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#1
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Fritillaria bulbs, still not planted aaagh!
"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in message ... On Wed, 18 Dec 2002 21:55:27 +0000 (UTC), Lynda Thornton wrote: We've had some cold frosty nights here recently and I wanted to know whether if I plant my fritillaria bulbs (in soil now, I've given up trying to put them under the lawn) will they die from cold shock? I know they flower very early, but they might not like being planted now? [Presuming that you are referring to Fritillaria meleagris] Pot them in sand, water *once*, and park the pot somewhere sheltered from the wind and rain. The bulbs are quite weak now from being out of the ground too long, and if you put them into soil many of them may rot. In sand, they have a better chance of plumping up and coming to life. If all goes well and they send up leaves in the spring, then feed them with a *weak* liquid fertilizer a few times -- about 1/4 as strong as normal. This will help them build up strength; sand isn't an awfully nutritious growing medium by itself. When the foliage yellows and dies down (June?), tip out the contents of the pot and plant out the resuscitated bulbs then and there. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada I agree with the above, I always do mine in potting compost rather than sand, but I barely any water, then the pots go under the greenhouse bench and are planted out growing in the spring. experiance with these bulbs is that it is a waste of time planting direct after buying. so you haven't lost too much by delaying! -- Charlie, gardening in Cornwall. http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs) |
#2
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Fritillaria bulbs, still not planted aaagh!
"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in message ... : On Wed, 18 Dec 2002 21:55:27 +0000 (UTC), Lynda Thornton : wrote: : : We've had some cold frosty nights here recently and I wanted to know : whether if I plant my fritillaria bulbs (in soil now, I've given up : trying to put them under the lawn) will they die from cold shock? I : know they flower very early, but they might not like being planted now? : : [Presuming that you are referring to Fritillaria meleagris] : : Pot them in sand, water *once*, and park the pot somewhere : sheltered from the wind and rain. The bulbs are quite weak now : from being out of the ground too long, and if you put them into : soil many of them may rot. In sand, they have a better chance of : plumping up and coming to life. : : If all goes well and they send up leaves in the spring, then feed : them with a *weak* liquid fertilizer a few times -- about 1/4 as : strong as normal. This will help them build up strength; sand : isn't an awfully nutritious growing medium by itself. : : When the foliage yellows and dies down (June?), tip out the : contents of the pot and plant out the resuscitated bulbs then and : there. : : : -- : Rodger Whitlock : Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Does this apply to other bulbs/corms? I have some tulips - which I gather will be OK as they are late planters anyway. The others I have are anemone de caen and dwarf lilies. K |
#3
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Fritillaria bulbs, still not planted aaagh!
On Thu, 19 Dec 2002 10:33:57 -0000, "K"
wrote: "Rodger Whitlock" wrote in message ... : Pot them in sand, water *once*, and park the pot somewhere : sheltered from the wind and rain. The bulbs are quite weak now : from being out of the ground too long, and if you put them into : soil many of them may rot. In sand, they have a better chance of : plumping up and coming to life. : : If all goes well and they send up leaves in the spring, then feed : them with a *weak* liquid fertilizer a few times -- about 1/4 as : strong as normal. This will help them build up strength; sand : isn't an awfully nutritious growing medium by itself. : : When the foliage yellows and dies down (June?), tip out the : contents of the pot and plant out the resuscitated bulbs then and : there. Does this apply to other bulbs/corms? I have some tulips - which I gather will be OK as they are late planters anyway. The others I have are anemone de caen and dwarf lilies. The method is one I learned (iirc) from one of E B Anderson's books. I used to have plunge frames for my terra cotta seed pots and would put weak and excessively desiccated bulbs directly into the sand plunge; a surprising number eventually revived. To this day I will pot up weak, flabby bulbs in sand for a season. Of course, you can not expect 100% success, but it seems a better course of action than planting them out directly in the garden. The advantage of sand over soil is that it is more or less free of pathogens: molds, fungi, bacteria, etc. And being inorganic won't become infected with these during the winter. As you already know, tulips can be planted quite late. They can take quite a lot of drying off, as can many narcissus. But Fritillaria meleagris, Leucojum vernuum, Anemone nemorosa, lilies, and Eranthis hyemalis (to name a few examples) detest the usually drying off given to bulbs. It is perhaps better to give all such as these the treatment I described. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
#4
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Fritillaria bulbs, still not planted aaagh!
"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in message ... : On Thu, 19 Dec 2002 10:33:57 -0000, "K" : wrote: : :: Does this apply to other bulbs/corms? I have some tulips - which I gather : will be OK as they are late planters anyway. The others I have are anemone : de caen and dwarf lilies. : : The method is one I learned (iirc) from one of E B Anderson's : books. I used to have plunge frames for my terra cotta seed pots : and would put weak and excessively desiccated bulbs directly into : the sand plunge; a surprising number eventually revived. To this : day I will pot up weak, flabby bulbs in sand for a season. Of : course, you can not expect 100% success, but it seems a better : course of action than planting them out directly in the garden. : : The advantage of sand over soil is that it is more or less free : of pathogens: molds, fungi, bacteria, etc. And being inorganic : won't become infected with these during the winter. : : As you already know, tulips can be planted quite late. They can : take quite a lot of drying off, as can many narcissus. But : Fritillaria meleagris, Leucojum vernuum, Anemone nemorosa, : lilies, and Eranthis hyemalis (to name a few examples) detest the : usually drying off given to bulbs. It is perhaps better to give : all such as these the treatment I described. : : : -- : Rodger Whitlock : Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Thanks, Roger, I'll give it a go, hopefully before Christmas. Nothing ventured ...... as they say. K |
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