Came home from work today to my new house to see the first fruits from my fall planting!! I think most of the blooming daffodils are St Keverne from OHG...even a couple of hyacinths starting to open up. Temperatures this week are in the 70's, very warm for this time of year! January was actually quite cold for us and it was 15 just a week ago.
Our newest addition to our family on the right - makes two Schnauzers and two Yorkshires. The new small female has a heart condition and her previous owner didn't want her after she discovered she wouldn't be able to breed for her. We were more than willing to take her in as one of us.
In my other bed
And some hyacinths getting ready to come up
One nice but big surprise - we found little clumps like this one ALL OVER the front and side yards...maybe 60 or 70 of them....scattered everywhere! A few have buds so I am sure some type of narcissus. They look almost planted at random - can't wait to see what blooms as I didn't plant any of them.
Very nice...I'm looking forward to my spring blooms also.
Sweet little flowers in the second pic Steve! The ones with problems are often the most gentle, I bet she looked at you with big eyes you couldn't resist!
Those Hyacinths look about the same as mine, nice and fat! Our temps are supposed to be a little higher but the cloud persists where I am and it's still a little chill. Nothing like yours though, around 8 or 9C or upper 40'sF.
We had a little sun Wed afternoon, I got some tidying up done, and went around with the camera when I finished the spot I was on but it was getting dark. I spied some tiny Narcissus possibly Tete-a-tete under the edge of a shrub I put in last autumn, from a pot which had some I think are Sun disc, tiny flat flowers, these were amongst them, a freebie a few years ago.
Thank you Debsroots & Wallaby!
Yes Janet it is so nice to walk outside and find little surprises like those - very pretty! Yes, our hyacinths are at about the same stage though I now have a couple shotting up and starting to open with the temperatures being the way they are. I just hope we don't ghet a serious freeze into early March after all of this warm weather, as that has been known to happen!
The Yorkie is a sweetheart but a terror to the other dogs at the same time. Her heart has added beats if you listen to it but it doesn't seem to affect her energy level at all and she and the other Yorkie are constantly playfighting, or zipping around the house and tormenting the Schnauzers. I predict she's gonna have a long health life.
Are you getting some good sun with your mild temperatures?
The sun has promised to come out twice today, then the clouds come over. We have 9C (48F) with light winds but it feels a lot colder, I took some pics of snowdrops and got frozen arms, that damp cold air is the problem but still it could be worse, it is warmer than it should be for this time. Last year was colder so can't grumble, my Trilium is at the same stage it was a month later last year. Digi pics are great for records!
Crocus are racing ahead now, my Hyacinths have moved open a little more today too. The average night temps for now is 0C moving to 1C at the end of the month, day temps 6C moving to 7C. The night temps are also much higher now so that helps the plants I imagine.
Snowdrops for you, I guess you can't grow those
Steve!!!
In the first pic, about how many daffs did you plant on each side?
I love your garden guardians.
Janet,
I have never tried snowdrops, so I'm not sure how well they'd perform here - but I can grow snowflakes!!! I had lots of them at the old house; haven't planted any here....YET. BTW look what my neighbor across the street is flying...!
Howdy Nery, good to see you! Thanks about the "guardians" hehehe....
I think I planted maybe a dozen on each side of several varieties - some are blooming and some are not. I think I planted about four varieties in that area, so there should be more blooming when those are finished. What I usually do is dig a round or oval hole and put the bulbs in so they'll bloom in "clusters" - I think it looks much better than the straight line effect. How many? Depends on the hole. Usually I plant in odd increments - 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 or 15.
Here Nery, they're open fuller today....
These hyacinths just shot out of the ground like a rocket over the past couple of days.....
And these by the side door are ready to pop!
Huh, that's strange, are your neighbours British?
Those Hyacinths have shot, I can see them just showing colour in the first picture.
A bunch of crucus from one corm, snowdrops in the background.
Steve, your new yard is already starting to look good, soon it will look like you have lived there for years, just like at the old house. Your hyacinths look lovely, mine should be blooming in a few days and Janet those crocus are beautiful.
Wallaby, wow the color on those crocuses is incredible.
Steve, thanks for the 2nd pic. Happy for you, jealous for me, lol
Yes I agree, Wallaby always has the most beautiful, vibrant crocuses...and hers multiply so well too. I love the purple varieties of Crocus Vernus but find they aren't the best fit for warm climates - they'll bloom first year but haven't returned well for me. The species and other varieties of crocus however do quite well for me, incl. "Yellow Mammoth".
