Lycoris, Ismene, and Dahlia bulbs

I just bought some of lycoris, ismene and dahlia tuber/bulbs. Do I place these in the ground now? I also have some bareroot perennials. If I plant these in the ground now will they come up during during warm weather? If so and they get zapped by frost/freeze will that kill them? I'm in zone 8a.

My ismene and lycoris (radiata) stay in the ground year round and come back year after year at the appropriate time. However, you might lose the dahlias if you plant them right now. Dahlia's can't take a freeze. Due to your soil temperatures, the dahlias are not going to sprout until it is warmer. But one hard freeze could kill the dahlia tubers. So I'd wait until your projected last frost date before planting the dahlias.

Thanks for the info. I do have some ismene bulbs in the ground, but they have never bloomed. In the spring I'm going to dig them up to see what's wrong. Maybe they are too small to bloom. How deep do you have yours planted? My necks are above the ground, should they be? They do seem to be a bit small though. My hymenocalis grow like wildfire, but these don't.

I have some red radiata in a window box and they had leaves since the fall. The ice cold weather didn't faze them at all. The ones I just bought are yellow. I'm sure that they will be okay planted now.

I will admit that my ismene is not my favorite. I planted most of them with the neck just below the surface.....they don't bloom as much as I think they should. So one big group of them went to the compost pile.....where they have sprouted leaves from the depths below.....and continue to live.....but no blooms! Out of approximately 12 bulbs, I've gotten about that many blooms....in 4 years. I don't think it is possible to kill ismene bulbs! I also wonder if they will ever get in gear and bloom!

For the record I bought yellow and pink lycoris and have not seen them since. If something doesn't perform for me, I move on to something that will. My red lycoris came from the old homeplace next door which has been uninhabited for 40 years. There are literally thousands of spider lilies there plus daffs and irises. I figure those are tough enough to live with me!

Hi Deebie,
I know you should definitely wait until after frost to plant the lycoris, and probably the ismene also. They may be hardy to your zone once established, but winter isn't a good time for them to establish roots, you may get warm spells but more likely cold damage. Planting lycoris or hymenocallis in the winter won't help/force them to bloom next year anyway, they take time to get established and bloom. Some can be pickier than others but I generally don't expect these guys to bloom for 2 years after planting at least, regardless of maturity or size of bulb. For the ones that are in the ground and not blooming, feed them and give them time

When you say Ismene, I am not sure exactly what you mean, is it any of these?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=ismene

Yes, it's the Hymenocallis, Peruvian Daffodil. Thanks for the heads up. I'm disappointed about not being able to plant the bulbs, but I can't rush spring and just have to wait. I sure don't want to lose these bulbs.

You'll be glad you waited :) I always plant them with bone meal and try to remember to feed them well, they bloom nicely for me, as long as I'm not expecting them to. I have several lycoris and the aurea (yellow) is the only stubborn one that I've had for a few years without them blooming...I'm sure one day it will happen and resist them temptation to move them because I know they are in plenty of sun, near other lycoris that have been blooming and they 're taking their time. This is sprengeri three years after planting, first bloom last year. the picture doesn't quite capture how electric blue the tips of the blooms are

Tropicanna thanks for reminding me that I need to order sprengeri!!

marie, they are expensive, but worth every penny. If I could go back in time, I would have ordered a lot more because the place I ordered them from no longer carries them. My friend of course wanted one and out of all my plants I really wish I could share these, but I'll be an old woman probably before they reproduce :)

I saw your post about the radiata plenum and you made me look! LOL!

I had bought one about a year or two ago but it was either gopher food or something because it has never shown itself after the first year. So what do you think about that radiata plenum ?

Okay, I won't hold my breath waiting on those bulbs to bloom. The sprengeri in the photo is still gorgeous. But, it sounds like it's out of my price range. I'll just have to suffice to see someone else's in bloom.

Deebie if you search you can find the spregeri at a reasonable price. The radiata plenum is 35.00 for one bulb. That is a little pricey.

Okay, I'll look to see what I can find. And yes, I did peek at the radiata plenum too. It's gorgeous.

Yeah, come to think of it, it was several years ago I bought the sprengeri and it wasn't as expensive as the plenum, and if I'd ever seen a bloom in person I wouldn't have blinked at the price back then. marie, I really really like the radiata plenum, but I think I'll wait awhile on that one since I don't really have any new space that would be good for it yet. I think it's awesome, but I can wait on it. I need to make a new bulb bed this year

Did you decide to order from PDN? They're a couple hour drive from here, and they are expensive but the gardens are really nice if you ever get a chance to visit

No I did not order from PDN. I would love to see there place though.
I will be waiting on the plenu too. I really want it though and might just ask for an early birthday plant :o)

Hey guys, forgive me from intruding, but what's the PDN?

Plants Delight Nursery

Oh yeah. I do get their catalogs, earmark what I'd like, but I've never ordered from them. One day I will.