Re: perennials DIGEST V2 #656

> Susan, The lady at the garden center was right. She just didn't tell you the
> whole story. I am a technical writer for Bachman's in Minneapolis and have
> researched this subject for their public information sheets. The daffodils
> and large-flowered hyacinths can safely be planted in zone 4 now, but
> everything else should wait here until about mid-October. The tulips are what
> we get the most spring call backs about. If they are planted before the soil
> is cold enough, they begin to send up the flower bud while they are rooting
> with the result that you have no flower the next spring. We call it blasting,
> but it isn't exactly that. You are a zone south of us, so you should probably
> wait about a week later to plant the tulips(we recommend those in our
> customer base in zone 3 plant a week earlier). I wouldn't worry about the
> daffs, but if it were I, I would try to retrieve the tulips and wait.



> Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 19:35:19 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Susan Leard <susan.leard@pei.sympatico.ca>
> Subject: When to plant fall bulbs?
>
> I live in zone 5 on the east coast of Canada. Earlier this week I planted
> dozens of daffodils and Red Emperor tulips. This is my first experience with
> planting bulbs and thought anytime in September or October would be
> appropriate. Today, I bought a bunch of species tulips, species iris,
> anemones, allium, and King Arthur daffodils planning to plant tomorrow and
> Monday while I am still on vacation. The lady at the last garden center I
> visited informed me that I was planting much too early and all my bulbs
> would die unless I waited til after a couple of frosts had sufficiently
> cooled the ground. All I can find in the books is to plant in the fall. They
> say nothing about waiting for frost. What has been your experience? I have
> sandy loam, part shade, and the night temps are about 8 to 10 degrees
> Celcius this time of year. Day temps are about 15 to 20 degrees C. Has my
> work this week been for nothing?
> Susan Leard, zone 5
> Prince Edward Island, Canada

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index