Designing Bulb Gardens
By admin | June 23, 2008
There are few things nicer that planting bulbs as part of a mixed garden scheme. To begin with, ensure your bulbs are planted in an area that gets a full hot four to six hours of sunlight each day. This sunshine is most critical during the post-flowering period when the leaves are soaking up sunshine and turning that energy into next years flower. Without this sunshine, your bulbs are annuals.
In the perennial garden, plant them deeper than the package says. As a rule of thumb, plant bulbs three times as deep as the bulb is high. So, if your bulb is two inches across at its widest point, plant the little fellow six inches deep. I used to plant mine eight to twelve inches deep so they wouldn’t be in the way when I was digging and moving perennials around. This deeper planting also seems to help bulbs survive the extremes in heat, drought and cold.
Let me suggest you plant in clumps of ten to fifteen bulbs. The more clumps the better as the spring show will be enhanced by the concentrations of color. Plant summer blooming perennials next to the bulb clumps so that when the bulbs are finished with their month in the spotlight, the perennials are just about to start blooming or starting to grow upwards for summer blooming. When the bulb foliage dies down, the perennial foliage will fill the space.
Remember that planting in clumps is our objective; this will give you a more impressive show than sprinkling a bulb or two here and there throughout the garden. A rule of thumb if you want to make a superb display that will green up the neighbors as well as the garden is to average one bulb per square foot of garden space. You can get information on planting and caring for bulbs here.
Doug Green is an award winning garden author of 7 books and writes a free gardening newsletter at http://www.beginner-gardening.com/gardeningflowertips.html
Tags: daffodils, flower bulbs, gardening, TulipsForcing Bulbs - Brighten Your Winter Home with Spring Colors
By admin | May 17, 2008
Nothing brightens a dreary winter day like a bouquet of fresh flowers. But there’s no need to venture out in the cold to purchase pre-cut flowers that won’t last; you can grow your own long-lasting arrangement in the comfort of your home. Forcing bulbs to bloom in your home is an excellent way to bring a little of that spring color you’ve been dreaming of inside during that last long cold stretch of winter. It’s also a great project to do with the kids or grandchildren. With just a few simple steps and a bit of patience, you will soon have a flower display that will be the envy of your neighbors.
First, we need to define what is meant by forcing. Forcing is tricking the bulb into thinking that it’s spring. That is achieved by creating an environment that pushes the bulb through its natural growth stages more quickly than they would occur on their own.
Now the fun begins! Pick out the type of bulbs you wish to grow. Some popular choices are tulips, narcissus, hyacinths, daffodils and amaryllis. When selecting, it is important to remember that this is one of the cases where bigger is better! If you encounter a situation where you can purchase a large or small bulb of the same variety, choose the larger of the two. Large, high-quality bulbs are preferable because the larger bulb contains more of the food required to produce a healthy, flowering plant. Or, more simply, a bigger bulb produces more flowers, and that is really what we all want. Select bulbs in much the same way you would choose a melon at the grocery store. Pick it up and give it a squeeze; it should be firm, not mushy. A healthy bulb is dry to the touch, but should not feel dried out. Also, avoid any that show signs of mold or mildew. Your nose can help, too. Don’t buy anything that smells pungent or offensive.
CFD Tip! Look for labels that say “good for forcing.”
Plant your bulbs close together, but not touching one another, in equal parts compost, sand and peat, a compost rich potting soil or Cottage Farms Grower’s Formula. There should only be about 2″ of potting medium below the bulbs, and the top of the bulb (the pointed end) should be even with the surface of the soil. If the bulb has a flat side, like tulips do, plant with the flat side facing the edge of the pot. This allows the first, and largest, leaves to form an attractive border around the edge of the pot. It is very important to use a pot that has good drainage holes, as bulbs will rot if left in standing water. Also, select clean pots; you don’t want to transfer disease from other plants. If using a terracotta or clay pot, soak the container in water for a few hours to fully saturate the pores and ensure optimal moisture retention. After planting, water the pot thoroughly and allow to it drain for a day before beginning the chilling process.
CFD Tip! Don’t mix varieties in the same container since dates of flowering will likely vary.
It is now time to chill the bulbs. The easiest method for chilling is to keep the pots in a refrigerator where the temperature can be easily maintained at 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit. There is no need to water the bulbs during the chilling period, but in order for the plant to produce healthy foliage and blooms, it is important that they are kept in the dark as consistently as possible.
CFD Tip! Cover them with a box or a bag to ensure complete darkness, even when the refrigerator door is open.
