I'm just now getting mine in the ground but Good Lord I didn't have 40 lbs! I thought 45 bulbs was a lot! Where in the world do you put them all?!? We've already had some hard frosts and I still have one pack of bulbs to go.

I was realistic this year. I only bought about 50 bulbs to plant this year, mostly for potting up. I knew I just wouldn't get around to it, so I really worked hard at self-restraint, lol!

Of course, come spring, I sure am going to wish I had planted lots more!

:)
Dee

Oh, Nancy, Same here! And I'm gettingold and slowing down which doesn't help things, either.

I feel like May just passed me by and I have been playing catch up all summer and fall. Friday I received 3 dozen gigantic Lily bulbs from The Lily Garden, so I am in deep doo doo. (Did I mention I also have more WS containers to plant from this spring?)

Lime

Dee - -thanks for reminding me that part of that 40lbs is a big bag of 100 paperwhite bulbs I'd bought to set and start in pretty little bowls for xmas presents.

OH boy.. Now I have to put off planting the other bulbs again cause I'd better go out and find those "pretty little bowls" at the stores tomorrow and start those babies rooting!!!! Or the "Paperwhite Santa" isn't arriving! Anyone remember how long they take to grow enough and bud out alittle to look pretty for gifts?

Glad I have company Lime! And I know you've been drying and cleaning and packaging seed because I received quite a few of yours in the "Fall Fresh Seed swap". Did your seed ever arrive...? I saw some chat about people still waiting.

Nancy

Nancy:
You expressed my sentiments completely - this WSing is a year-round activity. This year, I grew more than I expected, and in addition to fall clean-up, I decided to 'make' a new bed. I did it in sections, collecting food scraps, etc. for the first layer and it was slow going so I delayed ordering my bulbs, so that if I did not have time, I just would have no new bulbs. So I ordered Nov. 3 when the bed was finished. My tulip order arrived last week and went in already. Still awaiting my lilies, but we are expecting one warm day next week, so I hope they get here in time. Bonus: by ordering that late I got all my bulbs at 50% off - must try that next time.

Tuesday was my marathon day-transplanting blueberry bushes, roses, perennials that were rescued from the now grass in the back, as well as new baby perennials. Under some of the transplants were tulip and lily bulbs I tucked into these giant pots also from the grass area. I knew I had them there, but wasn't sure how they'd be come fall.
Got them all in but I still haven't gotten my garlic in. It's been outside since then, hope it's still ok.

I wanted to order more this fall but held back, at least bulb-wise. Only some allium and anemone this time.

I finished my last hundred bulbs last week. Since I started on October 21st (My birthday. It's a reliable kickoff for the bulb planting marathon in my region!) I've planted 320 bulbs. I plant them everywhere so spring is like a surprise party because I never remember where they are!

I use the interplanting method to plant them all becuase my yard is small. Plant tulips, daffodils, and large alliums first, cover only halfway and plant small muscaris, squill, chionodoxa, and small alliums on top of the larger bulbs!

Yup, that "Spring surprise" - - pretty flowers popping up where I'd forgotten I'd even planted them - - was what I was aiming for when I got a bit carried away with the bulb order! It's all Donn's fault (smile), he had posted about getting a bulb order in and I figured I'd follow his great example! But I bet he had his planted.In fact, he hasn't been around much on the forum lately - - are you out planting all your bulbs on time Donn?

I also got a throw off track by making new beds and reorganizing older ones in the early fall. That's a lot of work and takes time. But I do have one thats almost empty (only a WS can know how exciting this is! Available dirt!) for spring planting. Maybe I will just place the majority of my 40lbs in there cause I can do a lot at a time there.

Nancy

The first fall after we'd moved into our house I was outside in the dark with a flashlight planting my bulbs on a cold November night. My neighbor came out and asked me what in the world I was doing- it made a pretty Hitchcockian picture - so I assured him they were just tulips, not my husband. MsB

LOL!! MrsB. Nice one!

We've had a few hard frosts and today got our first snowfall. The ground won't freeze here until late December at the earliest, so the Alliums and Ostrich Ferns I have yet to plant will be going in the ground this week. Last week I planted over 200 different Alliums and a few Daffodils.

