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oldroser

Planting spring bulbs

oldroser
17 years ago

Adams in Newburgh has left-overs for 50% off and other stores are discounting too. Daffodils ought to be planted now and I was out in the woods today, putting in another dozen. Tulips can wait until the ground is almost frozen.

I was delighted to find muscari Valerie Finis among the ones on sale and planted 30 of them yesterday. Also got the last package of crocus tomasianius Ruby Giant.

Now I need to buy grit to go under and over the tulips.

Comments (6)

  • philomena
    17 years ago

    How do you manage to keep the deer away from your tulips ? I figured I shouldn't even try tulips, as I have heard they are the surest way to get those antlered rats to really like your yard!

    Thnaks,
    Philomena

  • candyinpok
    17 years ago

    Oldroser, What's the grit for? I had the same impression as Philomena. However, I somehow managed to obtain a bag of tulip bulbs which I haven't planted yet. How do you suggest keeping the deer away, if it's possible without an 8' fence, which I don't have. Maybe I should get crazy and go check out Adams Pok and see if the bulbs are on sale. Oh my cold fingers!

    Philomena, you're name caught my eye. My great-grandmother's name was Philomena. It's a treat to see it.

  • rococogurl
    17 years ago

    Philomena, I've had good luck keeping the deer away from everything with Liquid Fence. I spray each week and so far -- 3 years -- it's worked. I see them out on the lawn grazing but they don't come near anything sprayed. I spray a few times throughout the winter too.

  • susanzone5 (NY)
    17 years ago

    Oldroser's tip about grit has worked for me this past year. It keeps root-eating rodents from tunneling to your bulbs because they don't like rocky soil. I get "chicken grit" by the pound in a feed store. Really, it's crushed shells. I throw a handful into the soil with each bulb and work it into the surrounding soil, too. I figure on a half cup per bulb.

    Planting tulips with bulbs in the onion family works, too.

    About the deer...I gave up on trying to compete with the big rats by planting tulips only in my fenced-in paradise. Throwing around dried blood has kept deer off my shrubs and echinacea outside the fence.

  • candyinpok
    17 years ago

    Suzanne, thanks for the info. I'll go get some grit. I just discovered that one of the sedum babies I planted has disappeared. There's a hole where it was. What eats sedum? Boy, you branch out into new plants and discover all kinds of new things.

  • philomena
    17 years ago

    Candyinpok - it's funny, I have often encountered people who, like you, have relatives who have the same first name as me, but I myself have not yet met someone directly with the name :-) One of these days, I'm sure I will!

    As for your sedum, I've had mine chomped on many times - I my case I think it's likely to be my resident woodchuck or the usual deer. If the little plant didn't have time to establish roots, a good pull may have just yanked it out of the ground. A good thing about sedum, though - in the spring, all you really need is one good sized plant - you can break off stems, shove the stems in the ground and voila, you have a new sedum plant - they root in no time. They are very hardy plants.

    I think I'm going to try tulips in planters this year, and see what happens - that way, I can always take them in at night when they are getting ready to bloom.

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