Re: When does Mother Nature plant fall bulbs?
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: When does Mother Nature plant fall bulbs?
- From: M*@aol.com
- Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 12:57:57 EDT
This bulb problem does not seem to want to pass away.
Just a few observations and questions and comments.
Plants that have bulbs are numerous and cover a wide group of plants. Not all
bulbed plants grow the same or in the same environments. Most bulbs come from
environments that have seasonal droughts or are adapted to bloom in the spring
before other plants leaf out.
The bulbs I have to most experience with are Alliums, Lilies and
daffadils/narcisses.
The alliums and the Dafs keep growing as long as the soil temp is above F 30.
In the spring I know that Tulips grow when the soil temps are below F 40.
Alliums and Dafs have two distinct resting or dormancy periods, starting in
spring plants send up leaves and flowers, some of the alliums lose there
foliage before or during flowering, the Dafs foliage goes dormant a two months
after they flower.
In the fall Alliums and Dafs grow new roots and there might be some shoot
elongation, but they need a cold period to break bud dormancy to send up there
leaves and flowers.
Tulips are an unknown for me-I do not plant them. But I do know that they can
handle a cold period while flowers are rising from the center of the bulb
without any adverse effect, so I do not believe that they would start to grow
in the fall before their dormancy is broken and thus have an effect on the
flowering in the spring.
When buying some bulbs called forcing bulbs, they have been prechilled to
brake dormancy and if these are planted to soon in the fall they WILL stems
that will freeze when winter comes.
The question I have about planting times for bulbs is -- if bulbs should be
planted in the late late fall-then what about the bulbs that are already in
the ground from the past years that I have planted?
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