On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 07:51:34 +0000, skippysje wrote:

Here's what I'm dealing with. What's my next step?


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When the petals drop, you can deadhead your poppies (I assume that's what
asking about?) and let them grow till next year (they're perennials), or at
the risk of somewhat weaker plants, you can let a few capsules mature, gather
the seed (there are little pores near the top that will open like a salt
shaker) and sow it elsewhere.

Water during the summer if the leaves start to look pretty dry.

On 6/15/12 12:51 AM, skippysje wrote:
'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote:
;961672']On 6/13/12 10:02 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:-
On Jun 13, 2:04 am, allen73
wrote:-
Keep watering the plants after they bloom. When the foliage yellows,
cut
the tulips back to the base of the plant with pruning shears or
scissors. You may also be able to just pull up on the foliage to
separate it from the bulb. Stop watering the plants and set the pots
in
a cool, dark location, such as a garage, until the spring. Take the
bulbs out of the pots and replant them outdoors about 6 inches deep in
a
site that receives full sun. Water them well. They will come up the
next
spring.

--
allen73-

Oh, I think you just answered my question, above. I thought maybe
they should be in refrigerator, or?

Note, however, that this is a mild Mediterranean climate (So.
California coastal), Will planting the bulbs make them come up too
soon?

David Ross or David Hare-Scott, or somebody in/near my zone, how do
YOU store tulip bulbs?

TIA

HB
-

I don't even try to grow tulips. I tried once and was very
disappointed. I had placed them in the vegetable bin of my
refrigerator
for 6 weeks before planting. I don't remember how many bulbs I
planted,
but I got only two to bloom.

My earlier comment in this thread about snails was based on my
experience with flowering bulbs that don't require winter chill. I
have
seen bearded iris stalks growing horizontally and then turning vertical
near the end. They had been partially chewed at the base by snails.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
'My Climate' (http://tinyurl.com/4xkcb64)
Gardening diary at 'David Ross's Garden Diary -- Current'
(http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary)

Here's what I'm dealing with. What's my next step?


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Yes, they are NOT tulips. They are poppies. Forget what everyone was
saying about tulips.

Cut off each dead flower as soon as its petals fall. That will
strengthen the plant.

From your photo, they might have been growing horizontally to reach the
sun. When the leaves and other growth dies down, you might dig them up
and move them to a more sunny location. They will come up again from
the roots.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Thanks for the info. Someone told me they were tulips, and that's all I was going on (proper newbie at this!)

The plants are in a prime location for recieving sunshine in the garden, however there has not been very much sunshine lately, so I'm guessing this could explain why they have not been growing well. I will cut off the dead heads.

Will the stems be ok to leave in behind even if they have started to yellow?

On 6/18/12 12:41 AM, skippysje wrote:
'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote:
;961821']On 6/15/12 12:51 AM, skippysje wrote:-
'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote: -
;961672']On 6/13/12 10:02 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:-
On Jun 13, 2:04 am, allen73
wrote:-
Keep watering the plants after they bloom. When the foliage yellows,
cut
the tulips back to the base of the plant with pruning shears or
scissors. You may also be able to just pull up on the foliage to
separate it from the bulb. Stop watering the plants and set the pots
in
a cool, dark location, such as a garage, until the spring. Take the
bulbs out of the pots and replant them outdoors about 6 inches deep in
a
site that receives full sun. Water them well. They will come up the
next
spring.

--
allen73-

Oh, I think you just answered my question, above. I thought maybe
they should be in refrigerator, or?

Note, however, that this is a mild Mediterranean climate (So.
California coastal), Will planting the bulbs make them come up too
soon?

David Ross or David Hare-Scott, or somebody in/near my zone, how do
YOU store tulip bulbs?

TIA

HB
-

I don't even try to grow tulips. I tried once and was very
disappointed. I had placed them in the vegetable bin of my
refrigerator
for 6 weeks before planting. I don't remember how many bulbs I
planted,
but I got only two to bloom.

My earlier comment in this thread about snails was based on my
experience with flowering bulbs that don't require winter chill. I
have
seen bearded iris stalks growing horizontally and then turning
vertical
near the end. They had been partially chewed at the base by snails.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
'My Climate' ('My Climate' (http://tinyurl.com/4xkcb64))
Gardening diary at 'David Ross's Garden Diary -- Current'
('David Ross's Garden Diary -- Current'
(http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary))-

Here's what I'm dealing with. What's my next step?


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|Filename: DSC00958.jpg |
|Download:
http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=15075|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+


-

Yes, they are NOT tulips. They are poppies. Forget what everyone was
saying about tulips.

Cut off each dead flower as soon as its petals fall. That will
strengthen the plant.

From your photo, they might have been growing horizontally to reach the
sun. When the leaves and other growth dies down, you might dig them up
and move them to a more sunny location. They will come up again from
the roots.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
'My Climate' (http://tinyurl.com/4xkcb64)
Gardening diary at 'David Ross's Garden Diary -- Current'
(http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary)

Thanks for the info. Someone told me they were tulips, and that's all I
was going on (proper newbie at this!)

The plants are in a prime location for recieving sunshine in the garden,
however there has not been very much sunshine lately, so I'm guessing
this could explain why they have not been growing well. I will cut off
the dead heads.

Will the stems be ok to leave in behind even if they have started to
yellow?

If you dead-head them, that prevents seed formation. Creating and
maturing seeds can weaken the plant, so dead-heading will promote a more
vigorous plant.

On the other hand, leaving dead and dying foliage and stems does no
harm. It merely looks unattractive. Once the plant is definitely
yellow (or brown and dry) you can cut it back.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On Mon, 18 Jun 2012 07:41:22 +0000, skippysje wrote:

The plants are in a prime location for recieving sunshine in the garden,
however there has not been very much sunshine lately, so I'm guessing
this could explain why they have not been growing well. I will cut off
the dead heads.

The other odd thing that many poppies do is "grow crazy" when exposed to low
levels of 2.4-D -- which is an artificial auxin. If you ever see poppy flower
stalks (pedicels) that twist this way and that, sometimes even looping,
it's not that the plants are possessed or diseased, but that someone has been
using a 2,4-D containing herbicide someplace. You may also find that the
leaves, instead of being a compact bunch at the base, become more distant from
each other -- often the plant will fall over a little.
http://cache2.artprintimages.com/lrg...4/OZCMD00Z.jpg is some Iceland
poppy flowers (Papaver nudicaule) that have probably been exposed to 2,4-D
drift once.

Because 2,4-D is relatively volatile, you're more likely to see this damage
after a couple of warm spring days -- and you don't have to be closer than about10 miles to the site it was applied to.


Will the stems be ok to leave in behind even if they have started to
yellow?

They'll be kinda ugly, but sure, you can leave the flower stalks on. It's a
little extra photosynthetic area for the plant.

Kay