On a perfectly beautiful fall day recently while the weather was sunny and cool, I planted 148 daffodil bulbs as an underplanting for 72 purple Pansy Majestic Giants II. All gardeners are optimists so even though I was late working up this daffodil and pansy bed, my thoughts were of spring when in February and March, 2009 this combination should hopefully put on a nice show of purple and gold for Mardi Gras color celebration (not for LSU. I'm an Ole Miss red and blue guy!). In my mind's eye I can imagine this punch of color by the driveway and it gives me something to look forward to for those chilly and windy months.
Uh-oh! I hope it's not too late to plant some bulbs. I have a few I want to pop up next year, but as our yard is still a work-in-progress I'm not sure where to plant them. Should I cut back the green stems from bulbs that didn't bloom this year?
I'm sure your garden will be beautiful. Can't wait to see the yellow and purple this spring. If I didn't know better, I'd think you're an LSU fan! :)
Halcyon, No, don't ever cut off any green stems from the bulbs because that will deprive the bulb of the necessary nutrients for the flowering process to begin. After bulbs bloom always let the green stems turn brown and wither totally away as that stem energy is going down into the bulbs to make next year's flower stems. It makes things look sort of ratty so just plant some flowers in the spring in front of the bulb clumps to hide them without damaging your bulbs by digging into them. Soon the dead brown stems will be gone as nature takes its course. It is not too late to plant bulbs now; they might not bloom next spring but they will get established and give you a good flowering in 2010 for sure. I once planted some bulbs after Christmas and they survived and I still have them blooming every spring since then. Good luck and thanks for visiting and leaving your comment. BTW, purple and gold are my Mardi Gras colors, not LSU's team colors! I'm an Ole Miss Hotty Toddy guy all the way and love crimson/red and navy blue.
Halcyon, I forgot to mention that it is good to dead head only the tip of the flower stem after the spring bloom has dried up so that it then will not be allowed to produce a fat mature seed pod (assuming the flower got pollinated). That seed producing process drains/saps energy from going down into the bulb which needs all available stem energy in order to bloom next season. Remember to leave all the other green stems alone to wither away naturally. After they have totally shriveled away, it is OK to TRIM (not jerk) the dead stems off or just let them fall off naturally. Also, if taking some blooms indoors for your vase, always CUT the flower stem down low from the clump and never PULL the flower stalks out because that can damage the bulb or possibly allow disease to enter the wounded bulb top which is very sensitive. This is TMI I know, but good luck with yours.
Wow, you have already planted your bulbs. I still have some left, waiting to be planted....hopefully before Christmas ;-)! It's every year the same...when I want to do the work, snow is covering the ground or the soil is frozen. So I am waiting for better times :-) !! Have a good time, Jon! Barbara
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On a perfectly beautiful fall day recently while the weather was sunny and cool, I planted 148 daffodil bulbs as an underplanting for 72 purple Pansy Majestic Giants II. All gardeners are optimists so even though I was late working up this daffodil and pansy bed, my thoughts were of spring when in February and March, 2009 this combination should hopefully put on a nice show of purple and gold for Mardi Gras color celebration (not for LSU. I'm an Ole Miss red and blue guy!). In my mind's eye I can imagine this punch of color by the driveway and it gives me something to look forward to for those chilly and windy months.
9 comments:
Uh-oh! I hope it's not too late to plant some bulbs. I have a few I want to pop up next year, but as our yard is still a work-in-progress I'm not sure where to plant them. Should I cut back the green stems from bulbs that didn't bloom this year?
I'm sure your garden will be beautiful. Can't wait to see the yellow and purple this spring. If I didn't know better, I'd think you're an LSU fan! :)
Halcyon,
No, don't ever cut off any green stems from the bulbs because that will deprive the bulb of the necessary nutrients for the flowering process to begin. After bulbs bloom always let the green stems turn brown and wither totally away as that stem energy is going down into the bulbs to make next year's flower stems. It makes things look sort of ratty so just plant some flowers in the spring in front of the bulb clumps to hide them without damaging your bulbs by digging into them. Soon the dead brown stems will be gone as nature takes its course. It is not too late to plant bulbs now; they might not bloom next spring but they will get established and give you a good flowering in 2010 for sure. I once planted some bulbs after Christmas and they survived and I still have them blooming every spring since then. Good luck and thanks for visiting and leaving your comment. BTW, purple and gold are my Mardi Gras colors, not LSU's team colors! I'm an Ole Miss Hotty Toddy guy all the way and love crimson/red and navy blue.
My pansies are still in the trays and there are a few bulbs in a bag, unplanted....I'd better follow your example, Jon, and start digging!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Thanks for the advice.
I'm also a crimson and blue fan... but for the University of Kansas Jayhawks. :)
Halcyon,
I forgot to mention that it is good to dead head only the tip of the flower stem after the spring bloom has dried up so that it then will not be allowed to produce a fat mature seed pod (assuming the flower got pollinated). That seed producing process drains/saps energy from going down into the bulb which needs all available stem energy in order to bloom next season. Remember to leave all the other green stems alone to wither away naturally. After they have totally shriveled away, it is OK to TRIM (not jerk) the dead stems off or just let them fall off naturally. Also, if taking some blooms indoors for your vase, always CUT the flower stem down low from the clump and never PULL the flower stalks out because that can damage the bulb or possibly allow disease to enter the wounded bulb top which is very sensitive. This is TMI I know, but good luck with yours.
Sounds like a beautiful combination. But I too thought maybe you were an LSU fan! I see from your Ole Miss blog that you're not though. :)
Wow, you have already planted your bulbs. I still have some left, waiting to be planted....hopefully before Christmas ;-)! It's every year the same...when I want to do the work, snow is covering the ground or the soil is frozen. So I am waiting for better times :-) !!
Have a good time, Jon!
Barbara
Thanks for sharing with us.. Nice blog..
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