Overwintering bulbs - tulips, crocus, lilies - in containers
xmpraedicta
9 years ago
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marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
9 years agoxmpraedicta
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Container planted bulbs/Newbie needs your expert opinion!
Comments (6)Hi Alina Yes, a bulb to a 5 litre bag. Make drainage holes in the bottom of the bag. Take out about the top third of the mix and put in the bulb, then cover it up. I'm not sure what you would do over winter because winter here is more wet and miserable than 'frost and snow'. Perhaps placing the bags in a polystyrene box and wrapping with plastic bubble sheet before putting it in the basement. So long as they don't dry out - and you have a note on the calendar to remind you to check for signs of returning life. Asters will also grow and flower in bags - but they don't reach their full height because they bulk up very rapidly and dry out quickly in the summer. Erigeron is also a possibility. If it isn't a pest plant in your area, Erigeron karvinskianus can be a very useful filler, and several of the others flower for long periods, too. The best way to water plants in bags is to plunge them in a bucket of water, wait until the bubbles stop, then put them to drain. It's very easy to add a dilute solution of fertiliser to the water - to do two jobs at once. For 'in between' - tall forget-me-not (Myosotis), ornamental cabbages or kale(!), Violas, Calendula, Hosta, Thalictrum (foliage), grasses and sedges, Geranium, Corydalis, Nigella, dwarf Aquilegia. (You can tell I like the 'misty/frothy' look!) Heuchera, Tiarella, large Ajuga. Echeveria secunda, creeping Phlox, Anemone coronaria in a single colour, dwarf wallflowers... Diascia, Mimulus, Nemesia. By themselves or two varieties eg forget-me-not and cream wallflowers, Nigella and Hosta. It's really hard to say because I don't know when plants come out in your area, or whether you experience sudden heat spells which can definitely shorten the flowering time of a display. My own view, with the parrot tulips, is to let them be the stars of the piece and use a solid colour in the supporting plant's flowers either as a foil or to echo one of the colours in their petals. Or have foliage which does the same thing....See MoreOverwintering in Zone 3b / the utility of bulb pans
Comments (3)Hi Calvin, It is really doubtful that you can overwinter those bulbs in containers in Saskatoon, unless you bury the containers in the ground. I tried bulbs in containers standing slone, bulbs in containers surrounded with bags of leaves and bulbs in containers in a cooler in an unheated garage. I ended with mush in spring no matter what. And Chicago winter is not as brutal as one you have in Saskatoon. I do wonder if the bulbs will survive if you set the cooler against the wall ajacent to your house. I have not tried planting crocus in bulb pans, so I don't know how long lived the crocus will be in them. I hope the lily and perennials in your special enclosure will make it through the winter for you. Good luck with your garden....See Moreoverwintering spring bulbs in containers
Comments (2)Not much of a help from me, but have to say that I don't have a very good results by overwintering potted tulips neither in dark garage nor in exposed, but somewhat protected pots outside. they either sprouted very early and become spindly or were frozen to death. The only limited success I had with potted tulips is when I half-buried pots in a soil or compost piles. I call it 'limited success' due to the fact that I potted all leftovers, 2-3 of each of 5-7 varieties I was planting that season, in a same pot and since they all had a different bloom time, every pot was a mess and no impact, though they all bloomed nevertheless....See MoreCrocus, Hyacinth and Tulip growth!
Comments (9)I am excited for you. In my garden flower bed (s) I have close to the same things popping up. I did not put in the refrigerator so I am excited when you will be able to post photos. I have many irises that have been getting thick stocks. I still have more irises that I purchased from Facebook that I was not able to plant into my yard before the weather changed but they are in the coolness of my shed. I also have to purchase more metal stakes as this is the year I decided to mark all the irises with their proper plant names. Good Luck to you. Gretchen...See Moredon555
9 years agoMarla Geier
8 years agoxmpraedicta
8 years agoxmpraedicta
8 years agoubro
8 years agoubro
8 years ago
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