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Anyone else not get all their bulbs in the ground yet?

19 years ago

Usually I have all of my bulbs planted by now.. I have them all in the garage and have only planted a handful..I have just been busy...boy this snow gave me a bit of a wake up call ...but glad to see I get another chance with the weather warming up a bit this week. Anyone else have bulbs they need to get in the ground yet?

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Comments (11)

giniene
19 years ago
I have about 100 bulbs that still need to be put in the ground. I was planning on doing it this past week-end. What a joke! Like you said, JoAnn, hopefully it will warm up during the week. I was also going to winter protect my roses next week-end, I hope it's not too late for them.
JustJoeyGirl
Original Author
19 years ago
I know what you mean, I didn't get to wrap my figs, or take care of my roses yet either. In fact, some of them were still in bloom with snow on them...it's nice out today, just waiting for a little more snow to melt before I start digging.. good luck!
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Sunday was a no starter but I got lucky in between cold spells and planted my bulbs yesterday afternoon. Just as I was collapsing the bulb boxes for recycling last night, I noticed two more bags of minor bulbs that had not been planted. The temperature had gone down to 33F by then but I donned my down coat, latex gloves and a hat and proceeded to plant the remainder of my bulbs. Thank goodness we have a security light that is activated by motion in the location I had to plant! I'm glad it was also in a spot that was invisible from neighbors and the street in general!! I'm thrilled I did get the bulbs in, though, because they are forecasting 6-10" of snow today and the temperature went down to 20 last night. We are even expecting night temps in the single digits next week. Needless to say, I didn't water in my bulbs since we were close to freezing. Do you think that the minor bulbs will survive that since they are so relatively close to the surface? I guess I have nothing to loose, right?! Another close call averted and now, I'm ready for Spring :-) Marianne
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Arlene, seeds I avoid winter sowing at all are tender annuals, vegetables or any seed that only needs 7 to 10 days warm temperatures to germinate. Down here that would be not only a waste of time but a sure recipe for failure because we have stretches of mild winter days with periods of very warm temperatures and very little snow. I sow tiny seeds by picking them up with a barely damp finger and pressing them into the soil and then firm it gently down but I make sure its firm. I use 4" square plastic pots with snack bags on top, those fit real tight and are short enough to keep from sagging down on the soil. You can pick up the whole pot by the tight fitting bag. Its real easy to sow too thickly so I do these seeds more carefully than larger ones, those I just space out on the top and use a dull pencil to bury to the correct depth and then firm down the soil. Otherwise you end up with crowded seeds coming up in a solid mass thats a mess to deal with in spring and plants that are competing or need pricking out. For me, this is much easier than messing with milk jugs when sowing and even more convenient when transplanting. Each pot might have 4 or five plants which I just tamp out and divide in spring. These pots fit nicely into flats which makes carrying them easier and if they dry out, I simply set them in shallow water. Usually I only have to do that once or twice in winter. I keep them under our car port where it stays clean and cool on warmer days. Its all a matter of what fits best for each person and their climate. I just store seeds in a dark dry place in a box, not the refrigerator, especially not for fresh seeds that only need to be stored a couple months.
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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
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susanzone5 (NY)
19 years ago
I am so grateful that I'm retired. This is the very first year that I got everything planted, the day before it snowed. Usually I have big eyes and buy too many, and a bunch of them don't make it into the ground.

This year I had such bad experiences with bulb eating varmints, I decided to buy fewer. I stuck a vibrating Mole Chaser stake right in the middle of the tulip bed!

Crocuses are dessert for squirrels and chipmunks around here. This year I planted a bunch in pots and stuck them in my shed. I can use them for forcing or on my deck in spring.

Isn't this nice weather a pleasure?
giniene
19 years ago
I'm waiting for the snow to melt over here, my yard and lawn are still covered with it. Unfortunately, week-ends are my only time to do any gardening, by the time I get home from work, it is too cold out, even if it has been a nice day. Hopefully, this coming week-end will be nice.
LynneNY
19 years ago
Well... I DID have all my bulbs planted but...

Stopped into Christams Tree Shops in Spring Valley
and they HAD to have all their packaged bulbs for 25 cents!!!!!

How could I pass that up? Got several packages of Narcissi, tulips, and daffodils.
Now, when am I supposed to plant these?
I just got picked for grand jury duty and have to be indoors during this great weather!
Of course, they are calling for rain both Sat. and Sun. now...
tizzie
19 years ago
I, also, have 100 daffodils to plant... h-e-l-p!!!

Does anyone in the Zone 5 know how to force them? I was
thinking of planting in pots, totally covering with mulch
and putting a lid on that....to retrieve in February or
so...does this many ANY sense at all?
Is 12 weeks of cold required ... or would 6 be enough??
Thanks!!!
Tizzie
WestchesterGrower
19 years ago
Been so damn warm lately, perhaps stick them in now. We are going to have a very cold March, so I wouldn't expect to be able to break ground then.
JustJoeyGirl
Original Author
19 years ago
I am so mad at myself for not getting my bulbs in the ground this past fall. What a waste. I don't even have the heart to look at the catalogs for spring. I was just too busy to get them in the ground, now I wasted so much money by leaving them in the garage. I was going to plant some at my sister's new house, but we never could get our dates on the same page, now neither of us has new bulbs in for the spring. I thought about getting some pots and potting soil and trying to get them potted up for spring bloom, but I don't know if that would work. I could at least bring them over to her and she could have them on her front and back porches..

I have so many different types, too. I don't have the heart to go out there and take a look at them. Someday I will venture out, but right now, I am very upset with myself.
susanzone5 (NY)
19 years ago
Joey, don't be hard on yourself for this. We all do it...it's part of being a gardener. How many times have I pulled up a perfectly good plant while weeding? I say stupid, stupid...that's the stupid mistake for that day! LOL. Then I chalk it up to just gardener's error and get on with it.

You could put all the bulbs in a large planter box full of potting mix without concern for spacing. Wet it down, wrap it in wire mesh to keep the diggers out, and set it in a shady outdoor place for the winter. At least you will have a free conscience and maybe get some cutting blooms for the house this year.

Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.
tizzie
19 years ago
Hi Joey and Susan,

I agree ... get a BIG (something or another), plant all you
can ... close is good, WATER and cover with chips and other stuff so your can retrieve them in ... March ! Then, bring
inside, water and enjoy! You can always plant the bulbs
outside, after they bloom.

Gardening is just a giant experiment, anyway...have FUN!
Tizzie
jenny_in_se_pa
19 years ago
Planting and growing bulbs in containers is the only way us apartment dwellers can have flowering bulbs. As long as the bulbs aren't kept wet during winter, they'll do just fine and putting the big pots of them in the garage sounds like the perfect place! Once they're done blooming and when the foliage dies back, you can always dig them up and plant out in the ground.

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