Sometimes it is necessary to store bulbs before planting. If you must do so, keep them in the refrigerator in breathable mesh or plastic bags (like the ones they are sold in), paper bags with holes, or an open tray. This storage period counts towards the time required for chilling.
CFD Tip! Do not store bulbs in the same bin as ripening fruit. Ripening fruit gives off ethylene gas that can cause flowers to form only partially or not at all.
Most bulbs need to be chilled for 12 to 14 weeks. The end of the chilling period can be identified by the emergence of roots from the drainage holes or fresh stems sprouting about two inches out of the top of the bulb. It is very important to leave them in cold storage for the proper amount of time. If the bulbs are not kept in long enough, the flowers may not form completely. If they are left too long, the stems may become too long. As a normative guide, if you want your bulbs to bloom in January, generally you’ll need to plant them in September; if you want them to bloom in February, begin in October, and so on.
CFD Tip! Label each pot with the type of plant, date planted, and the estimated date to be brought out of cold storage.
Once the bulbs have chilled for the required time period, remove the pots from cold storage and place them in indirect sunlight until the shoots turn green. Water the pots as needed to prevent the soil from drying out completely. When green, place the bulbs in a sunny window until flower buds emerge, rotating often to keep the stems growing straight. Then move the pot into its display area.
CFD Tip! Blossoms last longer if they are kept in a cool area with indirect light.
When forcing a bulb, you interrupt its natural growth cycle. Therefore you cannot force the same bulbs year after year (with the exception of amaryllis), but you may have some success replanting the bulbs in your yard. After flowering, remove the flower stems and place the pots in direct sunlight. This photosynthesis period is needed to nourish the bulbs. Then, when weather permits and all signs of frost have passed, the bulbs can be transplanted into the garden and should return to their normal cycle within a year or two.
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Tulips and Their Role in Different Cultures
By admin | April 26, 2008
Tulips have been, and are still, being admired by people in many different regions and cultures. Wild Tulips are found in Europe, Africa and Asia. Their native area stretches from southern Europe to northern Africa, and proceeds eastward into Asia from Anatolia and Iran. The most prominent Tulip habitats are found on the steppes of Kazakhstan and among the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains, but wild Tulips can be found all the way into the very eastern parts of China and Japan.
The Tulip has always been held in high esteem by the Middle East cultures and the European name “Tulip” is actually derived from the Persian word for turban. Some etymologists claim that the name was selected since a budding Tulip resembles a traditional turban, while other etymologists suggests that the term is instead the result of a misunderstanding - Tulip flowers were commonly used to decorate the folds of the turban. If you study traditional folk art from Persia and Turkey you will
Today, the Tulip is the national flower of Iran as well as of Turkey and the tulip is even suggested on the Iran flag. If you look at traditional Persian and Turkish folk art you will clearly see how important the Tulip motif is and have been. The Netherlands in Europe is another country strongly linked to the Tulip, and the Netherlands will for instance send Tulips to the Canadian capital Ottawa each year. During World War II, Canada aided in liberating the Netherlands from the German invasion and also served as a refuge for the Dutch Crown Princess who was later to become Queen Juliana.
In the Europe as well as in the Ottoman Empire, episodes of so called “Tulip Mania” when tulips have been used for speculation have occurred. Historians still debate exactly how severe these waves of speculation was and how damaging the Tulip booms and subsequent crashes was to the respective economies. Some even claim that Tulip Mania strongly contributed to the final financial decline of the Ottoman Empire.
Historians do not now exactly when and how the Tulip was introduced to Western Europe for the first time, and perhaps Tulips were brought to this part of the world several times before the flower really became appreciated and famous. One story claims that ambassador Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq brought Tulips to German attention as early as 1554. Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq had been sent from Ferdinand I of Germany to Suleyman the Magnificent and in one of his letters he write about seeing “an abundance of flowers everywhere; narcissus, hyacinths, and those which the Turks call tulipam, much to our astonishment, because it was almost midwinter, a season unfriendly to flowers”. Botanists are however a bit sceptic to this letter, since Tulips do not bloom in midwinter, not even in the warm Middle East. Perhaps Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq confused the winter journey with an expedition that he participated in during a warmer part of the year of 1558. We know that Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq wrote and dated all his letters after his journeys, not while he was actually travelling.
Tulips are just one of many flowers that have an important cultural significance in numerous religions. Others include the cherry tree and the Bamboo plant
Tags: cultur, flower, Tulips