Maybe drought contributed, but it is true that as they increase they need
more fertilizer if they are to keep producing flowers. Brent Heath
(daffodil expert) pointed out a large clump on his family farm that has
never been divided and was loaded with bloom...you either have to fertilize
or divide to keep getting bloom.
Debbie
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf Of Karen
Barker
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 12:11 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: what's blooming in my PA garden
[MUCH DELETED]
I don't seem to have as many daffodil blooms as last year. Could it have
been a hard winter that is responsible? Or do they need more fertilizer
as they get older? I didn't do anything different this year to them.
I'm still looking for more bulbs to come up. A little worried that they
might have rotted out due to the water problems that my neighbor caused.
Not specifically daffs as the ones on the really wet side are up in big
healthy clumps. But I don't see signs of the yellow tulips that have
come up every year since I've been here. There were 30-50 and I planted
another 40 a couple of years ago.
The late blooming tulips in the apple tree bed are up so I'm worried.
That bed's about 3 feet higher. If the water rotted the tulips then a
Royal Bonica rose and three blue rug junipers are at risk, too.
I suggested today that the Department of Public Works come out and use a
pump to drain the standing water. That would give us some time while
they play games with my neighbor. They said they didn't have a pump:-(
Esther
Deborah Green
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 3:45 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Daffodils WAS RE: what's blooming in my PA garden
Maybe drought contributed, but it is true that as they increase they
need
more fertilizer if they are to keep producing flowers. Brent Heath
(daffodil expert) pointed out a large clump on his family farm that has
never been divided and was loaded with bloom...you either have to
fertilize
or divide to keep getting bloom.
Debbie
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf Of
Karen
Barker
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 12:11 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: what's blooming in my PA garden
[MUCH DELETED]
I don't seem to have as many daffodil blooms as last year. Could it
have
been a hard winter that is responsible? Or do they need more fertilizer
as they get older? I didn't do anything different this year to them.
Can't remember if it's Brent & Becky or John Scheeper's that recommends
fertilizing 3X per year. First when they first start popping up, again
after they've finished blooming, and the third time before mulching in the
fall.
Barb in Idaho
I'll try fertilizing them more this year and see what happens.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
Hard to believe Public Works doesn't have a pump, although maybe it's not
the right kind. You have any construction friends with a trash pump?
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
On Mon, 14 Apr 2003 16:21:32 -0400 eczekalski
writes:
An excerpt from this page:
http://www.johnscheepers.com/plantinginstr.html
Feed your bulbs with our Dutch Organic Bulb Food three times a year: at
planting time in the fall; when the sprouts first push through the soil in
the spring and when the foliage dies in the summer. To prevent the
possibility of root burn, lightly dust the bulb food over the surface of
the garden bed as a top dressing after you finish planting your bulbs.
Please do not mix fertilizer into each hole; broadcast the fertilizer over
the surface of the bed and water it in. If there is a prolonged, dry fall,
water your flower bulb beds occasionally. Cover the beds with about 2" of
mulch after the ground freezes completely. Mulching helps retain ground
moisture and helps protect bulbs from temperature spiking. Some good
mulching mediums include straw, salt marsh hay or oak leaves.
Spring Tips
In the early spring, remove the mulch as soon as the flower shoots emerge.
Carefully top dress your flower beds with a second application of bulb
food. After your bulbs bloom, "dead head" the flowers as soon as they have
faded, leaving the foliage and stems to die back naturally. Apply a third
application of bulb food to strengthen the bulb. Remove dead foliage once
it dies naturally. Bulbs are best left to regenerate in the ground!
> Can't remember if it's Brent & Becky or John Scheeper's that recommends
fertilizing 3X per year. First when they first >start popping up, again
after they've finished blooming, and the third time before mulching in the
fall.
Fertilize in the FALL, NOT the spring.
Debbie
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf Of Karen
Barker
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 6:40 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Daffodils WAS RE: what's blooming in my PA garden
I'll try fertilizing them more this year and see what happens.
I thought you were supposed to do both.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
Could maybe try the Dept of Nat. Resources or equivalent. They usually
have them on hand to handle flooding around here and usually a nice
young man will come with to do the job so the precious pump isn't
damaged. Marg
Karen Barker wrote:
Does it make a big difference? I thought with the leaves fueling the
bulbs now it would be best to feed now. I can't see the directions, they
are way to tiny to read even with a magnifying glass! Marg
Deborah Green wrote:
I've read arguments both ways. I had really good results renovating a =
strip of daffodils planted by a previous owner. They hadn't bloomed for =
several years, until I decided to use bulb fertilizer both spring and =
fall. It worked! They bloomed the next spring.
Spring fertilizing makes sense to me because the bulb is storing energy =
to increase in size and bloom next year, right now. That's why the =
foliage is left on as long as possible, too.
Supposedly the roots are active in the fall, too, and the bulb is =
capable of taking up nutrients.
