this is why I don't plant spring bulbs ...

The Dutch Iris that I planted earlier this month have sprouted. This cannot be good. =(

Cheri'

That's OK....it will just freeze off, just cut it off in the Spring to make them look better and avoid fusarium when it gets wet.

Thanx, bleek.
I presume that it won't bloom come spring.

Cheri'

You'll be pleasantly surprised!!

cool

=)

Cheri'

sundry, I am zone 5 and my dutch iris put up foliage every fall and so far they have bloomed every spring and are even increasing. I've had the oldest ones in the ground 3 full seasons now.

My grape hyacinths also put up fall foliage and bloom every spring and have been increasing nicely also.

they always grow in the winter but come to no harm even from hard frost and snow. If you dont want them to grow buy English Iris which look the same but bred from another species.

I sent my aunt in Metairie a package of reticulata and Dutch a few years ago. They put on a fantastic show every year

ahhh, mark, I didn't know they were supposed to grow in the winter.

I had ordered English Iris, but the company sent Dutch Iris (like 3 times as many), saying the English Iris was not available this year. So I planted them. Maybe I'll get some English Iris next year.

Thanx a bunch for the info, folks.

Cheri'

English Iris are usually sold in the spring. When I get home I'll post the differences in both these plants as in parents. The flowers are the same shape.

I'll be on the look out for English Iris in the spring, then. Thanx for the info. =)

I wonder if it's ok to plant English and Dutch iris together? Since the flowers are so similar it would be nice. The Dutch Iris would flower first, followed by the English ... or would that turn out badly?

Cheri'

I dont think there is any difference in flowering time

Dutch Iris Iris hollandica
English Iris Iris xiphioides

hmmmmmmm

The company's website said that the English Iris bloom a little later than the Dutch. I like later because early blooming plants can be blooming in January here, depending on the weather, which is too early for me. But we know that companies don't always give us the facts ...

I'll have to do a little more research.

Cheri'

Hi Sundry,

I know what you mean about spring bulbs. I don't usually bother with them anymore, except for a few. Dutch irises perform unpredictably for me - some years great, others nada. Freesias, on the other hand, last for years where ever I've planted them. My one downfall, the bulb that I buy repeatedly knowing they'll rot, is the anemone. When they make it, they are spectacular!

Well, I guess I ambled away from the point of the discussion here. I do have a couple of Dutch's that have been growing in the same spot for about three years. They've never bloomed there, but the foliage looks good, even now. I wouldn't worry about yours already greening up.

8^)

I've never tried Dutch iris before, or English, for that matter. I haven't planted a spring bulb in years, it's an exercise in futility. But, I was tempted by the English iris ... lol.

I have some freesias that came as a 'free gift' some years ago. I stuck them in containers that already had plants in them and promptly forgot about them. Then, in spring 2002 I had these mystery plants coming up in my containers. I couldn't figure it out, until they bloomed. It was the freesias! I never thought they would come back this year, but they did. If they make it next year, I'll dig them up and put them in the ground. Maybe even get more.

You gotta love a freebie bulb (who expects them to thrive?) that survives being forgotten about.

Cheri'

And now my Easter Lilies are sprouting!!! I know that is not normal, as I've had them for a few years now. They don't usually sprout until early spring. *sigh*

Might this be happening because they were in a pot and I transplanted them to a raised bed? I don't know why that would cause it, but it's the only thing that is different ... even the location is very close.

This is not a good sign ....

Cheri'

I would lift it and plant it deeper. It wont come to any harm. Most true Lilies root along the stem as it pushed through the soil. This helps support the flowering stem and get more food for the plant.

Mark, I planted them 6 inches deep in a raised bed, and they are now covered with maybe 3 inches of un-chopped oak leaves. Everything I read says to plant them 6 inches deep, total - soil and mulch. They weren't planted that deep in the pot they've been in for years. LOL. They were prolly only 4 inches deep.

The poor things are confused. I just hope they don't get frozen and the whole bulb die. I can live without blooms for one year, if that's what it takes to get them settled . . . I'm just going to have to hope for the best.

Cheri'

six inches isnt very deep. when you next buy bulbs try them deeper.

LOL, well, this is what I get for trying to follow directions. Next time I will try planting deeper. I'll be planting a few trumpet lilies and maybe some orientals in the spring. I'll plant them even deeper and see what happens.

Cheri'

do you put them into a small hole and fill it in or in a wide enriched hole? Gardening programs here always say plant them deep in enriched holes so the roots coming out of the stem as it grows get good food and anchor the bulb better

Mark, these bulbs were planted in a new raised bed, so the whole bed was newly mixed and enriched. When I planted the Easter Lilies, I dug out the whole section that was to be Easter lilies and placed the bulbs in it. Then I covered them with the same dirt, which had been newly mixed about a month before. Plus I threw in some osmocote, for good luck. =) Later, I dumped about 3 inches of whole dried oak leaves on top, for mulch. I figure the leaves will pack down to about half that height by next spring.

None of the dirt in the bed is the hard clay that is ordinary around here. The bed is about a foot tall, with the top three inches being mulch (oak leaves). I tilled up the hard clay before building the bed on top, adding some compost. The soil in the bed itself is decent (kinda sandy) topsoil mixed with mushroom compost and shredded oak leaves. About 50% topsoil ...

Oh, and I sprinkled some of that corn gluten weed inhibitor (to prevent weed seeds from germinating) on top.

