I often notice when visiting gardens the great quantities of
Daffodils and other early bulbs that we plant to herald in the
spring. But how do we ensure we have a great display each year?
The early flowering bulbs
Quite a few seasoned
gardeners have had their first horticultural “experience” by the
planting of a few Daffodil or Tulip bulbs, thus spurring them
onto more adventurous plantings. At the end of April the very
early flowering bulbs will come to the end of their blooming
season. This group of early bloomers includes Daffodils,
Hyacinths, Bluebells, Crocus, Snowdrops and early Tulips. All
these bulbs will flower well for any gardener the first growing
season but for them to bloom well the following seasons we must
give them some care.
Dieback not tieback
All bulbs
leaves must be allowed a minimum of six weeks after flowering to
die down, so if these bulbs are planted in a lawn that area of
lawn must remain uncut for six weeks. Refrain from tying your
Daffodil leaves in knots to neaten their appearance, also avoid
folding them over and securing with rubber bands. If the bulbs
leaves are naturally allowed to die back then they will take in
the energy for next years flowering. I would also recommend
nipping off the spent flower heads on bulbs once flowering is
finished, this will prevent the bulb using vital energy for seed
production instead using all that energy to bulk up its food
store for next season.
Don't forget to feed
The final tip for blooming bulbs
next spring is to feed your bulbs, this is especially important
if you have a hungry soil. Apply a foliar feed to the fully
emerged leaves before the blooms start to form. Choose a general
purpose purpose liquid feed. I would also advise you to feed your
bulbs just as the blooms have faded with a granular bulb
fertiliser applied around the bulbs base. This is the most
important feed they will receive. Ensure this feed has a higher
potassium or potash content than nitrogen content. Apply
according to the manufacturers instructions and heed safety
warnings.
About the Author:
James Kilkelly runs a professional garden design service in
Galway, Ireland. He has a regular gardening column in a Irish
regional newspaper. Visit his website at
http://www.gardenplansireland.com/ He also regularly posts
his expert advice on
http://www.gardenstew.com/
Original article:
http://www.gardenplansireland.com/articles/article13.html
