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daffodill bulbs
I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my
father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? |
daffodill bulbs
On 4/20/2008 4:45 PM, Charlie wrote:
On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:09:09 -0700 (PDT), wrote: I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? Just leave 'em be. They will be back, year after year. I'm sorry for your loss, whenever it was. Care Charlie Daffodills are quite hardy. They will survive most winters, even with snow and freezing weather. Just plant summer annuals over them without digging them up. The one problem you might have is if the cemetary maintenance crew mows over your father's grave. Cutting the daffodill foliage before it turns yellow and dies will weaken the bulbs. If this happens, you might as well dig up the bulbs and trash them. -- David E. Ross Climate: California Mediterranean Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19) Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/ |
daffodill bulbs
David E. Ross wrote:
On 4/20/2008 4:45 PM, Charlie wrote: On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:09:09 -0700 (PDT), wrote: I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? Just leave 'em be. They will be back, year after year. I'm sorry for your loss, whenever it was. Care Charlie Daffodills are quite hardy. They will survive most winters, even with snow and freezing weather. Just plant summer annuals over them without digging them up. The one problem you might have is if the cemetary maintenance crew mows over your father's grave. Cutting the daffodill foliage before it turns yellow and dies will weaken the bulbs. If this happens, you might as well dig up the bulbs and trash them. I thought you could dig them up, with tops, store in a paper bag in the dark until tops die off, and replant next year? Or am I getting confused? :) -- Pete C London UK |
daffodill bulbs
Grouchy.Oldgit wrote I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? I planted some on my Mums grave near the S. coast years ago and they come up year on year, I also planted some "Glory of the Snow" and after the first clump got stolen they grew well but the over enthusiastic early strimming of the grave by the workmen saw to them. They could see and miss the Daff leaves but not those of the little bulbs. No point in planting summer stuff due to the strimming. -- Regards Bob Hobden |
daffodill bulbs
I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending
my father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? If you don't dig them up, make sure to cut off the flower heads once they start to wither. This encourages them to put their strength into the bulb. If you leave the flowers they put their strength into setting seed. |
daffodill bulbs
Pete C wrote:
David E. Ross wrote: On 4/20/2008 4:45 PM, Charlie wrote: On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:09:09 -0700 (PDT), wrote: I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? Just leave 'em be. They will be back, year after year. I'm sorry for your loss, whenever it was. Care Charlie Daffodills are quite hardy. They will survive most winters, even with snow and freezing weather. Just plant summer annuals over them without digging them up. The one problem you might have is if the cemetary maintenance crew mows over your father's grave. Cutting the daffodill foliage before it turns yellow and dies will weaken the bulbs. If this happens, you might as well dig up the bulbs and trash them. I thought you could dig them up, with tops, store in a paper bag in the dark until tops die off, and replant next year? Or am I getting confused? :) Probably you are confused. It is necessary for the plants to remain in a normal growing state with roots and foliage intact so that they can support bulb growth which is what makes the new plants and flowers the next Spring. As soon as the plant has finished this process the foliage dies back and all that remains is the bulb (or bulbs) under the ground. Typically one can plant annuals around the remaining daffodil foliage to make it less obvious but even if the bulb is to be dug and re-planted in the Autumn it is necessary for the plant to go through its "recharging" routine to produce healthy bulbs. I normally clip the spent flower stem right after the flower fades to make the plants look less ragged but I would never remove any undiseased leaves. -- John McGaw [Knoxville, TN, USA] http://johnmcgaw.com |
daffodill bulbs
John McGaw wrote:
Pete C wrote: David E. Ross wrote: On 4/20/2008 4:45 PM, Charlie wrote: On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:09:09 -0700 (PDT), wrote: I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? Just leave 'em be. They will be back, year after year. I'm sorry for your loss, whenever it was. Care Charlie Daffodills are quite hardy. They will survive most winters, even with snow and freezing weather. Just plant summer annuals over them without digging them up. The one problem you might have is if the cemetary maintenance crew mows over your father's grave. Cutting the daffodill foliage before it turns yellow and dies will weaken the bulbs. If this happens, you might as well dig up the bulbs and trash them. I thought you could dig them up, with tops, store in a paper bag in the dark until tops die off, and replant next year? Or am I getting confused? :) Probably you are confused. It is necessary for the plants to remain in a normal growing state with roots and foliage intact so that they can support bulb growth which is what makes the new plants and flowers the next Spring. As soon as the plant has finished this process the foliage dies back and all that remains is the bulb (or bulbs) under the ground. Typically one can plant annuals around the remaining daffodil foliage to make it less obvious but even if the bulb is to be dug and re-planted in the Autumn it is necessary for the plant to go through its "recharging" routine to produce healthy bulbs. I normally clip the spent flower stem right after the flower fades to make the plants look less ragged but I would never remove any undiseased leaves. Thank you John :) -- Pete C London UK |
daffodill bulbs
On Apr 20, 7:09�pm, wrote:
