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daffodill bulbs
In article
, Bill wrote: In article , Eggs Zachtly wrote: John McGaw said: Eggs Zachtly wrote: snip... The roots, at that time, are playing a very minor role. The food is all being sent back down to the bulb for storage. It's being made in the leaves, not the roots. snip... Guess we'll just have to disagree. No problem. I leave my bulbs at home in the ground, year round, cutting yellowing foilage as it appears. A bit time-consuming (there are seveal thousand bulbs), but the beds stay looking fairly fresh. My point was, it *is* fine to dig the bulbs up, lay them in a cool place to finish, and then remove the foilage. Planted that fall, they'll produce fine the following spring. It is amazing that you would claim that the plant's roots are "minor" given that this is the only way they absorb water and nutrients. Sure, photosynthesis is happening in the leaves but without water and soil nutrients nothing useful is going to be happening since it doesn't operate on atmospheric C02 alone. When bulb foilage begins to yellow, the roots are /not/ taking in water. If they're not taking in water, they're also *not* taking up nutrients. When the bulb finishes flowering, the roots are done, and begin to die off, same as the foilage. All food production is taking place above ground, and that food is being sent to the bulb for dormancy survival, and the following season's growth. I will remain with the position that for best results the plants should stay exactly where they are until the foliage dies back. It is a minor drawback since daffodils don't hold onto their foliage all that long and can be easily screened from view. Again, there's nothing wrong with that method. Pete C's question was of digging them up (fine), storing them "in a paper bag in the dark until tops die off" (BAD idea). Lose the paper bag, and it will work, with no ill-effects. Granted, the plants are amazingly tough and might well survive the treatment you describe but if it was the way to produce best-quality bulbs I'd expect the big growers to be doing it that way to save time. The Dutch growers would be able to put their new crop in the warehouses in April and spend the rest of the year sunning themselves in Majorca. Having never visited a "big grower", much less one in Holland, I can't comment on their production methods. Were you to ask one of them about the inner-workings of a bulb, and just what happens during it's life-cycle, I bet they'd tell you the same thing I stated above. Guess you guys know daffodils are toxic, Some bulbs mixed with young onions would not be easy to discern not good. Sort of a text for murder she wrote. Standard Major Disclaimer. So Charlie and Billy when shall we party? Bill You're not bring the onion dip are ya? Other than that, just let me get the cork out'en the bottle. -- Billy http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBB0s...eature=related |
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