questions from a 'worry-wart'

ryseryse_2004

10 years ago

I have learned from another post that I must allow my bulbs to rest for 4-6 weeks before re-potting. Well, the ones I dug a couple of weeks ago are in the basement in paper bags with no soil and I am hoping they will go dormant. A few outside leaves of some have turned yellow but there is new growth in the middle of many! STOP IT --- GO TO SLEEP RIGHT NOW!!!! I feel I am talking to children.

The basement is unheated but certainly not as cold as outdoors. But it is freezing outside at night now so I can't have them out there. (The babies are planted in pots and I will just give them a little drink once in awhile as instructed by you wonderful experts.)

Since shouting doesn't work, how do I get them to go dormant? I guess I won't have blooms at Christmas eh?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
10 years ago
You know, it's strange how some of these bulbs do have a mind of their own! I was inspecting my bulbs down in our furnace room; the ones that still have some leaves that were brought in from the out of doors a few weeks ago and my Pink Diamond has two leaves with an offset with one leaf and each is sending up a bud!! So I look some more and find a bud on a Gervase offset (2 golfball sized offsets and the mother bulb in one pot) all still with a leaf of two. Some of these bulbs just want to continue to grow so I let them. The ones that totally loose all their leaves go out in the garage where it is considerably cooler for the next few months,

The moral of the story is if you have to have blooms for the holidays, I suggest that you buy a few new bulbs that have been primed by the growers to bloom for the holiday season. As for your other bulbs I'd just let them do what they want. If they are still growing leaves I'd pot them back up and let them grow on and they will most likely give you joyous blooms in Feb and March..I found that last season most all of my older bulbs bloomed eventually without a dormancy and without being pulled from their pots. Just my opinion of course as we all have different methods of dealing with our bulbs for the fall and winter. (give a couple of lucky new bulbs a home ;-))

Good Luck,

Donna
ryseryse_2004
Original Author
10 years ago
How long do they have to be dormant before potting them up again? It doesn't matter to me if I have blooms at Christmas --- actually some indoor color in the dreary month of February would be great!