We don't do tulips here since we never see them. They are considered deer food. The other night, with broom in hand, I was chasing 5 of them off the property. Grrrrr.

Nancy, I hope you like my seeds, and no, we haven't gotten anything back yet. If I were stuck like that on a big swap, I'd be tempted to buy $15.00 worth of seed and split the packs and fill the remaining envies just to get them out of my hair. She must have an iron constitution! (Don't anybdy misread that, I am actually not in any hurry to get the seeds excpet I am always excited to see what I'm getting)

You probably already know a lot of this, but regarding your paperwhites, I have some ideas from an article I wrote for the Daffodil Newsletter I hope you don't mind me sharing. You know how they can get awfully tall and flop over in an unattrative way riiiiight when they are starting to bloom? I have 2 tips you can use to keep them shorter and have what I call a "higher bloom to foliage ratio". (Meaning it looks like there is as much flower as foliage.)

1. Put a teaspoon of gin or vodka in the water when you start them. That is misleading because you just "put some in" according to how much water is in there.

2. Put them in a dark chilly room, closet, basement or garage to root. Make sure they are dark and it is chilly. I think they root in a week and they bloom in 2 weeks after that, but you can hold them a month or up to 3 months if it's dark and chilly.

3. Instead of putting them in a low saucer or dog dish-shaped thing with rocks, put them in a clear (or colored) glass vase. You need to put about 5 bulbs in your purse or pocket before you go shopping to make sure they will fit inside the base of the vase.

I use the cheapest ones I can find from Goodwill where they cost about $1.00 each and are shaped like a hourglass. It's sort of cruel because I stuff the bases full and the recipeinet have a devil of a time getting the bulbs back out. The vases are hard to find at Goodwill this time of year because smart alecs who hear the tip run out and buy everything they have on the shelves.

Put your bulbs, nose up, in the base and if you think it's too tight a fit, just rotate one or two bulbs because they are never perfectly round and if it's close, you can usuallyjam themin. I'm going by memory, but I believe a Dutchman once told me the bulbs never get any larger, only smaller.

When you add water, the skins of the daffodils will stain the water in an unnattractive way, so do an overnight bulb presoak so you don't have skins falling off -- it keeps the water much cleaner, but is messier to put together.

The foliage can get 18-20-" tall, so look at your vase and decide if you need the vodka or gin. You might not.

The side walls of the vase will keep the foliage upright and look very cool. The roots will show through, but you can leave them as-is or add rocks.

Keep the water just above or just touching the basal plate (the base) of the bulb and never let it get dry. Once they start rooting, they will elevate themselves, and if you flub up on the water it won't be the end of the world.

They do well in regular household light, but that makes them eventaller as they reach for the light, so truly, consider those vases to corral the foliage. You can put a pretty ribbon around them if you get the hour glass shapes, or scotch tape 2 contrasting ribbons to the other shaped vases.

Lime

I am going to try your vase idea Lime! Unfortunately, I was one day ahead of your post on buying the pots for the gift pots I am making up. But they are a little taller, the ones I bought, clear glass that look like clay pot shapes. For the ones I am forcing for my own house, I'll try the vases - I must have a few that shape in my vast supply (hubby says if I pick up one more at a thrift store we all have to move to the shed). Not having them flop over would be great.

Tell me about what the gin or vodka does! Does it help them grow stronger and shorter? And thanks for the growing tips. It looks like I have time - good! I will wait till Thanksgiving weekend and start them in a cold dark workshop space in the basement. And I will soak them to remove skins before hand.

I was so upset to hear you have not received your seeds from the person hosting the swap. I got mine over 3 weeks ago. Please let me know if yours don't come and I will put together a surprise package to send you! I'd feel to guilty planting the ones I received in the swap knowing others lost out. I wonder what happened?

Nancy

I'm WAY behind...but it's supposed to be in the 50s on Wednesday...looks like a leaf raking, bed-mulching, bulb-planting day.

Linda

Very productive weekend for me - got all the bulbs IN the ground and got the caladiums and dalias OUT of the ground to store for the winter! I also dug up tender geraniums, put some in a pot in the house and I am going to try that "put em in box in a cool basement" strategy that was discussed on another thread for the rest of them. Nothing to lose as they would just die outside anyway.....

Nancy