tig

if youd like, i can bring some of the paperwhites you mentioned you liked to the plant swap. i have a few extras if youre interested.
lmk
jen

I'd love some, thanks! I've been wondering if you zone 8ers can grow perennials?

tig, why couldnt we, lol?
some of them are already starting to shoot up, well as of today they were, im sure tomorrow morning theyll just be a memory.
i have quite a few of the brugs in the ground also and some fo those are coming back already.
i really thought spring was here : (
jen

tiG,

some people have the tendency to under estimate what grows in Zone 8... no way of telling what grows in this zone... plants can be manipulated to grow anywhere provided given the right growing medium or environment and lots of TLC... any plant can grow.

i was alway told i can not grow this and that kind of plants. so far i've proven them wrong!

well, I know it was a dumb question, but there are some places south of me that can't, cause they need a cold period, I just didn't know how far south. Was working in the yard, and thought of several things that I could bring. Need to make a new list.

i live in the upper desert of So. Calif., some winter, our temperature go down to 10 deg F, during winter time and 110 degs in the summer. i do research plant to familiarize myself, therefore giving them the right environment and growing medium. delicate plants i do plant in pots... to be able to bring them in and protect if need be.

there is no dumb question tiG, at least in my book... the dumbmest question as far as i am concerned are the questions that were never ask!

oh i see what you mean..the one thing i KNOW we cant grow here are tulips.
i planted crocus for the first time this year, so ill see if those come back for me. ive had luck with daffs, snowdrops, paperwhites, hyacinths, crinums, amaryillas etc.
im sure there are more that need the cold snap to make them bloom but so far all ive found are tulips. i cant even say ive found that, just all these years people have said that so i never wasted my money on them, but i never see any growing around here either.
it irritates me that walmart sells them knowing that they wont come back blooming. when buying from catalogs i pay close attention to the zones some of these bulbs are too expensive to try to prove someone wrong.
the paperwhites im bringing you are from an homestead that i have permission to dig on. i havent gotten them yet, but ive seen them in bloom and know they are the same that i have.
jen

Jen according to HHTV:
Tulip can be grown here but only as annuals and they must be refrigerated for about 6 weeks prior to planting and if it rains to much they will rot...sounds like a royal pain. LOL
If you really want to see some Tulips I can let you look at my pictures that I took when we lived in Holland...now that's some tulips.....miles and miles of them.

i don't have to refrigerate bulbs i grew. winter temperature here ranges from 10-30ish during the winter time... bulb just love those cool temps. i am not a fan of tulips. i prefer oriental lilies for their fragrance and asiatic lilies for the array of colors they give me.

last year the winter temp went down to 10 deg. F. the Casablanca oriental grew to nearly 6' tall with 12 blossoms on one stem alone. Stargazers, Muscadets and Gold Elegance love the coldness of winter in the upper desert. and the warmth of the summer too.

MaVie, we've had more 40-50 nights this year than ever. I gave up buying tulips even as annuals, too much trouble for what you get one time.

i totally agree tiG!!! tulips never appealed to me. far as i am concerned they are only nice to see in pics.

i see u grow Stargazers.. have u tried growing Muscadets??? they are almost like Casablanca with pink/maroonish specks, and the fragrance is awesome!!! 5-8 flowers to a stem.

gold elegance i am not too empress. lots of faint fragrance in yellow/white but flowers are smaller. but profuse flowers in a stem... about 12-15 flowers per stem.

someday i would like to try some Mondragons though ;)!

this winter the lowest we experience so far is in the 20ish. these days nightime temp is in higher 40's. daytime is in mid 70's. the last few days was very sunny. today it look like some cold front is in the fore... too cloudy and breezy cold.

all my bulbs are left outside all year long, except the tropical varieties like caladiums. i repot them each year using equal amounts of peat moss, perlite, and 1/2 vermiculite. adding 1/4 cup superphosphate to the mixture.foliage feed with Miraclegrow 15-30-15 once a week.
i just finished repotting them all. i have to repot my bulbs cause we are intending to move to a bigger place soon. and i dare not leave my plants!!! all my miniscule collection is my pride and joy!

Hey tiG...forgive me for intruding.

Aren't you a zone 8 that far south. Seems like you should be.

jody, you can't intrude here, we keep a thread going as long as we feel like talking:) LOL!!! I'm one county away from zone 8a, but am also in a micro-climate thats just a bit cooler than all around me. Hate it!! well, it beats further north, but I wish I was in a warm micro-climate!

in these day and age... zoning does not seem to make sense anymore. if not mistaken... it is use only as a guideline. as gardeners we do manage to grow plants we want/need provided given lots of TLC,and good growing medium.

no Jody u are not intruding at all. after all this is an open forum. we can exchange notes and talk all we want... i believe ;).

MaVie, I just looked up all the lovelies you mentioned, very nice! We leave all our bulbs out too, except caladium, that's the only thing that won't come back. I potted my new bulbs up to get them going inside, hope I did right? If I wait til the ground is plenty warm, they don't get full until late summer.

tiG,

my caladium from last summer, i forgot to bring indoors turned to a mush. i bought new ones though. i already planted mine cause they do take too long to sprout. do not over water... just kept them damp.

some how when u disappeared i had the feeling u were checking on them LOL!!! can u wait till next fall for bulbils? is that ok? lmk. unfortunately i just repotted them last month. don't want to take risk of disturbing roots now. they are also beginning to emerge. hope u understand. next fall i will share some with u soon as the leaves dry.

i allow the leaves to dry thoroughly and NOT cut the flowers so the bulbs do develop more. one yr., i cut off the stargazer flowers for the vase. the following yr. i didn't get any blooms at all. i sure learned my lesson well then. besides potting them in soil, allows me to bring in the whole plant to perfume the house of their fragrance. all my orientals and asiatics are prolific bloomers!

btw... when i repotted, there were lots of bulbils i did not touch or move. so next fall they should be bigger. i will be posting pics next summer.

if u click my name, u can see the flowers also on my website. unfortunately, i don't have the time of the day to update. been too busy.

I'd love some in the fall!!

u're name is written on each variety of previously mentioned oriental lilies!!!

((MaVie))

{{{tiG}}}} =)