please advise on growing bulbs here in 10a - - - thanks!

i have tulips and daffs. do i plant them now, or wait another month or so?

Hi Annapet,

The rule of thumb here in our zone, is to plant bulbs in October. I have read this information in many of the ariticles of growing plants, etc. in California.

Another point of interest is to plant Sweet Peas on Halloween. This gives them time to germinate and start growing for a nice late spring bloom.

I am trying my darndest to get all my blubs planted now, but the darned rain we had last week has made my soil very soggy and it's not good to plant in soggy clay soil. lol

Donna

thanks, donna! well, i better get really busy then.

almost done with my costco finds:
passionate 25
skagit valley 25
carnaval de rio 25
hollandia 25
double tulips, assorted colors 50

i did say no more tulips, but will concentrate on daffs, but i couldn't resist $6.97/50 count bag, and the bulbs are better than the ones i received from bloomingbulbs this year.

i hope i'll have photos to show come spring. will try forcing bulbs, too.

well, i hope i remember this next year - - - treat tulips as annuals, and no more buying expensive ones. opened another costco bag, and the bulbs look really good.

francoise 25
giant daffs for naturilizing 30 (and some 150 more to go, lol.)

really excited about spring now.

i wish i didn't run out of dirt. i'd be planting more.

This message was edited Oct 26, 2005 3:48 PM

French late single tulips will grow and even come back. They are worth spending the money on if you can find them. Several on-line places carry them. These are from White Flower Farm. Many places are less expensive. Any late tulip is better for us. These have been in the ground for three years.

Also, with daffs I find the shorter the better. For some reason the taller ones fall over here and end up looking a disreputable mess. Don't know why.

Plant what you can now, but if you run out of time, you can plant up until Christmas. You refrigerated your tulips or bought pre-chilled bulbs, didn't you? That's why I usually end up planting around Christmas. By the time I refrigerate for 10 to13 weeks, it's Christmas. (Yes, 8 weeks is what is recommended, but I've found that longer works better for me.)

I found late single tulips at Costco. I've haven't planted many tulips, so is there a difference in planting time between French and Dutch? Anyway, I'm refrigerating them now. I hope I'm not too late.

Don't worry about it. You don't have to refridgerate late singles. They can go in the ground now.

If you want a nice source for California friendly bulbs try Easy to Grow Bulbs in Fallbrook CA.

Jon, the customer rep, can help you with all kinds of questions, and they are having a 30% off sale on their website specials right now. Call or email and ask him about it (it's not listed on their website).

http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/

I have ordered from them many times and they have very nice stock.

thanks, t.

i'm just getting deeper and deeper into this by the day!

=)))