Bulb Problems

To make it easy to find and deal with the pests that usually a a problem for flower bulbs, I've listed them each pest with its own control page right here.

Pests that bother our bulbs in the ground

Squirrels are a major predator of both bulbs and flower buds. Here's how to control them for both problems. I note you may not like one of the solutions.

Pests that bother flowers

Red lily beetle is a pest of lily flowers as it will eat an entire plant to the ground if left uncontrolled. Control methods that work are described in this article.

Earwigs are one of the creepy-crawly pests that thrive on decaying organic matter.

Thrips are tiny flies, hard to see but they leave leaf streaks and unopened flowers behind. Here's the control.

Rabbits are eating my crocus! A Question answered in the newsletter.

General Problems Growing Bulbs

Why aren't my bulbs blooming? is the number one problem in the spring.

Caring For Flower Bulbs

THEN YOU HAVE TO GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT

Bulbs want full sunshine.

While there are a few that will tolerate shade for the most part, you’re going to find that a minimum of six full hot sun hours a day is the minimum to grow a great bulb. That’s always assuming you want them to live for years; if you only want a single season’s show, you can plant them anywhere.
 

Bulbs demand superb drainage.

The fastest way to kill most bulbs is to overwater them. Many bulbs are native to areas where summer rains are almost non-existent (tulips for example) and when we keep them well-watered in our summer gardens, they tend to rot away. 

Bulbs require a period of growing their leaves after blooming.

So cutting off leaves before they go brown naturally is a surefire way to stop your bulbs from thriving. Similarly, tying up the leaves to get them out of the way is only marginally better. I’ll repeat this advice throughout the articles. You have to let those leaves produce enough energy so the bulb can develop a flower bud for the following season. Without that sunshine being stored up, there will be no flowers the next year. 


Alliums for cut flowers being harvested

Feeding Bulbs

Most bulbs do quite well with a yearly feeding of compost. They are not overly greedy feeders. 

COMMON BULB PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS

Sometimes your bulbs just don't bloom. 

Growing organic flower bulbs here and this will expand as questions come in on this topic. For now, it has two basic tips. (that's all you really need I suspect) :-) 

Storing Flower Bulbs

Storing flower bulbs always gets questions and here's the basic guidelines. While the easiest way is to store them in the ground, sometimes winter gets in the way.

Growing Daffoldils

information about daffodils  - the planting, growing, collecting, propagation and just about anything else you can think of.  

 
To begin with their scientific name is Narcissus. And yes, they were named after Narcissus, that poor, long-suffering lover of his own image. 

Along with tulips, hyacinths and crocus, these bulbs are the mainstays of the spring-bulb color explosion. 

It is pretty easy to understand why they are so popular: they are hardy, pest free, disease free, naturalize well, live for years with no work, multiply if left alone, and come in a wide variety of flower colors, heights, sizes and flower shapes. 

You can grow them in the garden, in containers or force them indoors. 

Daffodil Pictures

This is a video of the different classes of daffodils you can grow in your garden.  

Starting, Planting and Transplanting

You can even start them yourself from seed. 

You can transplant daffodils if they get "in the wrong place". 


Planting Daffodils - the two main rules to remember about planting these bulbs are described right here. 

Doug's garden and what I'm doing with these bulbs. I'll continue to update this page as the adventure continues. 

Poisonous Bulbs

Squirrels and deer rarely, if ever, bother them and while pests will chew tulips to the ground, this bulb keeps blooming away. (they taste vile which is a good thing because they are poisonous.)

Recommended Varieties

If you're counting, you'll find the experts think there is somewhere around 26 species of wild narcissus. Now that depends of course on which expert you'ree talking to because they don't all agree on the divisions between plants. What we do know is that our garden narcissus have been hybridized for so long their specific parentage is almost impossible to determine. The divisions right now are: 

* Trumpet narcissi  including the old fashioned ‘King Alfred’ 

* Narcissus large-cupped 
* Small cupped narcissi 
* Split-corona narcissi 
* Triandrus narcissi 
* Cyclamineus narcissi 
* Narcissus jonquilla 
* Tazetta narcissi 
* Poeticus narcissi 
* Narcissus bulbocodium 
* Narcissus canaliculatus 
* Narcissus lobularis 
* Narcissus nanus 
* Narcissus odorus 
* Double narcissi 


Daffodil 'Dutch Master'

Growing Tips

And no matter what kind you want to force into early bloom, I'll assume you know how to put it into the pot (pointy end up) cover it with dirt (leave the neck uncovered) but you don't know about pre-chilling requirements. 

Here's the scoop on forcing daffodil bulbs and their requirements. 


Here's two tips on moving bulbs and reblooming care. 

This bulb comes in a wide variety of colors, ranging from the traditional yellow through white, orange-reds, oranges and salmon-pinks. You’ll also see different colors between the corona (the trumpet or cup shape) and the perianth (the petals) 

All are quite hardy, to at least minus 10C, with the exception of the Tazetta species. 


Daffodil 'Bridal Crown' 

Plant according to the size of the bulb and full instructions for planting are here 

This bulb improves every spring in the garden landscape but sometimes you do have to do some maintenance to keep them happy. 

You can plant them in containers, in natural settings, in formal settings, in rock gardens, you can use them as cut flowers if you can stand to take them out of your garden and you can easily force them for really early spring color. 

This is the easiest bulb to grow and succeed with. If you can't grow this bulb, I'd recommend you try silk. (Well, clay soils will kill them because they do need good drainage.) 