Elizabeth
tiarella@bellsouth.net
Gardens co-listowner
http://www.gardenerscorner.com/notes.html
----- Original Message -----
From: Karen Barker
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 7:49 PM
Subject: Re: Daffodils WAS RE: what's blooming in my PA garden
I thought you were supposed to do both.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
On Mon, 14 Apr 2003 18:59:43 -0400 Deborah Green
writes:
> Fertilize in the FALL, NOT the spring.
> Debbie
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf
> Of Karen
> Barker
> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 6:40 PM
> To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
> Subject: Re: Daffodils WAS RE: what's blooming in my PA
> garden
> I'll try fertilizing them more this year and see what happens.
________________________________________________________________
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It's Brent and Becky who recommend only in the Fall...and they have gorgeous
daffs and it has worked well for me. Many of mine are already going dormant
as the leaves are starting to decline..doesn't make sense to give them food
at that point. In the fall they start active root growth which is basically
continuing until they finish blooming.
Debbie
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf Of Karen
Barker
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 7:50 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Daffodils WAS RE: what's blooming in my PA garden
I thought you were supposed to do both.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
Guess I'll try 3x a year.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
Debbie, as I recall, wasn't that fall fertilization supposed to be a
slow-release fertilizer? Margaret L
Sounds good to me. Mine are emerging now so that is what I am off to do
this am, thank you very much. A rain is called for today and the chance
of thunder with snow possibly following so that is a definite
improvement over yesterdays weather forecast of snow alone!
Marg
Barb B wrote:
I'm offended...why would you fertilize three times a year when you don't
need to to get great results? Also, the Heaths point out that all bulbs are
not alike so one plan does not necessarily fit all-the bulb booster you
often see in the garden centers is something they recommend for tulips, but
not for daffodils, for example.
Debbie
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf Of Karen
Barker
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 11:02 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Daffodils WAS RE: what's blooming in my PA garden
Guess I'll try 3x a year.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
Yes! Thanks for pointing that out; would definitely make a difference!
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf Of
Margaret Lauterbach
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 10:14 AM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Daffodils WAS RE: what's blooming in my PA garden
Debbie, as I recall, wasn't that fall fertilization supposed to be a
slow-release fertilizer? Margaret L
> I'm offended...why would you fertilize three times a year when you don't
> need to to get great results? Also, the Heaths point out that all bulbs
are
Hee, hee, Debbie, you've got more problems than me if you're going to get
"offended" over how I treat my bulbs. Apparently fall
fertilizing just didn't do it this past year, so maybe mine need more.
I've got lousy clay/rock soil. I'm gonna try the 3x and see what results
I get.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
> Guess I'll try 3x a year.
> Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
Just don't fertilize when the daffs are going dormant, please...because
you'll be fertilizing something other than daffs.
But 3x a year sounds good, *if* you use a slow release fertilizer in the
fall, fertilize as they break ground in the spring and then about halfway
through their active season. That will vary by variety...some of mine go
dormant after a month, so I'd just fertilize those varieties 2x a year and
save the 3x a year treat for the biggies, the ones that are active for a
long time.
Barb in Southern Indiana Zone 5/6 dorsettb@kiva.net
The best gardens are a perfect balance of order and chaos.
~ Helen Humphreys
I thought you hadn't fertilized them and you wanted to know when/if you
should...I've got the lousy clay, too and clay actually is pretty nutritious
compared w/sandy soil, for example. I work on water quality issues here and
get easily exasperated by people fertilizing too much and/or at the wrong
times because it does do terrible things to watersheds by increasing
nutrient loads...so that's my motivation! Plus, I'd like you to have lots
of sunny daffodils to greet you when you go back to PA in the spring AND
save you the time and money of fertilizing 3 times a year.
Debbie
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf Of Karen
Barker
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 10:31 AM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Daffodils WAS RE: what's blooming in my PA garden
Hee, hee, Debbie, you've got more problems than me if you're going to get
"offended" over how I treat my bulbs. Apparently fall
fertilizing just didn't do it this past year, so maybe mine need more.
I've got lousy clay/rock soil. I'm gonna try the 3x and see what results
I get.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
The FL soil on Sanibel is all sand with absolutely no nutrition. We
usually fertilize every two months there, although the MG's say monthly
is better. I think for a home garden they recommend weakly - weekly. We
have to use the coated or time-release stuff or it all just washes right
down through the soil at the first rain. At least in clay the fertilizer
hangs around for the plant to use.
I always fertilize the daffs in fall, although I was in such a rush last
October that I really can't remember if I did or didn't. I assume I did.
I still have hundreds of daffs, it's just that last year I had more, and
I can tell the difference. I'm going to fertilize them now and then in
fall (provided I don't forget) and see how they look next year.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
Oh yeah, I forgot I can't do it when they break ground in the spring -
I'm generally not here.
Karen in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 5b/6)
On Tue, 15 Apr 2003 10:49:45 -0500 "B. Dorsett"
writes:
