We put up the 4th week of our spring Exhibit at the Gardens. My volunteers look forward to doing it even though it is chaotic. We have to take out the past weeks old faded bulb flowers and put in new fresh ones. Seeing the cheery daffodils, beautiful tulips, elegant bleeding hearts and vibrant hyacinths that one of the other horticulturists grows for the exhibit, is so refreshing at this time of year. Especially on a gray darkish day like we sometimes have in March. It really gets our hopes up for spring!
If you receive or buy a potted tulip or hyacinth or daffodil for Easter, you can save it and plant it outside to bloom another year. The simplest way is to plant the whole pot in the ground after danger of frost is passed. Another way is to care for the bulb foliage in the pot, giving it light fertilizer and partial sun. Once the foliage has turned yellow , cut the leaves off and take the bulbs out of the soil and store in a mesh bag, hanging it in a dry place like the garage. Tulip bulbs are especially prone to rooting if they stay too moist all summer.
Then replant the bulbs in the fall. Bulbs that have been forced used up a lot of energy so they will not flower again the next year. It may take 2 or 3 years of growing and storing energy from the sunshine before they have enough energy to bloom again.
A lot of tulips actually don’t come back well. Species tulips and old varieties are more likely to come back again. Hyacinths usually come back and bloom again and daffodils come back very well. You can even get daffodils to naturalize very well.
Enjoy your beautiful flowers this Easter and then enjoy them for years to come!
Happy spring,
Judy
Crocus, hyacinth, and tulips are always a welcome sight after a long, cold winter.
Comment by victoria — April 19, 2009 @ 8:03 pm
Victoria, That’s so true, and we have had a long, cold winter this year for sure. Bob
Comment by Bob — April 21, 2009 @ 8:58 pm