Bulbs
Post categories: bulbs
| 12:30 UK time, Thursday, 1 September 2011
An example of how bulb flowering time can be manipulated. We featured this collection, courtesy of our Dutch friends - in a late August programme.
It's all about flower BULBS this week. In the , I hear the lassies planning a Big Bulb Bash - yes, they started planning this a few weeks ago to time our item with the arrival of new bulb stocks in the shops and garden centres. Buy early when you will be offered the widest choice and you need to buy early if you are intending to have bulbs in flower for Christmas.
'Les girls' want to follow up the work they did with bulbs last year, I take a step back to look at something else - or over-wintering veg, perhaps.
With bulbs big is definitely best! With my original partner in Beechgrove, the late George Barron, whilst visiting , that dazzlingly colourful bulb industry shop window in Holland we were almost ejected by the roving 'parkie' or warden. Why?
Well we were so taken aback by the size of the hyacinth flower spikes, we just had to get down on our knees and scrape away some soil to get a look at the shoulder of the bulbs! After explaining, we were allowed to go on our way, armed with the knowledge that 'big is beautiful'. Later in the day as I interviewed a bulb grower, I asked him why we never see bulbs that size in Britain. They would be too expensive, he replied.
Hyacinth and narcissus bulbs are said to be 'prepared' to enable them to flower by Christmas, given the proper treatment.
Hyacinth Pink Pearl
The preparation involved takes the bulbs through periods at specific temperatures whilst in store - to advance the development of the flower inside the bulb. Once planted, the pots of bulbs must have about 10 weeks in a constant 24 hour, cool temperature not above 9°C and then a further 3 to 4 weeks to be brought in to flower. If you count back from Christmas week, you will realise why you need to get a move on - mid September is your deadline!
In modern houses, the first stage can be difficult to achieve. A windowless, brick built garage, pots wrapped loosely in black bin bags might work, there are numerous dodges, let me put it this way - constancy is vital.
A pal of mine had acquired an old oak wardrobe, which he put in the back of the garage. In the top he kept his gardening tools and about this time, he emptied the blanket drawers across the bottom to make way for his bulb pots! That worked a treat. Of course, you could simply plunge the pots in the ground, covering them over with sand. A shady site is ideal.
Remember the standard advice - if you want to plant bulbs in containers with no drainage provision, you must plant them in bulb fibre which will contain charcoal and sometimes egg shell - to keep the compost sweet. Be careful with watering. I prefer to plant in ordinary flowerpots and I use a John Innes No 2 mixed with a peat free compost in a ratio of 3:5. When ready for display, the pots can be stood inside a decorative outer.
Jim McColl MBE presents ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland's the .
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