Fall 2004 bulbs didn't come up in spring 2005

In the fall of 2004 I planted Crocus, grape hycinthia, and glory of the snow bulbs. I planted 70 small bulbs at the end of October when I got them from Brecks and Michigan Bulb Co. I added the special bulb food that I purchased and planted them 3" deep. It got very cold a couple weeks after I planted and stayed cold for the rest of winter. In the spring I only had 17 that showed any sign of life. Only a couple actually blossomed. Is there any chance that more may come in the spring of 2006?

You may get some suprises, but I would'nt count on it. My mother used to order from Michigan Bulb Co., but rarely did anything come up. I don't know why she kept ordering-LOL. If they were planted late cold may have been a problem, but most of those little bulbs are quite tough. Squirrels are known to eat crocus to. But keep trying, I'm sure you can still have success with these great little bulbs, and the ones you did have to come up should be bigger and better in spring. Good luck, Neal.

Thanks to this web site and it's members, I won't buy anything from Michigan Bulb again. I haven't had much success with the plants or bulbs that I received. I called them and they did replace the plants and bulbs but it is a lot of work to keep replanting. Do you know if grape hicynthia will have fall foliage or is it just the regular ones?

When the climate is mild, the grape hyacinth or muscari will show leaves before winter. It will freeze off and will not bother the bulbs...they'll make new ones.

Here in zone 5 my muscari show fall greenery...

Kristajoy, if you will e mail in the spring I will share some of my excess bulbs of the muscari with you.

I think that I live 50 miles south of you.

Krista,

When during the fall did you plant them? The thing with fall bulbs is that even though they're winter hardy to zone 4 or 3, they need adequate ntime to root before seriously cold weather sets in. After they root, a chemical change occurs in the bulb to prevent the bulb itself from freezing. I planted some hyacinths at my mom's house in zone 5 in Illinois in late November, and they did poorly that year - probably because they did not have adequate rooting time before the hard freezes began to set it.

Thanks for the information. I hope to have better results this spring. Maxine, I will e-mail you in the spring. My godson lives down by Arkansas, WI on Cty rd X. Small world.

Oh my gosh, I live on Cty. Rd. N out of Arkansaw!!!

Grape hyacinth were a total waste of time for me. Not one bloomed. Even the ones I tried to force were a failure. Strangely, some are sending up leaves now. Also, amaryllis Belladonna, and peonies, although I understand that those take their time.

I love grape hyacinth, but I've never heard of forcing them, unless you mean in dirt, in which case I guess I have seen it done, in magazines. But you know they're still down there, so wait a year. Maybe you need a new bulb company.....

xxx Carrie