I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? Daffodils are very hardy and resiliant... unless you're going to enter a daff contest for best of show there's no need to do anything and they will continue to thrive and produce more and more year after year... even if you mow them before the flowers fade once established they will do just fine. You need to concern yourself more with critters ravaging daffs, deer and rabbits won't eat them but squirrels and chipmonks love them... still most will live on. |
daffodill bulbs
John McGaw said:
Pete C wrote: David E. Ross wrote: On 4/20/2008 4:45 PM, Charlie wrote: On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:09:09 -0700 (PDT), wrote: I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? Just leave 'em be. They will be back, year after year. I'm sorry for your loss, whenever it was. Care Charlie Daffodills are quite hardy. They will survive most winters, even with snow and freezing weather. Just plant summer annuals over them without digging them up. The one problem you might have is if the cemetary maintenance crew mows over your father's grave. Cutting the daffodill foliage before it turns yellow and dies will weaken the bulbs. If this happens, you might as well dig up the bulbs and trash them. I thought you could dig them up, with tops, store in a paper bag in the dark until tops die off, and replant next year? Or am I getting confused? :) Probably you are confused. No, that would be you. =) They will do fine, and even thrive, when done as Pete C questioned. We dug up thousands last spring, after they finished blooming. Laid them all out under an overhang to finish yellowing/drying, cut the foilage off, and stored them in bulb crates under a bench at work. I brought home several hundred last fall, and /every one/ of them is still in full bloom (3 weeks now). The rest, re-planted at work, are also thriving. It is necessary for the plants to remain in a normal growing state with roots and foliage intact so that they can support bulb growth which is what makes the new plants and flowers the next Spring. 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. As soon as the plant has finished this process the foliage dies back and all that remains is the bulb (or bulbs) under the ground. Typically one can plant annuals around the remaining daffodil foliage to make it less obvious but even if the bulb is to be dug and re-planted in the Autumn it is necessary for the plant to go through its "recharging" routine to produce healthy bulbs. I normally clip the spent flower stem right after the flower fades to make the plants look less ragged but I would never remove any undiseased leaves. And, they wouldn't be removed if dug up, intact. They'll still produce food, and you don't have the ragged, yellowed foilage in the bed. Yup, you can plant around them. You can also dig them up, just fine. -- Eggs Most books now say our sun is a star. But it still knows how to change back into a sun in the daytime. |
daffodill bulbs
On 4/21/2008 3:07 PM, Eggs Zachtly wrote:
John McGaw said: Pete C wrote: David E. Ross wrote: On 4/20/2008 4:45 PM, Charlie wrote: On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:09:09 -0700 (PDT), wrote: I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the autumn? Just leave 'em be. They will be back, year after year. I'm sorry for your loss, whenever it was. Care Charlie Daffodills are quite hardy. They will survive most winters, even with snow and freezing weather. Just plant summer annuals over them without digging them up. The one problem you might have is if the cemetary maintenance crew mows over your father's grave. Cutting the daffodill foliage before it turns yellow and dies will weaken the bulbs. If this happens, you might as well dig up the bulbs and trash them. I thought you could dig them up, with tops, store in a paper bag in the dark until tops die off, and replant next year? Or am I getting confused? :) Probably you are confused. No, that would be you. =) They will do fine, and even thrive, when done as Pete C questioned. We dug up thousands last spring, after they finished blooming. Laid them all out under an overhang to finish yellowing/drying, cut the foilage off, and stored them in bulb crates under a bench at work. I brought home several hundred last fall, and /every one/ of them is still in full bloom (3 weeks now). The rest, re-planted at work, are also thriving. It is necessary for the plants to remain in a normal growing state with roots and foliage intact so that they can support bulb growth which is what makes the new plants and flowers the next Spring. 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. As soon as the plant has finished this process the foliage dies back and all that remains is the bulb (or bulbs) under the ground. Typically one can plant annuals around the remaining daffodil foliage to make it less obvious but even if the bulb is to be dug and re-planted in the Autumn it is necessary for the plant to go through its "recharging" routine to produce healthy bulbs. I normally clip the spent flower stem right after the flower fades to make the plants look less ragged but I would never remove any undiseased leaves. And, they wouldn't be removed if dug up, intact. They'll still produce food, and you don't have the ragged, yellowed foilage in the bed. Yup, you can plant around them. You can also dig them up, just fine. Perhaps in England (where the original poster apparently lives), roots might not be important in allowing nutrients to migrate into the bulb. In my climate, the relative humidity tends to be much lower (21% at noon). Without roots supplying moisture, the leaves would prematurely wilt and shrivel before they could complete their task. Also, leaving the bulbs in the ground through the summer keeps them cool; summer temperatures here often exceed 90F and even 100F. -- David E. Ross Climate: California Mediterranean Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19) Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/ |
daffodill bulbs
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. 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. 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. 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. -- John McGaw [Knoxville, TN, USA] http://johnmcgaw.com |
daffodill bulbs
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. ;) -- Eggs Do Amish people get one phone call when arrested? |
daffodill bulbs
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 -- Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA |
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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