Re-landscaping someone's garden at the min, laying paving etc and I've
excavated a flowerbed in order to pave over it.
There are hundreds of bulbs there, I've salvaged a bucketful but no idea
what they are, google images isn't helping.

They have no roots coming off the bottom, are pure white, no skin (tunic?)
they're about 1.5 inches round, they look like new potatoes! also they have
an indentation on top where previous growth has been.

I suppose the closest match I've found is grape hyacinth, but they seem to
have a reddish tinge and these have no other colours anywhere other than
white.

if they are grapes I'll probably not plant them here as they tend to go a
bit berserk

On 27/07/2015 21:38, Phil L wrote:
Re-landscaping someone's garden at the min, laying paving etc and I've
excavated a flowerbed in order to pave over it.
There are hundreds of bulbs there, I've salvaged a bucketful but no idea
what they are, google images isn't helping.

They have no roots coming off the bottom, are pure white, no skin (tunic?)
they're about 1.5 inches round, they look like new potatoes! also they have
an indentation on top where previous growth has been.

I suppose the closest match I've found is grape hyacinth, but they seem to
have a reddish tinge and these have no other colours anywhere other than
white.

if they are grapes I'll probably not plant them here as they tend to go a
bit berserk




Not sure about the reddish tinge, but might Allium be a possibility?
You may find, if so, that they have an onion scent.
--
Spider
On high ground in SE London
Gardening on heavy clay

"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 27/07/2015 21:38, Phil L wrote:
Re-landscaping someone's garden at the min, laying paving etc and I've
excavated a flowerbed in order to pave over it.
There are hundreds of bulbs there, I've salvaged a bucketful but no idea
what they are, google images isn't helping.

They have no roots coming off the bottom, are pure white, no skin
(tunic?)
they're about 1.5 inches round, they look like new potatoes! also they
have
an indentation on top where previous growth has been.

I suppose the closest match I've found is grape hyacinth, but they seem
to
have a reddish tinge and these have no other colours anywhere other than
white.

if they are grapes I'll probably not plant them here as they tend to go a
bit berserk




Not sure about the reddish tinge, but might Allium be a possibility? You
may find, if so, that they have an onion scent.

I googled allium and most didn't look anything like my bulbs, but then i got
this page up:
http://www.bulbblog.com/big-purple-ball-flowers/
And that bulb on the left (that looks like a spud!) is the spitting image of
mine, although that hand must be a child's as my bulbs are about a quarter
of that size, some are only an inch across

I've got about 50 of them and there must be another 4 - 5 hundred scattered
around the site

On 27/07/2015 21:45, Spider wrote:
On 27/07/2015 21:38, Phil L wrote:
Re-landscaping someone's garden at the min, laying paving etc and I've
excavated a flowerbed in order to pave over it.
There are hundreds of bulbs there, I've salvaged a bucketful but no idea
what they are, google images isn't helping.

They have no roots coming off the bottom, are pure white, no skin
(tunic?)
they're about 1.5 inches round, they look like new potatoes! also they
have
an indentation on top where previous growth has been.

I suppose the closest match I've found is grape hyacinth, but they
seem to
have a reddish tinge and these have no other colours anywhere other than
white.

if they are grapes I'll probably not plant them here as they tend to go a
bit berserk




Not sure about the reddish tinge, but might Allium be a possibility? You
may find, if so, that they have an onion scent.

My thought is bluebell bulbs, but why not ask a neighbour if they know
what grew there.
To have no foliage now they must be spring flowering.
David @ a wintry side of Swansea Bay

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 27/07/2015 21:45, Spider wrote:
On 27/07/2015 21:38, Phil L wrote:
Re-landscaping someone's garden at the min, laying paving etc and I've
excavated a flowerbed in order to pave over it.
There are hundreds of bulbs there, I've salvaged a bucketful but no idea
what they are, google images isn't helping.

They have no roots coming off the bottom, are pure white, no skin
(tunic?)
they're about 1.5 inches round, they look like new potatoes! also they
have
an indentation on top where previous growth has been.

I suppose the closest match I've found is grape hyacinth, but they
seem to
have a reddish tinge and these have no other colours anywhere other than
white.

if they are grapes I'll probably not plant them here as they tend to go
a
bit berserk




Not sure about the reddish tinge, but might Allium be a possibility? You
may find, if so, that they have an onion scent.

My thought is bluebell bulbs, but why not ask a neighbour if they know
what grew there.
To have no foliage now they must be spring flowering.
David @ a wintry side of Swansea Bay

That's really good idea! I think 1.5 inches is too big for grape hyacinths
and bluebells though.
I've never grown alliums so can offer no thoughts on that.

On 28/07/2015 6:55 AM, Phil L wrote:

I've got about 50 of them and there must be another 4 - 5 hundred scattered
around the site

I never say no when I'm offered bulbs of any description given that I
have a large garden. They're invariably offered when I have no spot at
all available to put them so I have to quickly find a temporary home for
them as I hate to see good bulbs go to waste.