Everything planted in there seems to be doing well. Things just seem to be coming up early ...

Cheri'

Mon cheri, I'm not sure if a total depth of 9 inches is enough for Lilies. Are they planted 3x their own height deep? Can the Lily roots penetrate whatever the raised bed is built on?

Maybe lliyfan can have some input

My Easter lilies are not planted very deep. I'd say they are probably 4 inches max, unless they have worked themselves deeper than what they were planted. The soil here is very hard and I have never planted any bulb 9 inches deep. I'm certainly no expert, but if the ground doesn't freeze where you are, I don't think depth is a big deal.

Mark, daylilies and things were growing fine there before I built the raised bed, so I'd say yes, the lily roots should be able to penetrate. Counting the mulch on top they are more than three times deeper than the bulb is tall. Just counting the soil, prolly a little less than that, the big ones anyway. I don't think that any of the bulbs were more than 2 inches tall, but I could be wrong.

Kelli, the ground rarely freezes here, I'd estimate no more than once every ten years or so. Even then, not for long. Normally, air temps don't stay below freezing for more than a few hours at a time, and that only a few nights a year (not usually in row). We've already had a freeze, but it's warmed up again.

The temp is currently 73º, the low last night was around 45º. I think they think it's spring. Maybe I confused them when I transplanted them. Maybe I should have waited until spring.

Cheri'

Golly Mark, thanks for the vote of confidence. I wish I had more than just a guess. I'm going to throw it out anyway and maybe someone who knows more will drop by and set the record straight!
I think sundry you might be right and the bulbs do think it is spring. I do know that the perennials, trees, shrubs, and bulbs we plant in the fall don't just go to sleep, they are busy growing roots until the ground freezes. Since that is not something that happens there, they might just start to put out top growth after they get the roots settled in. My guess is that once they go through an entire growth cycle in the ground they should acclimate. You did say that normally they don't do this and that you've had them for a couple of years, were these new bulbs or just ones you have transplanted?

Anybody have any ideas or suggestions, am I all wet? Sure hope not, it's cold up here in Iowa!

I've just gone through some of my bulb books and according to Brian Matthews in his book 'The Gardener's Guide to Bulbs' Lilies should have their base 8 inches down.

Brian worked at Kew for 25 years where he speciality was bulbs

lilyfan, I've had these in a pot for about 3 years now. They weren't planted very deep in the pot. I had three in tiny pots that I rescued after one Easter, and I just transplanted them into the bigger pot, as they were. The plants were still growing and I didn't disturb the roots or bulb, just planted them to the depth they had been planted before. They've been doing fine, but were getting crowded. The original 3 had become 8 blooming plants this past spring. Plus several small plants.

I built this new raised bed this summer, so when the Easter Lilies finally went dormant, I moved them to the new bed. I think that was in October. I divided the clusters of bulbs up and planted most of them in the garden, and gave a few to the girl down the street who has been admiring them since I got them. This time I planted them deep (I thought).

Then we had a cold snap, a bit of a freeze ... and it warmed back up. This is normal fall/winter weather for us. Now the silly things think it's spring. (An Apostle Plant is blooming right next to them, so I shouldn't be so surprised)

If they grow now and a freeze gets them, will the bulbs survive? As I said, I can live without the blooms for a year while they get settled, I don't want to lose the bulbs. I'd dig them up and bring them in for the winter, but I'm afraid to do more harm than good. I don't really have a good place for them inside.

It's supposed to get down to 34º tonite ...

Cheri'

Mark, maybe I should have planted them deeper, but I don't think that's what is causing them to sprout out of season. Do you?

Anyway, they are under 6 inches of soil, plus 3 inches of mulch. That's 9 inches total these silly plants have grown through, and now showing more than an inch on top.

Cheri'

I wouldnt worry because you live in a warm zone

Sundry,
I noticed the Easter lilies I planted last spring are sprouting, too. These were, as you called them, rescued after Easter. They held thier foliage for most of the summer, disappeared, and have now popped out again. I think you're right about them being confused. I seriously doubt that they'll be damaged - except for the possible loss of bloom. You're on target - even if your perennials aren't.
8^)

Ah, well, at least it's not just me. LOL!

It's right at freezing now, I don't know if they will now die back and give up. I'll just have to hope for the best. Thank you all for your replies.

Cheri'

I had the same problem with Asiatic lilies (1000) of them last winter. Planted them in a raised bed in October, 6" deep. In December, they all started sprouting growth. We were in North Texas, so it froze the tops off of the plants, but according to neighbors, they were beautiful late in the summer. (I moved in May). They did make loads of babies during that stage as well! I have narcissus that I got from the Co-op in bud stage right now, so I'm sort of in the same fix.

I'm glad to hear that your premature lilies got back on track. And lots of babies, to boot! cool! =)

My Easter lilies are still growing ... I don't know what is going to happen with them. Guess I'll just have to wait and see. Maybe, if they don't end up flowering this year, at least they will give me lots of babies. I can hope, anyway.

I don't even dare plant narcissus here. It doesn't get cold enough, and the warm spells are too unpredictable. I hope yours make it ok.

Cheri'

Me too! After the disaster with the Asiatics, within 2 months I was digging 1/4 to 1/2" bulbils out of the ground, and scales had rooted everywhere, and where the stems had drooped, they rooted, so I left them there....would love to be able to see it next year!