Re: tuberoses

Reid Family a *crit :
> Today the weather was lovely and warm here in the lower Sierra foothills, so I decided to move one clump of tuberoses from where they were not getting enough late summer sun to bloom over by some others which have repeated bloom for me (this despite warnings that it probably would not.)  Anyway, I noticed that those that had bloomed had also pushed themselves to the surface the way bearded irises do.  Does anyone who grows these know if this is normal, or is it because of my heavy soil underneath, and the lightweight mulch on the top?  Do I dig them and replant them deeper to keep them from drying out in our relentless summer heat, or let things be?     

I would also be interested in folks' favorite bulbs.  I've given up on
any more large plants in our dreadful soil, but I can always dig a hole
big enough for a bulb.
I would love to hear favorite bloomers from each season and particularly
by site suitability: dry sun, moist sun, dry shade, moist shade.  In
particular, I have a bed that is in shade from late fall to early
spring, faces north and stays moist most of the time due to heavy soil,
few daylight hours and mulch.  It contains four beautiful old camellias
ranging in height from 7-12ft.  Because the bed was originally covered
with black plastic and two inches of rock, and of course the nature of
these shrubs, their extensive roots are very near the surface.  There
are a few other things in the bed, but would be interested to hear
suggestions for bulbs that could take all that shade as well as morning
to 2pm summer sun; the all shady parts are all planted.

I also have some dry shade under two old flowering pears that has a
similar root problem, but would love to tuck three seasons of color
under the canopy.  Any suggestions, bulb lovers?  I currently have  only
daffs and bearded iris(on the sunny edge). 
yvonne gregson a *crit :
 Well, my favourites tend to be the early bulbs.  At the moment some of
my less common bulbs in flower are Ipheion "Rolf Fiedler" and Ipheion
"froyle mill", that's a sky-blue and a purply-blue.  Five or six
varieties of  lachenalia are in bud, (interesting blotched leaves and
stripey tubular bells), and the Muscari muscarimia have been out for a
couple of weeks..  Most of my stuff stays in the ground  in hot dry soil
in summer and has a wettish non-freezing winter, although this year has
been exceptionally wet and cold in Southern Greece.
My favourite  of all is Sprekelia formosissima. The dog has pruned my
tuberoses, a great success last year, though.         
 
Dear Karrie 
  Tuberose: A clump of polianthes has a tendency to  produce leaves and few
flowers after a few years.  The bulbs which has flowered   will
disappear and the surrounding  smaller bulbs are to small to flower. The
best solution is to split up the clump. The larger sizes (+15mm diam) 
will flower and the smaller  ones have to be grown on for a few years.
Plant superficially in a warm, sunny and irrigated spot. Planting
through black plastic mulch works very well here. 
  Heavy soil is not a problem, but it should be tilled deeply once and a
while and an organic top mulch should be applied after planting.
 Shaded areas:
If the drainage is sufficient, you could try
for very mild climats: Clivia,Haemanthus albiflos, Veltheimia
Hardier are; Cyclamens, Oxalis bowei, Bletilla, Allium triquetrum
(beware, can be invasive)
Half shaded areas
The choice is much larger, especially under deciduous trees many winter
growing bulbs can be suggested. The best planting period is late summer
and early spring.
  Dietes (evergreen rhizomatic iridaceaes from South East Cape) grow
naturally   in wooded areas and will do well in your situation. They
should be planted  late winter and watered the first year to help establishing.
I hope that this is of any help. Please, contact me privately for any
more details. Kind regards
-- 
Lauw de Jager 
BULB'ARGENCE, 30300 Fourques, France
Région: Provence/Camargue; Climat: Zone 9a (Mediterranean)
Tel: 33 466 016 519    Fax: 33 466 011 245
Web: http://www.bulbargence.com/
(Expédition des bulbes à végétation estivale continuera jusqu'à fin mars)
(Dispatch of summergrowing continues until the end of March)
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