Daffodils---The Bulb of Choice for the Lazy Gardener

I confess, I am a lazy gardener.

Other than my vegetable gardening, I like plants which require minimal care and that is why when it comes to fall planting, I always recommended to my garden center customers, the daffodil as a superior fall bulb for spring planting.

Tulips most certainly come in such a variety of colors and the daffodil cannot compete with tulips assorted colors but unlike tulips:
　

• Daffodils will naturalize and when planted where they will be not be disturbed, daffodils will get better at the passing years as the bulbs multiply in numbers and the flowers multiply in beauty.

• Daffodils will provide many weeks of welcome color with minimal care.

• Daffodils are deer and rodent resistant.

• Daffodils do not just come in the familiar yellow trumpet flower shapes, but come in a variety of colors as yellow, oranges, whites, and pink. And a very pleasant surprise, many daffodils are fragrant which make for great indoor bouquets or indoor forcing.

• Like the tulips, daffodils can be selected and planted on the timing of their blooming periods: early, mid spring, and late. And there are some very small daffodils, which blend well when planted among the smaller sized blooming crocus and hyacinth bulbs.

Like all spring bulbs in the northeastern United States, daffodils need a cold dormancy period to bloom and can be planted under deciduous trees which do not have leaves when the bulbs are flowering.

Tulips Rank as High as Roses & Mums in Popularity

The tulip is a member of the Liliacea family and had its origins not in the Netherlands but in parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The tulip is ranked just behind roses and chrysanthemums in terms of international flower popularity.

Cultivated for 500 years, tulips were commercially cultivated in the Ottoman Empire (Turkey).

During the height of the Ottoman Empire, the tulip was seen, as a symbol of abundance and indulgence and the wealthiest was referred to as the Tulip Era. Today, the tulip is the national flower of Turkey.

Tulips were introduced in 1593 to the Netherlands. During this early introduction, there was a period referred to as Tulip Mania. During this time, people invested their life savings and speculated on purchasing tulip bulbs. As with all good speculations there was a boom and bust cycle in bulb speculation.

Today, Holland is the world’s largest producer of commercially sold tulip bulbs and produces 3 billion bulbs annually.
　
In horticulture, tulips are divided up into fifteen groups (divisions) mostly based on flower morphology and plant size. Another way of grouping tulips is by blooming times: early, mid-season, and late. As for this gardener, classification by blooming time helps me in my selection.

Unlike daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus, tulips do not readily naturalize and generally provide the best flower display for the first two years. After the second season of blooming, tulip bulbs need to be removed and replaced with newer larger bulbs.


Tulips need a cold dormancy period before blooming and do well in climates which have long cool springs and early summers. Well-drained, airy and loamy soils are the best for tulip cultivation. To achieve the most visual impact, plant tulips in clusters of five to 10 and no more than 6 to 12 inches apart and as noted earlier should be replace every two years for most spectacular plantings.

October is Time for Fall Bulb Planting

Now is the time to plant spring flowering bulbs.

As in the late winter when the seed catalogs start arriving in the mail, this gardener salivates in the fall looking at the different fall bulbs, which arrive in the garden centers.

Most garden centers in the northeast have their bulb displays up now and for many of us who garden we are like little kids in a candy shop looking at the bulb displays. Quality bulbs they can be ordered though mail order catalogs or on the internet.

Generally, the bulbs for planting now in the northeastern part of the country are:

• Daffodils (narcissists)
• Tulips
• Crocus
• Hyacinths

Some basics on fall planting of bulbs:

• Choose large healthy bulbs and avoid void bulbs that are dry and withered, spongy or moldy.

• Most flowering bulbs prefer full sun in the spring. Therefore planting bulbs in shady areas is acceptable as there will be ample sun before the trees and shrubs leaf out. Don’t plant bulbs in permanently shaded areas (as the north side of a house) as the bulbs will leaf out each year, however there will be all leaves and few flowers.

• In the fall, the bulbs develop their roots and therefore you can plant bulbs as long as the soil is soft enough to dig a hole. However much later than October, you have the risk the bulbs will not have the time to develop sufficient roots.

• Plant bulbs with the pointed side up. The pointed end of the bulb is the stem and the bottom of the bulb is the shriveled roots from the previous season.

