Friday, May 10, 2013
Garden fail
Last fall I ordered only half my usual number of tulip bulbs in an attempt to see whether the previous year's tulips would re-flower. I got a clear answer: they don't. The very few old ones that bloomed were miniature-sized and unsatisfactory. I will continue to treat tulips as annuals and will order my usual quota this autumn.
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Tilda, Did you fertilize them at the proper time? Did you leave the foliage until it was totally dead? You mentionned earlier braiding the spent foliage of your narcissus, so you may be a too-tidy gardener! Also, species tulips are reliably perennial. BT's garden has so many tulips that it's tacky.
ReplyDeleteWe found that moles and field mice were eating the bulbs during the winter.
ReplyDelete"A too-tidy gardener"? Well, that would certainly be a contrast to my indoor personality. Thanks, BT, for the advice! My species tulips do come back year after year but they are not in the main bulb garden. The daffs are doing great even though I do braid the foliage -- then again, my neighbor just lets hers die back and she has a spectacular display each spring.
ReplyDeleteAnon, my mother reports the same thing in her garden, and I did see some definite divots in the bulb garden this spring.