of numbers you should join the South West Ohio Daffodil Society. It's a very nice group and they love daffs, too!
Good luck. t.
We grow Freesia and Ixia here.
Just pot them up around March. It will take them a bit of time to get up anyway.
Put them in the sunniest window you have then.
Gets warmer, move them outdoors.
Come Fall haul'em back in.
Ric
Thanks Tabasco, I appreciate the link to the Daffodils Society.
later,
Kevin Lanigan