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newbie_gardener_3

Flowers overload - what to do?!

newbie_gardener_3
18 years ago

I came home late last night so pleasently surprised!

My boyfriend had brought home 3 big boxes of various flowers from his mothers garden - she built a huge raised flower bed and wanted to get rid of all of her existing flowers!

So I have Bleeding Hearts (red and white), a white rose bush, Irises, Daffodils (120 bulbs!!), Sweet William, Phlox, Johnny Jump Ups and Lupins, as well as two different types of several unknown bulbs.

In my excitment (and worry about the rain coming in) - we spent all day planting everything around the yard. I did a quick search on the internet of everything, and kept in mind where they were located in her yard (sun exposure, wind, etc).

Since I had no idea I was getting all of this, and they were all just sitting in the box with their roots and bulbs exposed (and the sky was looking VERY dark), their locations were picked out rather quickly.

I am pretty satisfied with the spots most of the plants are in except for the Irises and Daffodils.

We put the Irises (about 20 bulbs) in the garden all along the house behind smaller prennials (young Hostas, Coleus, toad lilies and Balloon flowers - all planted this year - it was supposed to be a shade garden, but the summer sun shines more than we thought - it was shade in winter!) I know it will get crowed when everything grows up - we will have to relocate something. Right now it seems to get sun for a little over 1/4 of the day - will this be bad for the Irises? We had nowhere else to put them - will digging them up and moving them again (If we build a new bed) be too hard on them?

We dug a narrow bed for the Daffodils along the path to the backyard - a very long path. It gets full sun and slopes slightly.

Now I realize that Daffodils only bloom in spring (yet apparently they have not bloomed yet - will they bloom at all this year?) So I would like to take out every other Daffodil and replace it with a Lily to have colour most of the summer (or another plant - any suggestions?).

Lastly, we have two different kinds of bulbs that we are not sure of what they are (and BF didnt seem to remember, either). One has just one large tear drop shaped leaf, and the other looks like a bigger, leafier version of my daffodils. We planted all of them in a flower bed in the back, which gets pretty good sun, and we'll see what comes up.

I realize pictures would simplify my explanations - and there would be some if the sky wasn't so threatening. I guess I am feeling very overwhelmed with the huge change in my garden (It took months for me to plan a small flower bed!)

Can anybody offer any advice, ideas or suggestions on anything? I am very worried that transplanting all the bulbs this time of year might hurt them, and that my Irises might not get enough sun (I am very new to all of this!) Can I do anything to lessen the shock of transplant? Should I leave the irises alone and see how they fare? I would hate to lose all of these flowers my first ever attempt at gardening!

Thanks for any help!

Comments (6)

  • northspruce
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a nice problem you have! I wish I had problems like people giving me millions of plants - LOL! I think I would leave everything as it is for the summer. Especially the irises, the partial shade will not kill them and you can move them in the fall if they don't flower much. But they might surprise you too. I'm not too sure about the daffodils - fall is definitely the best time to move or plant them and I would say you might not see any flowers this year. Good luck with your new friends! ;)

  • Sue_in_NYC
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Just let everybody hang out and relax until you see what they do next spring.

    You have years.

    :)

  • Pink_Petunia
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You lucky girl:) Enjoy the free perennials, it would have cost you a bundle at the greenhouse.

    Yes, if you want to move the iris' do so in the fall. My experience with iris' is that they flourish in the sun, in partial sun-partial shade they will not produce the blooms as they should.

  • valleyrimgirl
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    When I read your post...daffodils. Yes, they will look great when they will be blooming later on. But, remember you can not cut off the foliage after blooming, it has to naturally die back (which can be unsightly) and never cut the flower to bring inside to be on the table...you have just killed that bulb. Definitely plant other things with them later on...maybe next year. Or, spread them around the yard, in and amongst your other perennials. If you planted daylilies as every second plant then they would give you longer color than asiatic lilies and would spread over, cover and hide the area where the daffodils are "dying".

    Enjoy the perennials! You just saved hundreds of $. Remember, gardening...each year a gardener changes something in the garden, it just isn't finished or perfect. Move the perennials around, first thing in the spring is best. Irises also would do great where you planted the daffodils (full sun and on a slope). Have fun while you do it!!

  • magan
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Quote: "never cut the flower to bring inside to be on the table...you have just killed that bulb."

    I didn't know that!!! Please tell me I didn't kill them. I was also cutting tulips to take inside. Please elaborate why it would kill the bulbs. I thought cutting flower w.stem will actually help them to get enough time to get stronger for next year.

  • Nomadiam
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Cutting the flower stems won't harm the plant at all.

    Planting the iris in partial shade is fine. I have some under a pine and they still bloom every year. The plants aren't as lush as those in full sun, but do okay; a bit leggy. Plants will surprise you.

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