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northchild

Too late for fall bulbs?

northchild
16 years ago

Hi there - I just received my fall bulbs from brecks and veseys (and my mother in law - woohoo thanks).

I have tulips, lilies, daylilies, hyacinth, camassia quamash,snowdrops, daffodils and a wildflower collection with tulips, daffodils,crocus, iris, muscari, etc.

I just planted the orange carpet border lilies and the camassia quamash, but the rest I just won't be able to put in the ground this fall. What do I do with them? Is there a way I can still see them bloom if I plant them early this spring? How do I store them? Or should I rush to get the dirt in the beds and plant them?

Also - for the lily and camassia I already planted, is it true they need time to grow roots before the ground freezes in the fall? If so I planted them WAY too late. I don't think there is any way they'll get any roots this fall, however if needs be, the ground is still soft enough to remove the bulbs.

What do I do? I've never planted bulbs before, any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you!!

Comments (5)

  • redpeony
    16 years ago

    I think the daylily and iris you can do something with other than planting them straight into the bed, but other members of this forum could answer that much better than I can. If no one else replies, search back through some old threads and see what has been discussed about overwintering iris and daylilies that are small.
    The true bulbs like tulips, daffodils, etc need to be planted this fall as they will dry out and die if you leave them sit somewhere over the winter. You could probably put each group in their own pot, planted at the correct depth, and then dig the pot into the ground so they don't freeze as solid as a pot left out in the open. That way you don't have to have the beds ready, but they still get planted this fall.
    Hopefully someone with more experience than I will have some more to add!

    Janet

  • sazzyrose
    16 years ago

    I agree with Janet. Pot up the bulbs and sink the pots into the ground.
    As far as the daylilies and irises, plant them up and grow them into the house for the winter.
    I did this last year and it worked quite well. I have quite a few daylilies and irises growing in pots that will be coming in the house this fall as well.

    Shelley

  • glen3a
    16 years ago

    I have bought tulips on clearance and planted them in november. Not ideal, but most of them survived. The one thing you'll notice (if you have other already planted established clumps of tulips) is that they might come up just a bit later next spring than the established tulips.

    I'm sort of in the same boat, I have some crocus and allium to plant. As a precaution, you may want to mulch over the soil with leaves, etc. once it freezes up/gets close to freeze up.

    Glen

  • cailinriley
    16 years ago

    Shelley, your idea of growing daylilies and irises in the house over winter intrigues me! I have several new daylilies growing in pots, and I have nowhere to plant them up, at the moment. However, they have mostly gone dormant. Can they still be brought into the house, or should I quickly dig a new bed for them outside?

    Northchild, last year I bought a huge bag of daffodils from Costco, and then lost track of them. I found the bag in my basement in early spring; before throwing it away, I checked the bulbs and most seemed OK. I potted them up. The result? I had daffodils blooming on the deck in July!! My SIL, who was visiting from Wales (the daff is their national flower) was astounded! I wouldn't advise that as a routine practice, though, since I found other bulbs that were shrivelled and dead. The bulbs should, definitely, go into the ground now.

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    16 years ago

    I have a bag of assorted bulbs for my son's gf's daughter, but it looks as if (once again) she won't be able to get her garden done this year. Last fall they moved at bulb-planting time, and in the spring they moved again to a temporary place on their way to their new home where they are now. But they've had so much other stuff to do that her garden is going by the wayside again. So, according to your advice - and thank you! - i'm going to put each kind in pots and sink them in the vegetable garden. With any luck, she'll get a garden done in the spring and we can transfer all her plants there.