Also, I have them all just in paper bags with no soil - is that too dry?
Related Discussions
Rose has... warts?
Q
Comments (5)
OOPS! That is GALL. You don't want that in your garden at all. I take it that it is still in a pot? If so, GOOD. Take it and dump it into the trash. If the pots are cheap, dump them, too. If they're expensive, sterilize them with bleach, and let them sit in the sun for a while. This is caused by a bacterium -- Agrobacterium tumefaciens. If you have no other roses, the rose probably came with the disease. (I've had this happen several times.) The thing is, since it is a bacteria, it can spread to other plants. So clippers or anything else that was used on this plant should also be sterilized with a bleach solution. One of the first Austin roses I ever bought came from a very "toney" SoCal nursery of the day, and cost something like $40, which was big money in the late 1980's. I thought about all that, as I dropped it into the trash can. :-( Jeri
...See More
anyone worried about ink from mail?
Q
Comments (14)
That's the right way, reduce, reuse THEN recycle. I see your point about safety but I'm not sure dogs eating garbage is a good analogy. One has to keep in mind that we don't eat the paper, nor the compost, nor the soil (except in tiny amounts). Anything in that tiny amount of ink has to find its way through all those dilution and transfer steps into the part of a plant that you actually eat, and then into your body, in quantities sufficient to cause a problem, in order to be an actual risk. For me it seems like a stretch. Hard information on this is hard to come by. I use a weight of evidence approach. Based on the info I have been able to find, there is some uncertainty, but for me there are more pebbles on the safe side of the scale than on the other side. I am a spectator since I don't compost paper, but I think there are bigger fish to fry. I do compost a lot of sawdust, and I keep the treated stuff out religiously. I *know* the levels of metals in that stuff and they are much much higher.
...See More
Hummingbirds question/worry
Q
Comments (6)
bizzarbazzar, There are lots of sites that give information about hummingbird breeding ranges, etc. Just try googling Montana, hummingbirds, range maps, etc etc. From what I can see, the major species of breeding hummingbirds in Montana are the Calliope and Rufous. There are also Broad-tailed breeding in the west, and Black-chinned, plus occasional ruby-throats, as well, up in the north central part. Anna's and Costa's are listed as transients. Take a look at this website, and you will find range maps for the various hummingbirds found in Montana. It's a government, fish and wildlife type site, so they ought to know. I'm not sure where you are in Montana, but I hope it's in the west. There just don't seem to be many hummingbirds at all in the southeast and central parts of the state. They're mostly found in the mountainous west. Some advice about the website--I found that if you used the search feature, the site got flaky. It's best to just click on the species, and you should be able to get a range map. If you go to the bottom of the page and click on "Montana Bird List," then click on "General Search" on the left, you will get to a query page that will allow you to scroll down to whatever species of bird you want, then track down more specific sighting information. The results will display code letters for the type of sighting--Direct evidence of breeding, Indirect evidence of breeding, transient, overwintering, etc. If you're really intensely interested, you might consider wading through this query feature. Otherwise, just read the info, look at the range maps, and see what species might be seen in your area. Here is a link that might be useful: Montana hummingbird ranges
...See More
Worry-Wart Mom says Why Do This?
Q
Comments (10)
It may not cost less to renovate than to build new, but that may not be the point. The new place sounds like something I would snap up in a minute. It sounds like it has great lines, nice features, a fabulous lot, and is a nice space. The location sounds fine to me - not that I know Chicago - but then I live in a small stretch of houses in a semi-industrial area myself. And I guess we are old house nerds :-) We took on an old house when we had a toddler, and we did it in complete ignorance of what it would take to fix it, just because it appealed to us, we like old things, we're handy and we like projects, we liked the location... and because we liked the woodwork (trust me, it's not the same to move it. It just fits here). We had a year of weekends in advance of moving in to do major work, and I would recommend a similar chunk of time but many people seem able to dispense with it. That gave my parents a lot of time with our toddler, which they enjoyed, no matter how misguided they thought our endeavor was. And there's no question that it was misguided, given that we were heading into what were going to be the busiest years of our lives anyway. There's no question it's been a tough row to hoe, and sometimes the house feels like a millstone on our lives. However, I don't think anyone could have talked us out of it, and if they had, I'd always be wondering "what if?" As it is, we've had the experience and we could sell any time. And that is perhaps a key, this proposed house sounds like it can only be improved. So even if they go for it, do a bit of the work and decide it's too much, they can probably sell it as a better product than it is now. Your DS/DIL sound as if they have had some experience with renovations, and as if their taste in houses is consistent. It also sounds like a logical step up in many ways - better street, better neighbourhood, slightly bigger. Doesn't sound stupid to me, even if it is different from what you would do in their shoes. And that's what we have trouble accepting as parents, isn't it? As far as money goes, the nice thing about renovation vs. new construction is that with renovation, there is some hope that you can earn the money at the pace that it needs to be spent. With new construction, you take on a big debt. That may feel more daunting to them than the work needing to be done in this house does to you. KarinL
...See More
HU-17497
10 years ago
As I understand it forcing your bulbs to flower is it too make them bloom when you want them to. if you don't care about having blooms around christmas time, then might I suggest next time just leaving them in the pot and enjoying the plant. I don't force any of my bulbs to flower but then again there all in the ground.

On another note, I believe we all know about or have seen/used the software where I talk and it types. Well right under this is the UNCORRECTED version of the top paragraph.

susan forcing your folders into is it too make them alone when you want them to if you don't care about having balloons around christmas time do my text jess next time just leaving them in the pot and enjoying the plant I don't force any of my balls but then again they can't be found
salpal
10 years ago
Too funny! Especially the balloons and how they "can't be found"!

questions from a 'worry-wart'

Comments (4)

dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts

ryseryse_2004
Original Author

Related Discussions

HU-17497

salpal

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

questions from a 'worry-wart'

Comments (4)

dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts

ryseryse_2004Original Author

Related Discussions

HU-17497

salpal

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ryseryse_2004
Original Author