On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 15:37:26 -0000, Martin Sykes wrote:

"pat" wrote in message
m...
Due to my and disability, I am considering keeping separate winter
pots (eg for daffs) and different pots for a whole host of summer
bedding. I plan on leaving the daffs to die off in their pots during
the summer months. Would this be OK?

Put everything in one pot so they flower through the year and then you won't
have to move the pots at all. The stuff which is coming up will help hide
the foliage of the things that are dying down. You could have a few siberian
iris then daffodil then tulip then gladioli and have the whole lot growing
up through low greenery such as variegated ivies to give a bit of
all-year-round interest.

I'm not sure why separate pots would be easier for you unless you're
planning on leaving the 'dead' pots next to the 'live' ones.

One drawback to the all-in-one-pot method is that some bulbs
require dry, warm summer rest to do their best. You can't combine
a tulip that demands such treatment with a water-loving plant
like Iris sibirica and expect them to both do their best.

The reverse is also true: many spring-flowering blubs want fairly
copious winter moisture, and summer-flowering ones (e.g.
gladiolus) want dry winter conditions.

Also: There are some experienced bulb growers who are very
disparaging of the practice of overplanting bulbs with
groundcovers. The groundcovers both sap nutrients and prevent the
soil from warming adequately in summer. When the expert speaks,
the amateurs listen.

If the OP can manage two sets of pots, I'd encourage him to do
so. Of course he can experiment with mixed pots and see if the
results are good; I make no claim to infallibility.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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