Thanks stetchworth, that is my hope......I am going to plant lots more next fall to "move it along" heheheh. You should post pictures of yours when they bloom as well! I love spring bulbs!
Oh Walllaby.....he stopped over today while we were outside and I commented on liking his flag - and he told us his parents live in Scotland. The guy is a truck driver and is gone alot, and was rushing around planting things today after he saw ours in bloom.....at least that's what he told me!
The plot thickens Steve! Now is he a Scot, (accent?) or have his parents gone to live in Scotland because they like it, or does he have parents from both countries? I guess it would be rude to ask and if he wanted you to know he would have said, I wonder what people in TX think of the flag flying there! I wonder what he was planting, potted daffs?
Yes crocus are a real spring brigthtener, in the last couple of days they have gone from nearly nothing to many open today.
More spring flowers? Cyclamen coum, fuller than ever, this was 6 days ago but they go on for a long time. I will have the whole bed full with these eventually when some seedlings fill up, that will be a sight!
HI wallaby,
I love the purple cyclamen - I only tried them here once a few years ago and probably should again, since they're readily available.
He doesn't have a Scottish accent of any kind so I am assuming he grew up here and the parents returned - I'll ask him! He won't mind. On the flag, nahh, no one he would be bothered/threatened by a British flag. If he were flying a Mexican flag I am quite sure there'd be comments! LOL Yes, the daffs looked like they came from Home Depot and were already blooming when he put them in! They still looked nice though.
Oh Steve, what a breath of spring!
We have around 17" of snow on the ground thanks to this snowstorm and it is snowing out again right now.
Wind blew so hard that it is hard to tell the amount.
Maybe in a couple of months I will have something to show., but right now everything is WHITE.
Your little friends are adorable.
All your blooming plants are beautiful! What great photos! I have been lurking and enjoying this thread.
I hope you don't mind me jumping in here. I live in Florida and have never seen (in real life) some of these beautiful blooming flowers from bulbs. Well, this year my local Wally World was selling bulbs in a bag. I couldn't resist, so decided to give them a try. I had to put them in my refrigerator for about 2 months and then planted them in a pot to see what would happen. As you can see from the photo, they bloomed. And boy were they more beautiful IRL than I could've ever imagined.
But now I have some questions that perhaps a few folks here can answer. I know nothing about daffodils and tulips. Do they just have one single bloom per plant or do they grow more blossoms? And I understand that I will need to dig the bulbs up and store dry and cool until next winter. When should the bulbs be dug up?
Thanks for any help! :-)
Congratulations becky! Bulbs are very different and as you noticed, beautiful! Some daffodils will increase their bulbs and make more stems if they can naturalise, lifting them may not be as successful. The smaller bulbs which may make could be grown on but they are better if you can leave them in the ground.
There are different types of daffs, some have multiple flowers on one head, here are all the divisions
http://www.daffodil.org/daffodil/div.htm
Tulips need a dry rest, and will only produce one flower per stem/bulb, but the dwarf species will increase and make more stems, some even make more than one flower per head. Again they are better left in the ground in a suitable dry spot for the summer rest.
The foliage dies back feeding the bulb in preparation for the next season, a compost with potash will help build the bulb, they should be left for 6 weeks. Once the foliage is yellowing they can be lifted and dried off for storage but should be kept in a warm dry place until the autumn.
Thanks for the info wallaby1. The reason I thought that I should dig them up and store them after they die back is because it doesn't usually get very cold here in Florida in my zone. I was under the impression that they need a couple months of cold weather to sprout late during winter/early spring?
They do need the cold over winter but a hot dry summer too.
So ..... should I leave them in the container or dig them up & store them, and then later put them in my refrigerator in late Fall for cold stratification?
It might be a good idea to leave them in the container if you can keep them fairly dry, and dig them up for cold treatment. They are normally planted from September to November here, once the weather cools and the ground is wetter. The roots start to form then.
Tulips are native to the Mediterranean area. Here's an article on some species from someone in zone 10a Ca, no chilling required, so you might try those too as they are easier and longer lived.
http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/pbs/2006-April/024888.html
http://www.tulipworld.com/tulip.asp?contentloc=/info/items/CompleteListofAssortment.shtml
http://www.plantanswers.com/arcadia_pages/Narcissus%20jonquilla.htm
I have some Iris reticulata Marguerite in flower. and I. r. Natascha in a pot. Slugs had chewed the stems through on two of them but I still have flowers.