• Generally large bulbs like daffodils are planted at depths of 6-8 inches and smaller bulbs are planted at depths of 3-4 inches.

• It is recommended to mix some bone meal or superphosphate into the soil at the bottom of the hole at to encourage strong root growth though admittedly I do not.

• Squirrels and chipmunks do enjoy bulbs---with the exception of daffodils. If you find the bulbs are being consumed and you are tired of replanting, use daffodils. If you are however determined to win the battle of the bulb-eating chipmunk, plant your bulbs in a cage made of hardware cloth or chicken wire. The roots and stems grow through, but the rodents can’t get to the bulbs.

• Water the bulbs after planting and even through the winter if you have a dry winter. Oddly enough, the following years, you will not worry about watering older bulbs as they have developed their own healthy cycle of growth and adjustment to your garden’s environmental conditions.

　

　
　
　

Enjoy the Fall Mums---But Plant in the Spring

In the garden centers flowering chrysanthemums (mums) are being promoted to plant outside. For good reason: flowering mums provide a great assortment of late summer and early fall colors as the annuals begin to fade.

However, the time to plant mums is not now---but in the spring!

So, if you are looking for a nice pot of mums to set out in the garden for fall color, do not be disappointed if the plant does not come up next year in the garden. Autumn planted mums now do not have sufficient time to develop a root system before the ground freezes and often times will not survive through the winter.

But that being said, next year in the spring be sure to add these great perennials to your garden.

Chrysanthemums prefer full sun, well-drained soils enriched by compost. To prevent leaf fungal diseases which can wipe out the mums, plant where the plants will get good air circulation. When selecting mums, select those cultivars, which are deemed hardy for your planting zones.

Generally, the very large flowering mums you might purchase for bouquets are not winter hardy for the colder northern planting zones of 3-5. Most of garden centers will only offer mums hardy to your planting zones.

Through the early summer, mums will set out flower buds. Keep those buds pinched off to not only form a bushier plant but to preserve plant energy for the fall blooming time of the flowers.

Mums are photoperiodic which means their flowering periods are affected by light duration. As autumn approaches, the ever so slight shorter daytime hours and longer nighttime hours will stimulate fall flowering.

Though I prefer to plant flowers which require minimal care, it is often times recommended to mulch your mums in the winter with straw to provide some winter protection---however, I have seen many gardeners who do not mulch their mum plantings which are still very dramatic. So, the best guide is to purchase mums which are deemed winter hardy for your geographical area.

Autumn Joy Sedum and Asters Bring Add Fall Colors to the Flower Beds.

In the last blog, the ‘Autumn Joy’ Sedum was mentioned as the fall flowering plant now blooming in our garden.

Sedums are a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae and are commonly called stonecrops.

There are many types of sedum available to gardeners. Some sedum are very low growing and are planted to creep and crawl along the ground or are planted in garden rock crevices so their leaves cascade over the rocks.

Low growing sedum varieties have different type of leaves and produce pink, yellow, or red flowers. Some of these low-growing sedums bloom in the early summer and provide a dramatic splash of color over a garden wall.

Autumn Joy is a larger sedum and can grow to a height of 24 inches. This large sedum is an autumn bloomer  with  blossoms, which start out light pink and then to a coppery red color.

Most sedum, including Autumn Joy, like moderately fertile and moist soils in a sunny location. However, should you have a dry sunny location, sedums can do well there also.   This tolerance to drier areas is the reason often Autumn Joy Sedum is  incorporated into commercial landscape sites.

In the fields of Ohio and the northeast United States, the asters are blooming. Asters have daisy like flowers and the wild asters growing in the fields, come in whites and shades of purples to almost light blue colors.

Rather than purchase asters for my garden, I have one section of a garden along the road that I allow the wild golden rod, white asters, and rudebeckias bloom in the fall after the day lilies have finished blooming.

If you prefer not to allow the wild asters to grow in your garden, aster cultivars can be purchased and come in an assortment of white, purple, lavender, pink or red flowers.

Asters do best in full sun in a moist well-drained soil.

　

Fall Gardening and the Myths of Golden Rod Allergies

Well, most definitely the late summer flowers are now starting to bloom in most of northeast Ohio gardens.

