i've got most of my bulbs in pots as i only moved in last autumn wanted something pretty to look at in spring as i didn't know what i wanted in the garden plan. i also planted them higgeldly piggeldy colourwise.
anyway, now i've got a better idea of where i want them permanently, what do should i do with the bulbs after they've all bloomed. lift and store them, or wait until all the leaves have died down or what ?
i know i've got a wee while yet, but i'd quite like knowing what i'm doing a bit in advance. i could also do with the pots there in for other things too.
and would all this apply to other bulbs specificaly dafs, grape hycathinths, "never done a thing this year" snowdrops and bluebells :o or should each variety be treated differently ?
Thanks as always.
The best thing to do with your potted bulbs is to get them into the ground as soon as they have finished flowering. Dig a hole and put the potful in and let them do their own thing. If you cannot do this then after flowering give them all a good foliage type feed and when the foliage dies down then plant them. If you have to store over Summer make sure they are properly dry, dust with sulphur and store dark, cool and vermin free.
i think i'll go for the first option, doing it sooner will be easier for id-ing and grouping them for repositioning them.
cheers for that.
If you want to separate colours, you could always get a packet of twisters (the things you tie up food bags with) in mixed colours & twist one carefully round each stem so they are colour coded for when you move them - then it doesn't matter if some of them have finished flowering before you get round to moving them all. I tried this when moving some bulbs the other year & it worked well.
Wow! A simple but effective and never even entered my head idea.
I love this site and everyone on it ;D
Many thanks.
Just been out with the wire twists that Juliet suggested, and I'm probably stating the obvious here, but if you can get the bud whilst it's dead tiny, but obviously enough so you can see the colour, twist the ties into wee collars first and then just drop them over each bud. If you're all fingers and thumbs like me, it reduced the danger of damaging each stem.
Thanks for that Juliet. The purple are done, just the yellow to go. they'll be more difficult as they are so much bigger.
;D