Margeurite has yellow stripes on the foliage.
Wallaby1 - Those are gorgeous! Do they like moist soil?
Natascha
Yes becky they do, but in summer they can withstand dryness too, they die back and rest much the same as daffs and tulips. Iris reticulata are not huge bulbs but should be planted about 8" deep, if shallow they split into many bulbs and take another 7 years to flower! They are trearted as an annual but I have had many return for a few years now, these are new ones I got in the autumn.
The two together
Thanks for the info Wallaby1. Yours are really lovely!!!
I am so spoiled by long lasting perennials, that getting one bloom for just a week or so is a bummer . I wished they bloomed repeatedly and for months instead of one bloom for a week. Funny how nature does that. Such a tease! But also something to look forward to every Spring! I guess the best way to do it is to plant a large number of bulbs at staggered times so you get a month of blooms. Maybe next year I will try that. Though I need to find some varieties that I can keep in the ground year round that doesn't need cold stratification. I looked at the web link you listed above and can't really find a source for such varieties. Unfortunately, they are not quite as colorful as the cold varieties. But just growing them one year and (maybe next) is such a delight!
Oooo, I'm so jealous! We have nothing growing here in NE Ohio yet. Maybe if I dig under the snow I could find some snowdrops. However, I do have pots of bulbs in my attic (it's about 40F), so hopefully I'll have something colorful to post soon. Tamara
You will find tulips available in the autumn catalogues which can be out from April, and some of the dwarf species are very pretty. They may not last for long but a beauty glimpsed is worth the wait, it will always give you something to look forward to!
Tulipa praestans Unicum has variegated foliage, it would be worth a try
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/105358/
I have Tulipa Electra which is dwarf, double, bright red and has a strong honey scent. It increases well at the edge of my Hosta bed where it will dry in the summer.
http://www.elegant-tulip-bulbs.com/tulip-garden.html
http://pss.uvm.edu/pss123/bultulip.html
One of the selling web sites mentions those which are more successful in hotter climates.
http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1155.htm
John Scheepers has a list of bulbs best for warm climates, zones are not always the best indicator.
http://www.johnscheepers.com/tips_a.html
http://www.johnscheepers.com/catview.cgi?_fn=Category&_category=Tulips
zone5girl, we can look at yours when ours are finished!
wallaby, interesting how I.reticulata behaves when planted too shallow. I have never experienced this with mine; they've naturalized and been more plentiful every year. I wonder if the colder winters or hotter summers here make a difference? I have read that the yellow I.danfordae(sp?) split like tulip bulbs and have never grown them for that reason, but I imagine the deep planting would be helpful just as it is with tulips.
I'm seeing buds on my I.reticulata and even have seen a couple of crocus! The sun is shining :) Looking forward to doing some more digging today!
zone5girl - Oh goodness! You WILL have blooms right after mine have faded! How exciting!!! Mine grew so fast once they peeked out of the soil. Maybe a couple weeks! Please post a photo when they all start blooming. It's gonna be lovely for sure!
Wallaby1 - Thank you for going to all the trouble to find and post all the web links. I'm looking and reading them all. I don't know if there is really any Tulip bulbs that I could leave in the ground that would come back next year. It gets really hot here and rarely gets colder than 45 degrees in winter. (Usually in the 50's at night.) I will get a day here and there that is near but not quite freezing temps. I'll probably have to dig them up and replant next year for similar results. But that's okay. I didn't even know if they would grow and bloom here at all. They are just stunning!!! So pretty even if short lived. :-)
More of them are popping up and blooming. I like grouping red and yellow together in a pot. And it worked out that they bloomed at the same time. I am fast becoming a fan of tulips and daffodils! :-)
Isn't it fun seeing people's things in different zones? Here's the bulbs I have:
http://davesgarden.com/journal/edit/viewbycat.php?cat=45095
I potted them up too late (some were moldy), so I'm not sure how well they will bloom. I guess I'll find out soon enough! Tamara
Thanks Maxine ....great to see you again! I am looking forward to seeing your blooms in a couple of months as well :-) Ahh the snow.....I kind of miss it!
Thanks becky - your potted bulbs turned out really nice. You know there are some daffodils known to do well in warm climates.....you might even get some tazetta daffodils to come back year after year in the grouynd if you're so disposed! Good luck with your plantings. Wallaby's recommendations on the species tulips are really good ones.
Look at what I just found!!! Tamara