Among my favorites:

• Fall Crocus
• Rebloooming Iris
• Autumn Joy Sedum
• Mums
• Asters
• Yellow Golden Rod
• Ornamental Grasses (Seed Heads Are Pronounced)
• Autumn Flowering Clematis

And as most gardeners will note, often times the summer annuals seem to be reinvigorated to bloom more heavily during the cooler nights of late summer and early autumn. Some annuals, most notably petunias and nicotenia seem to quit blooming shortly after Labor Day and become long straggly plants devoted to producing seed. On the other hand, impatiens and snapdragons go through a major blooming frenzy right up to the first frost.

Fall Garden chores to add to your list:

• Flower bulb planting
• Tilling under the vegetable garden,
• New Lawn Planting
• Fall Tree Planting and Fertilization
• Division of Some Perennials

The next several blogs will be devoted to fall gardening.

But a myth needs to be dispelled about fall allergies.

Quite often, people will say that they are allergic to Golden Rod.

However, most likely, their real allergy could be to Ragweed, which is in bloom at, the same time Golden Rod is flowering.

Ragweed has green flowers, which are camouflaged amongst the plant’s leaves. The green flowers are not noticeable to the showier flowers of golden rod. Because ragweed releases its pollens in the air at the same time the noticeable yellow golden rod is in bloom,  people will mistakenly claim that they are allergic to golden rod when in reality their allergy is likely towards the invisible ragweed blooming and dusting the air with its pollens.

Dahlias Come in An Assortment of Colors and Flower Shapes

In our garden, the dinner plate Dahlias are  really performing this year.

If you have not grown dahlias, you are indeed missing a great garden plant. It has been said that if you can grow tomatoes, you can grow dahlias.
　
Dahlias are native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia and were introduced to Europe first by oral accounts by Spanish explorer, Francisco Hernandez and then finally in the late 18^th century dahlia seeds were finally introduced to the Madrid botanical gardens.

When the Dahlia was introduced to Dutch florists again also in the late 18^th century, the flower caught on in popularity and was cross-bred to develop varieties that are the progenitors of the current varieties.

Dahlias can be started from seed or by tubers.

In the garden center, flats of seed dahlias are offered in a variety of colors and these plants generally grow 3-6 inches in height.

The other way to begin dahlias is by purchasing dahlia tubers. Dahlia tubers are readily offered in garden retail centers starting as early as February or can be ordered over the internet and successfully shipped to the consumer.

The tuber is the fleshy underground stem of the dahlia and when dug can survive periods of dormancy. A dahlia tuber is probably the most common way that gardeners begin their first experience growing dahlias. Purchasing dahlia tubers will also provide the greatest opportunity to purchase different varieties of dahlias.

In the fall after the first frost has killed the tops of the dahlia, the tubers are dug and stored in a cool frost-free part of the basement or heated garage in a peat moss or sawdust mixture. Only light sprinkling of watering is required during this period so as not to stimulate a tuber from sprouting or rotting.

In the spring, the collected tubers can be successfully replanted out into the garden allowing the gardener to keep growing their very favorite dahlia year after year.

The basic  cultural requirements for growing dahlias are:

• Plant dahlia tubers around 6" deep with the 'eye' up with a little bone meal mixed in with the soil. Whether purchased as already grown plants from flower flats or from tubers, dahlias like full sun in most parts of the country,  can tolerate a little shade and need to watered regularly during the summer.

• If you are growing one of the taller varieties,  it is best to set the supporting stakes when you plant the tuber to avoid  puncturing  the tubers when inserting the stakes into the ground around an actively growing plant.

• Keeping  the soil moist is importants as the plants grow. For larger flowers, pinch out side shoots and buds to leave one major bud. Pinching through the season of the smaller varieties will encourage greater flower production.

• As already noted dahlias are not tolerant of frost,  so dig and lift out the tubers carefully after the first light frost has blackened the dahlia leaves.   Even those dahlias purchased in the flower packets or growns directly by seed in the garden will have produced collectable tubers.

Tubers can be divided carefully by making sure you leave at least one 'eye' on each division. Store tubers in perlite, sawdust or vermiculite in a cool spot in the basement or heated garage.  I use old plastic buckets packed with the sawdust or perlite mixture.
Check on the tubers sporadically to make sure they don't shrivel (and if needed sprinkle them with a little water)or show signs of mildew (dusting  with a fungicide could be useful).
　

Dahlias Come in An Assortment of Colors and Flower Shapes