Spring Bulbs - What's Blooming? II

Taylor, you'd asked about the tulips - I dug up some photos from 2007, 2008 and 2009 of the same bed so you can see the tulip progression. I did not plant any new bulbs in this bed though I did end up expanding the bed to the side and to the rear with daffodils, etc, but the same peony and tulips are in all three pics. Excuse the ugly bed and the overplanting but I hurriedly stuck these in the ground first in fall 2006 as we didn't even move in until October '06 and there was absolutely nothing in the way of flowers at our new place and I wanted some color the following spring. The peony I pulled from my old house and just kind of stuck it in the ground for lack of another place to put it, as I don't always "visualize" well when I plant stuff and usually end up editing the whole thing the following spring.

On tulips and peonies returning in TX - here is March 07 - wish I had a later pic but all I could find - not unusual for flowers to come up early for me the first year - tulips are actually kind of short:

This message was edited Mar 12, 2009 10:31 PM

Same bed on Apr. 1, 2008 - no additional bulbs planted (the lilies were there in '07 but the first pic was taken in March so they were not up yet):

I ran outside and took this tonight after work - horrible pic but it was raining and cold - but you can see the tulips coming up for year # 3 and the peony is much bigger. Two of the tulips are small but there are some behind those that are taller. The bed is bigger as I expanded it but all this stuff is original.

Here is another pic (tonight) at a closer angle - you can better see the buds and there are others coming up not visible yet. In another week or two they will be much more visible and/or blooming. So - do they come back? Like up north - no, for sure not with tulips, but the proof is there that it can happen. I leave everything in the ground all year. I am seeing buds coming up in the bed opposite with last year's tulips as well.

Daffodils are bursting into bloom like crazy around here. A few days of temps in the 60s and 70s put them in overdrive! 'February Gold', 'Jetfire', and N.pseudonarcissus are looking showy, and are now dusted with a light layer of snow. Its been overcast since they started coloring up nicely and I'm having trouble getting decent pics- flash keeps making the colors look bleached out, so I'll wait for the sun.

Taylor, I sent a reply (took a while as I was waiting for a reply from my friend with Lycoris bulbs) to your email, but I'm thinking some of my emails haven't been getting to their recipients. There's a couple of others who didn't get something I sent. I'll try that again.

Steve-
I do have a greenhouse, but that one in the picture is not mine. I like the one in the picture, because of the sliding glass doors. Mine is just a double wall of plastic. It is either closed for the season, or completely open for the season...no flexibility for fluctuation weather, like that one in the picture...

Yes, I overwinter citrus, and brugs and stuff, but also start seeds. I read a lot on the Mittleider method a few years back(even purchased the CD), and have tried to duplicate some of his methods. One of them being to have the majority of the greenhouse on the cold side(no supplemental heat until it drops to 32) for overwintering mature plants that need a dormant period, and then a small portion of it sectioned off to be heated on the hot side, for seedlings. It saves the gas bill and the plants really do better this way, too.

On your tulips that 07 bed and 08 bed look like different tulips...the first one looks pink, and the second one looks like that peachy pink multicolored one...daydream.

Where did you buy those daydream, by the way? If I am going to try them, again, I want to start with those...they are very "dreamy", lol...So is it too late for this season?...when do you plant them?

Neal-
I'll check for your email :0)

took my first pic this morning!
I've been inside re-cooping from having 4 wisdom teeth cut out on monday but this sure made me feel better!!!

after these are finished for the year, should I refrigerate??? anyone know.

No need, just allow the foliage to linger till it yellows. It will go dormant for summer and receive its necessary cold treatment next winter.

Ditto, 2RB, those hyacinchs are well adapted in our climate as well. They're very fragrance.

Oh, there are some very nice people on this thread (they live in Kentucky, Alabama, and then there's that chap from Axle). I have been very lucky to have my neighbor (she asks me what to put in HER yard! such as the silver linden I suggested, since I'd always wanted one) and I love to fill my yard with beautiful things.

We got a pretty sharp freeze but just about everything was still quiet or hard to kill. Our temps are supposed to go up. I'm looking very forward to sharing pictures of my bulbs.