If you too don't like such waste, I can recommend polystyrene
fruit/vegetable boxes as a good temp home. I've sometimes shoved them
in many layers deep in potting mix and left them there for far longer
than is right, but the insulation provided by the polystyrene seems to
work to keep them alive and in good nick. I still have one iris
languishing in the potting slum in an old broccoli box and it's been
there for at least 3 years and is doing well despite the light level
being lower than optimal.

Re-landscaping someone's garden at the min, laying paving etc and I've
excavated a flowerbed in order to pave over it.
There are hundreds of bulbs there, I've salvaged a bucketful but no idea
what they are, google images isn't helping.

They have no roots coming off the bottom, are pure white, no skin (tunic?)
they're about 1.5 inches round, they look like new potatoes! also they have
an indentation on top where previous growth has been.


Your description is similar to the Spanish Bluebell bulbs I often dig up.

Mike

On 28/07/15 00:16, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 28/07/2015 6:55 AM, Phil L wrote:

I've got about 50 of them and there must be another 4 - 5 hundred scattered
around the site

I never say no when I'm offered bulbs of any description given that I
have a large garden.

You've never come across Allium viminalis 'Hair', then. Should be
renamed Allium verminalis. Another appalling invasive plant whose seeds
get everywhere (I think they are more like small bulbils than seeds). If
you are offered it, my advice is to say "No"!

--

Jeff

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Jul 2015 22:29:51 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:


"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 27/07/2015 21:45, Spider wrote:
On 27/07/2015 21:38, Phil L wrote:
Re-landscaping someone's garden at the min, laying paving etc and I've
excavated a flowerbed in order to pave over it.
There are hundreds of bulbs there, I've salvaged a bucketful but no
idea
what they are, google images isn't helping.

They have no roots coming off the bottom, are pure white, no skin
(tunic?)
they're about 1.5 inches round, they look like new potatoes! also they
have
an indentation on top where previous growth has been.

I suppose the closest match I've found is grape hyacinth, but they
seem to
have a reddish tinge and these have no other colours anywhere other
than
white.

if they are grapes I'll probably not plant them here as they tend to
go
a
bit berserk




Not sure about the reddish tinge, but might Allium be a possibility?
You
may find, if so, that they have an onion scent.

My thought is bluebell bulbs, but why not ask a neighbour if they know
what grew there.
To have no foliage now they must be spring flowering.
David @ a wintry side of Swansea Bay

That's really good idea! I think 1.5 inches is too big for grape
hyacinths
and bluebells though.

LOL! You've obviously never had to dig out dozens of them as I have,
Spanish ones from my mother's garden where they had become rampant,
spreading both by seed and bulb offsets. Easily distinguished from
daffs and other narcissi. Spanish bluebell bulbs come in all sorts of
sizes and shapes, from elongated sausages up to about 4" long, to
near-spheres up to about 2" diameter, but all pure white and seem to
shed the soil cleanly.

No onion smell so not allium.
They range in size from chestnut to golfball, some of those left behind
resembled fingers, elongated thin ones.


I think they are bluebells, spanish ones probably.
I've already got a handfull of these in my garden and not keen on having
more.

There's a few graves I visit, might take a few over later on in the week.

Cheers all

On 28/07/2015 8:08 PM, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 28/07/15 00:16, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 28/07/2015 6:55 AM, Phil L wrote:

I've got about 50 of them and there must be another 4 - 5 hundred
scattered
around the site

I never say no when I'm offered bulbs of any description given that I
have a large garden.

You've never come across Allium viminalis 'Hair', then. Should be
renamed Allium verminalis. Another appalling invasive plant whose seeds
get everywhere (I think they are more like small bulbils than seeds). If
you are offered it, my advice is to say "No"!


No, I've not come across that one but then now you mention it, I'd say
the same for Crocosmia. Nasty bush destroying ravagers they are. I
must look up that Allium as the nly time I've tried to grow the big
alliums, I managed to kill them. And they always look so lovely in
British gardneing magazines.

On 29/07/15 00:04, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 28/07/2015 8:08 PM, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 28/07/15 00:16, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 28/07/2015 6:55 AM, Phil L wrote:

I've got about 50 of them and there must be another 4 - 5 hundred
scattered
around the site

I never say no when I'm offered bulbs of any description given that I
have a large garden.

You've never come across Allium viminalis 'Hair', then. Should be
renamed Allium verminalis. Another appalling invasive plant whose seeds
get everywhere (I think they are more like small bulbils than seeds). If
you are offered it, my advice is to say "No"!


No, I've not come across that one but then now you mention it, I'd say
the same for Crocosmia. Nasty bush destroying ravagers they are. I
must look up that Allium as the nly time I've tried to grow the big
alliums, I managed to kill them. And they always look so lovely in
British gardneing magazines.

Sorry - should have been Allium vineale, not viminalis.

--

Jeff

In article ,
Fran Farmer wrote:
On 28/07/2015 8:08 PM, Jeff Layman wrote:

You've never come across Allium viminalis 'Hair', then. Should be
renamed Allium verminalis. Another appalling invasive plant whose seeds
get everywhere (I think they are more like small bulbils than seeds). If
you are offered it, my advice is to say "No"!

No, I've not come across that one but then now you mention it, I'd say
the same for Crocosmia. Nasty bush destroying ravagers they are. I
must look up that Allium as the nly time I've tried to grow the big
alliums, I managed to kill them. And they always look so lovely in
British gardneing magazines.

There are very few plants that are invasive except in a few conditions,
and even fewer that are seriously harmful. Crocosmia is invasive in
the West Country, but neither harmful there nor invasive over most of
the country. Allium christophii is invasive in my flower beds, but
only in the areas that have bare soil for half the year and full sun
for all of it - it doesn't even establish where there is permanent
ground cover or partial shade. And so on.

Most of the UK has an ecology made up entirely of recent invaders and
introductions, and is probably the most resilient in the world, which
is why all this blither about invasive land plants is just that (with
VERY few exceptions, mainly Japanese knotweed). Australia is different.
And, since a plant can be invasive in only one part of a small garden
and not others, talking about a plant being invasive in absolute terms
is misleading at best.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 29/07/2015 6:01 PM, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Fran Farmer wrote:
On 28/07/2015 8:08 PM, Jeff Layman wrote:

You've never come across Allium viminalis 'Hair', then. Should be
renamed Allium verminalis. Another appalling invasive plant whose seeds
get everywhere (I think they are more like small bulbils than seeds). If
you are offered it, my advice is to say "No"!

No, I've not come across that one but then now you mention it, I'd say
the same for Crocosmia. Nasty bush destroying ravagers they are. I
must look up that Allium as the nly time I've tried to grow the big
alliums, I managed to kill them. And they always look so lovely in
British gardneing magazines.

There are very few plants that are invasive except in a few conditions,
and even fewer that are seriously harmful. Crocosmia is invasive in
the West Country, but neither harmful there nor invasive over most of
the country. Allium christophii is invasive in my flower beds, but
only in the areas that have bare soil for half the year and full sun
for all of it - it doesn't even establish where there is permanent
ground cover or partial shade. And so on.

Most of the UK has an ecology made up entirely of recent invaders and
introductions, and is probably the most resilient in the world, which
is why all this blither about invasive land plants is just that (with
VERY few exceptions, mainly Japanese knotweed). Australia is different.
And, since a plant can be invasive in only one part of a small garden
and not others, talking about a plant being invasive in absolute terms
is misleading at best.

Although you clearly know of my location, I hadn't thought that any
other reader of this ng would have assumed from my mention of "bush
destroying" that I was referring to crocosmia grown in the UK.

Here, crocosmia is indeed an invasive plant. It's a declared noxious
weed (with a consequent legal obligation to destroy it on private land)
in very large parts of every State of Australia. Europe will fit within
the coastline of Australia so that reveals exactly how large a problem
this single garden escapee is here.

You can read about it here and although this is only a cite from one
State (Queensland), I can supply some for other States if you are
interested:
http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/we...osmiiflora.htm

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Jul 2015 22:29:51 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:


"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 27/07/2015 21:45, Spider wrote:
On 27/07/2015 21:38, Phil L wrote:
Re-landscaping someone's garden at the min, laying paving etc and I've
excavated a flowerbed in order to pave over it.
There are hundreds of bulbs there, I've salvaged a bucketful but no
idea
what they are, google images isn't helping.

They have no roots coming off the bottom, are pure white, no skin
(tunic?)
they're about 1.5 inches round, they look like new potatoes! also they
have
an indentation on top where previous growth has been.

I suppose the closest match I've found is grape hyacinth, but they
seem to
have a reddish tinge and these have no other colours anywhere other
than
white.

if they are grapes I'll probably not plant them here as they tend to
go
a
bit berserk




Not sure about the reddish tinge, but might Allium be a possibility?
You
may find, if so, that they have an onion scent.

My thought is bluebell bulbs, but why not ask a neighbour if they know
what grew there.
To have no foliage now they must be spring flowering.
David @ a wintry side of Swansea Bay

That's really good idea! I think 1.5 inches is too big for grape
hyacinths
and bluebells though.

LOL! You've obviously never had to dig out dozens of them as I have,
Spanish ones from my mother's garden where they had become rampant,
spreading both by seed and bulb offsets. Easily distinguished from
daffs and other narcissi. Spanish bluebell bulbs come in all sorts of
sizes and shapes, from elongated sausages up to about 4" long, to
near-spheres up to about 2" diameter, but all pure white and seem to
shed the soil cleanly.

I stand corrected, Chris, and yes you are right, I've never had to dig
Spanish bluebells up. I bow to your experience.
I do have some which the previous owner of this house planted, but they are
not particularly rampant after 30 years, so I haven't bothered to dig them
up.
The only thing they stopped me doing when I was establishing my wood was
planting genuine English bluebells.

On Tue, 28 Jul 2015 19:59:28 +0100, "Phil L"
wrote:

I think they are bluebells, spanish ones probably.
I've already got a handfull of these in my garden and not keen on having
more.

My immediate thought was Spanish bluebell. If you have even one in
your garden you will soon have more! I have battled with them
unsuccessfully!