Bulb questions

16 years ago

:ast year we left our dahlia bulbs in the ground as an expeiment to see if they would come back. what are the odds they will? Also we bought some peruvian daffodil and caladium bulbs on Sunday. A lady at the store told us the daffodils would do just fine left in the ground. Is that true? I have a feeling the caladiums would be toast from winter. Am I wrong? We do have callas that have come back for three years so maybe there's a chance. Hey I'm lazy enough to not want to dig but smart enough to not want to lose plants!

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Comments (7)

terri01
16 years ago
I planted dahlias 2 years ago here in E TN and they bloomed beautifully. But the following year I got nothing. I asked my sister in Georgia and she said she digs hers up every year and stores them. Too much work for me.
steveh_2007
16 years ago
Dahlias do OK when left out but they seem to be short-lived. I usually get 3 years out of them before they give up.
Daffodils are fine and increase every year.
Caladiums won't survive the winter.
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Amazindirt (7a TN)
16 years ago
"Peruvian daffodils" are not actually daffodils. They are Ismene. I think they're rated to zone 8 -- questionable here, but they might make it through mild winters depending on your microclimate.
bigorangevol
16 years ago
I've NEVER lifted our Dahlias and they do fine every year. The Callas, Daffs and Cannas come back strong too. I thought that maybe the Caladiums would make it but they didn't. I don't lift anything in the fall!!!

I won't be back on GW until Thursday of next week so if anyone has any questions about The Middle Tennessee Plant Swap... please contact Joe or Rebecca. Ya'll have a great week!
brandon7 TN_zone7
16 years ago
As Amazindirt said, Peruvian daffodils are not at all the same as what most people around here call daffodils. This is another one of those examples why scientific names are so much better. Peruvian daffodils are actually Hymenocallis narcissiflora. They are a member of the spider lily family.

Caladiums are only hardy to around zone 10 (9 at best). They will have to be brought inside or grown as annuals.

The Dahlia (actual scientific name) and Hymenocallis narcissiflora will have a much better chance of surviving and doing well if they are planted in a very well drained soil and properly mulched. Soggy soil is definitely the worst enemy of marginally hardy plants. Relatively sudden temperature swings (and associated frost heave) are their second worse enemy.
Amazindirt (7a TN)
16 years ago
Okay, okay, so I used an outdated name. So shoot me.

Foothills, you can find more than you ever wanted to know about Peruvian daffodils at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: the genus Hymenocallis
brandon7 TN_zone7
16 years ago
That's the one downfall to the current scientific naming system. Sometimes when new information is found (especially about how a species, genus, family, etc. is related to other species, genera, families, etc.) the names can be changed. One of the best examples I can think of is the Leyland Cypress. I'm not even sure what the REAL name would be now. But I guess that's another topic...