Questions and Answers

Flower Meanings

	Alstroemeria flower is symbolic of wealth, prosperity and fortune. It is also the flower of friendship.	View Collection
	Amaryllis This flower is symbolic of splendid beauty. It is also used to indicate worth beyond beauty.	Collection currently not available
	Anemone on a darker note indicates fading hope and a feeling of having been forsaken. On a positive note it symbolizes anticipation.	Collection currently not available
	Anthurium symbolizes hospitality. It is also used to indicate happiness and abundance.	Collection currently not available
	Aster symbolizes patience. It is also indicative of a love of variety. It also symbolizes elegance and daintiness.	Collection currently not available
	Bird of Paradise symbolizes joyfulness. It also symbolizes magnificence. It can also be used to indicate exciting and wonderful anticipation.	View Collection
	Bouvardia,Double symbolizes enthusiasm. It is also used to indicate zest for life.	Collection currently not available
	Calla Lily symbolizes magnificence and beauty. White Calla lilies combine these two attributes with purity and innocence associated with the color white to make it the perfect choice of flower in a Wedding bouquet.	View Collection
	Carnation symbolizes pride and beauty. A red carnation symbolizes love, pride and admiration; a pink carnation symbolizes the love of a woman or a mother; a purple carnation symbolizes capriciousness; a yellow carnation symbolizes disdain, rejection or disappointment; while a white carnation symbolizes innocence and pure love. A striped carnation conveys refusal.	View Collection
	Chrysanthemum symbolizes fidelity, optimism, joy and long life. A red chrysanthemum conveys love; a white chrysanthemum symbolizes truth and loyal love while a yellow chrysanthemum symbolizes slighted love.	View Collection
	Daffodil symbolizes regard and chivalry. It is indicative of rebirth, new beginnings and eternal life. It also symbolizes unrequited love. A single daffodil foretells a misfortune while a bunch of daffodils indicate joy and happiness.	Collection currently not available
	Daisy symbolizes innocence and purity. It conveys loyal love and “I will never tell”. Gerbera Daisy specifically conveys cheerfulness.	View Collection
	Delphinium, Hybrid symbolizes big-heartedness, fun, lightness and levity. It also indicates ardent attachment.	Collection currently not available
	Freesia symbolizes symbolizes innocence and thoughtfulness.	Collection currently not available
	Gardenia symbolizes purity and sweetness. They indicate secret love. They convey joy. They tell the receiver you are lovely.	View Collection
	Gerbera belongs to the daisy family and therefore assumes the symbolism associated with the daisy flower. Gerbera specifically conveys cheerfulness.	View Collection
	Gladiolus symbolizes strength of character, faithfulness and honor. The Gladiolus flower signifies remembrance.	View Collection
	Heather Lavender symbolizes admiration, solitude and beauty while white heather symbolizes protection and indicates that wishes will come true.	Collection currently not available
	Hyacinth symbolizes playfulness and a sporty attitude and in its extreme rashness. Hyacinths also denote constancy. Blue hyacinth stands for constancy, purple for sorrow, red or pink for play, white for loveliness and yellow for jealousy.	Collection currently not available
	Hydrangea symbolizes heartfelt emotions. It can be used to express gratitude for being understood. In its negative sense hydrangea symbolizes frigidity and heartlessness.	Collection currently not available
	Iris symbolizes eloquence. Purple iris is symbolic of wisdom and compliments. Blue iris symbolizes faith and hope. Yellow iris symbolizes passion while white iris symbolizes purity.	View Collection
	Larkspur symbolizes levity or lightness. It is also indicative of fickleness and haughtiness.	Collection currently not available
	Lilac symbolizes youthful innocence and confidence. White lilac symbolizes humility and innocence, field lilac symbolizes charity while purple lilac symbolizes first love.	Collection currently not available
	Lily symbolizes purity and refined beauty. White lily symbolizes modesty and virginity, orange lily symbolizes passion, yellow lily symbolizes gaiety while Lily of the valley symbolizes sweetness and purity of heart. The Easter lily is the symbol of Virgin Mary. Orchidis a symbol of the exotic beauty. It symbolizes refinement, thoughtfulness and mature charm. It also symbolizes proud and glorious femininity. Collection currently not available Peony symbolizes bashfulness and compassion. It can also be used to express indignation or shame. It symbolizes a happy life happy marriage, good health and prosperity. View Collection Protea, King stands for change and transformation. It signifies daring and resourcefulness. It is symbolic of diversity and courage. Collection currently not available Queen Anne's Lace symbolizes a haven or sanctuary. It signifies complexity and delicateness. Collection currently not available Ranunculus symbolizes radiant charm. It conveys a message that you are radiant with charm/ you are attractive. Collection currently not available Rose symbolizes love. It signifies love in its various forms. Its symbolism varies based on color, variety and number. View Collection Snapdragon symbolizes graciousness and strength. Its negative connotations include deception and presumption. Collection currently not available Statice is symbolic of remembrance. It also symbolizes sympathy and success. Collection currently not available Stock symbolizes lasting beauty and happy life. It is indicative of bonds of affection and is symbolic of promptness. Collection currently not available Sunflower signifies pure thoughts. It symbolizes adoration and dedication. It is symbolic of dedicated love. It is however also symbolic of haughtiness. Collection currently not available Sweet Pea indicates delicate pleasure and bliss. It is a flower symbolic of departure after having had a good time. Collection currently not available Tulip signifies a declaration of love. It also symbolizes fame and perfect love. Collection currently not available	View Collection