Re: Delicate bulbs
Hello Jim,
Lots of stuff to discuss in this one. Cyclamen... I am probably going to give
up having these in the nursery. Lets say I have 3 species and all go dormant at
different times. You can write in the catalog all day long about dormancy and best
times to plant on species .. and then people want what they want when they want
it... no buts. Then they are dissatisfied with the results and want to know why
you sold them a 'bad' cyclamen bulb. I try to advise on Trillium rhizomes and best
times to plant, but no one will listen. They want them in bloom or coming into
bloom like perennials at the garden center.
It is best, by far, to search out the small specialty nurseries who know their
material and follow their advice on shipping. Also most of them are growing the
plants on in pots.. not digging and storing.
Corydalis... so many different kinds of root systems on these. Some are fleshy
rhizomes that are almost non-existent, others are more bulbs than anything else.
C. solida has quite a few cultivars out there.. but they need to be from division
only. slow process. I should have a few extra C. s. 'George Baker' her at the
nursery display area this year. Not enough to put in the catalog. It is a good
brick-red.
Frits I have not played with much as yet.
I often have the same problems you do about quality when ordering wholesale
and, on occasion, take some pretty hard hits when they all die in the pots. I do
my best to order for fall shipment, pot up and hold over the winter, not shipping
until I see active growth beginning. That way they also have time to do the
adjusting here in the coldframes and not struggling in your garden.
Suppose we all learn as we go...
Gene Bush Southern Indiana Zone 6a Munchkin Nursery
around the woods - around the world
genebush@otherside.com http://www.munchkinnursery.com
----- Original Message -----
From: J.E. Shields <jshields@INDY.NET>
Subject: [SG] Delicate bulbs
> I've had trouble with mass-market bulbs of things like Cyclamen,
> Fritillaria, and Corydalis. The bulbs we get from some of the large
> mail-order bulb sources have been dug and out of the ground for several
> months before they are finally shipped to us, the final customers. They
> are dry and shriveled, more dead than alive. Most won't make it.
>
> Corydalis solida, Fritillaria meleagris, and Cyclamen coum and Cyclamen
> hederifolium are the types I've had particular trouble with. I have
> ultimately had to rely on handouts from gardening acquaintances who already
> had these growing.
>
> The bulbs need to be transplanted shortly after going dormant, and they
> need to be shipped and replanted immediately. I think we really have to
> grow these ourselves from seed to get plants (unless we have a friend....)
> and the seeds can be found on the seed exchange lists of various rock
> garden societies. It pays to join the rock garden and alpine plants
> societies just to get their seed lists! I recommend the Alpine Garden
> Society in the UK and the North American Rock Garden Society in the US and
> Canada. I recently joined both.
>
> I have batches of Cyclamen coum grown from seed started about 2 years ago
> that are now starting to bloom in the cool greenhouse. I'll plant most of
> these outdoors this coming summer. Some 1-yr old C. hederifolium seedlings
> are getting started now, and will go outdoors in a year. I'll keep a few
> of these cyclamen in pots just to have bloom in the greenhouse in winter.
>
> It is hard to understand why large commercial concerns insist on marketing
> Lilium bulbs in spring when they should only be transplanted in autumn; and
> why they sell us Fritillaria, Corydalis, and Cyclamen in fall, when these
> should be moved in early summer.
>
> Jim
> *************************************************
> Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
> P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://a1.com/daylily/
> Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. +1-317-896-3925