Donna

Taylor, I had a single late mix in there so they bloomed at different times. The '07 picture was taken in early March and then the '08 picture was taken in April - I cannot find any pictures from April '07 so I must have lost them. They're just starting to come up this year so barely open so I anted to show a picture that they were coming back - some of them at least. I'll post another pic when more open up. They are all from the same planting in 2007. There were pink, violet, orangey, purple, all mixed together.

do you remember where you got the daydream ones?...you said you just saw the name on the invoice, so maybe you have the vendor's name, too?
pretty please?
:0)

Yep - we picked them up at Wal-Mart believe it or not!!! They actually looked surprisingly nice and I almost never buy bulbs there.

Wall-Mart and Costco are a good bang for the buck INMHO for buying bulk bulbs. Also Costco for bare root hostas, and begonia and dahlia tubers.

2racingboys.. your beautiful hyacinth would go well with these...

crocus & muscari making their appearance today.

Are you serious? Those gorgeous peachy/pink tulips came from Walmart??...and they bloomed true to the name on the package?
...I am in shock :0)

They did - and so did my "Big Smile" yellow tulips. I was impressed.

O I'd kill to be able to grow that anemone Beahive. BEAUTY! You have luvly, luvly blues.

I have not bought anything like that at Costco, dahlianut, but I have heard they were decent. I had finished planting all of my online bulbs this fall and we were in WM looking for other things and passed the bulb display which was mostly picked dry - and they still had some really nice looking bulbs so naturally I could not resist LOL

ooooo, yea, that is sooo pretty. I'll have to see if they are hardy here.

I recommend Costco as a supplier in my dahlia workshop for those who are just starting. Reasonable cost to decide if you want to try dahlias in my zone. I luv their tuberous begonias because I get much larger flowers and plants growing from tubers that buying plants. Bare root hostas are also a great deal here at Costco. They usually only bring in very common varieties but if you are looking for no-fails in a shady spot on a limited budget, great deal. Also I haven't got any diseased tubers/bulbs/roots from Costco.

2racingboys I am a zone 7a so they should grow in 7b..
Dalilanut not sure on zone 3???

hmmmm.... they MUSt go on my want list then! lol
thanks. I had no idea oregon was in my zone-ish lol

Only anemone blanda will return here in a protected spot beahive. Some put the others in and treat them as annuals. I might add them to my tender bulb collection that spends the winter in the cold room... glads, cannas, callas, beluved dahlias, acidenthera. What the hoot, what's a few more? ^_^

We don't have 'Spring' like the rest of the US since we don't get winter, but, we do have some bulbs, like Hippeastrum>

Beahive ,
Thx for the beautiful anenome pic!
Karen

Ohh Dale! Those Amaryllis are to die for! Very effective grouping!

My little Tete-tete daffodils

Nan, are those miniature jonquils called Tete-tete? If so I've some and I love them. Mine are spent though, I pruned off the seedpods on those several days ago.

Yes they are....I just think they are so darn cute! I still have some that are not up all the way...so more to look forward to blooming!

Giant White Calla (Zantedeschia aethiopica 'Giant White' blooming now in the GH. Never seems to set seed but maybe this year!

This Oxalis just popped up in one of my pots, I have never seen it before. I do have Oaxlis triangulus (?), it has triangle shaped leaves and I have a white flowered green leaf type that has rounded leaves, but, I have never seen this one>

This message was edited Mar 14, 2009 3:51 PM

More Hippies>

I think this is Crocus ancyrensis "Golden Bunch", but I am not sure..either way, it's my first bloom of the year.

Dale: Nice color combination with the purple Oxalis and the variegated hosta!

Hemophobic,

That is Tradescantia with the Oxalis, too warm here for Hosta. Tradescantia - aka - Wandering Jew.

And these are coleus and lantana, rooted cuttings>

This message was edited Mar 16, 2009 5:52 PM

Sorry, but it's a lovely combo.

Obviously its time to haul my calla lilys out of the cold room and into the greenhouse.

I have a few more crocus out today:

I believe this is Gipsy Girl: