Sometimes when I dig bulbs, I accidently cut one in half.
Do any of you have any luck with them coming back from the cut bulbs?
I cut into a Calla lily bulb and I don't really want to throw it away,
Is there any luck it will make it?
Please Help.
Charleen
RRM, I have cut bulbs many times, especially since I don't lift them. Most come back, but some don't and they leave gaps in my garden. I get filler bulbs and invariably I cut ones that I thought were gone, but not really, they were sleeping a little longer. I'm talking about all kinds of bulbs, daffs, caladiums, lilies, I've chopped them all.
I put them right back but I have never kept close tabs on an area to determine which made it and which succumbed to fungus or whatever.
Once I attended a lecture where this lady recommended quartering and planting amaryllis bulb to get 4 plants. I've never tried it, but if one can quarter a bulb, then the "accidents" should have a pretty high survival chance.
I say put them right back.
I could not have said it better than Vossner. I have cut crinum bulbs in half and just planted them right back in the goround and most have done just fine.
That sounds Great.
I thank you for the advice.
Sometimes I get out tere I just use a spade , not a shovel or a
fork. Probably would have been better if I had used a fork but my
Spade is always handier. Have you ever had a batch of bulbs and Lost them?
I don't know about me sometimes.
Thanks again.
RRM
I too have had such accidents, but I've discovered that a lot of bulbs can be propagated this way. If I have a hard-to-find or expensive bulb, I'll use this method. Use only dormant bulbs, and disinfect everything! Slice exactly down the center, making sure each section has half of the root scar. Allow it to 'cure' out of the sun for a day or so, until the cut side stops 'leaking'. I always dust the whole thing with some fungicide powder right before I plant it, and mix a little into the dirt too. This works best on daffodils and any kind of amaryllis, and I've never lost either half of a bulb- although they usually won't bloom the next year, they need to bulk back up. But it's worth it if you have a tight budget and you're working with expensive bulbs! Tulips are a little touchier- usually it works, but sometimes only one side of the bulb makes it. Years ago, when I bragged to my mom about how clever I was she said, "Oh, your grandma used to do that with her 'fancy' bulbs." Just shows the old saying, 'there's nothing new under the sun', is true!
I loose plants all the time Charleen. They often die because I forgot where I planted them and then they do not get watered. I have what my forum calls a pop up garden. i am forever asking what something is and hardly ever recall planting certain bulbs.
That is some great information 1lolita1
I have some purple Callas and they look like one large bulb. Maybe they fused together in the flowerpot,
May have to give that a try. That you all for the help.
Marie, I try to put a stick out there with a tag on it so I will know where I plant things. Of coarse with the new
pup that can be a lost of time. He is getting better. Just think of the Adventures you have finding your treasures when they do bloom.
Charleen
LOL I have kids, cats dogs and chickens to help with knocking over plant tags or taking them and using them as small sword or just something to play with. I would not trade it for anything though. There will be time enough later for organizing plants :o)
Enjoy them while you have them, they won't stay little
forever. I am not good at organizing or neatness
anyhow, just got to take me as I am.
Charleen
I get those "fungus gnats?" on my bulbs. I take the blooming bulbs to work so others can enjoy, but the gnats are a problem (this is a medical setting). This year I am treating the bulbs & dirt with a neem oil fungicide, insecticide solution, so hopefully this will help. I read somewhere about putting something on top of the dirt (in a potted plant) that suffocates/kills the gnats. It is some common, benign (except for the gnats) powder or something. Has anyone heard of this or suggestions? Thanks, Kim
Your calla bulbs will be just fine. Only make sure the cut edges dry thoroughly before storing or replanting.
Fungus gnats are horrible pests. I've read that a layer of sand on top of soil helps knock them down. I've also read that the larva eat organic matter, so you should put a cut potato piece on top of the soil or in the soil, and every few days pull it and the worms out and dispose of it (outside!). That didn't work for us, though, or maybe I had it in the wrong plant.
We had a horrible infestation one year. The flies particularly like white (bad in a medical setting, eh?) and would sit on the white ceiling and walls in our kitchen area. Looked gross!
