Bulb Questions from Chris

Dear Mary Sue<
Thank you for your insight. I am doing fairly well as a plant lover, but
just when I think I know what I am doing, something strange happens. My
daughter gave me a gift of a little portable green house, so I am going to
try my luck with that. I also removed some potted plants for the upcoming
Winter
and combined soil that looked as if nothing was growing; now stuff is
popping up
all over the place. Nothing grew in those pots all Summer and not they
like the
dirt etc. Now that I have mixed the soil, I know I shouldn't have. Don't
give
up on me because I have learned a great deal about plants, also my famaily
says
they love to see me working with my plants. Of course I never thought I
would
get excited over a blossom or a root, perhaps I am finally in my element.
Thanks again for your advise, I shall get some more books.
See Ya,
Chris

[Original Message]
From: Mary Sue Ittner <msittner@mcn.org>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: 9/19/2004 10:55:57 AM
Subject: [pbs] Bulb Questions from Chris

Dear Chris,

I'm sure none of us want to stifle your enthusiasm about growing bulbs,

but

I think you might find a few books really helpful in answering your
questions. I think Growing Bulbs: The Complete Practical Guide by Brian
Mathew is an excellent book and I expect others could suggest other basic
books as well.

It is impossible to give an answer that would work for all bulbs. Our

group

talks about plants that are bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, tuberous roots,

corms.

What they all have in common is an underground storage organ that helps
them survive difficult times. Some of them may be buried under snow and

not

appear until spring. Others are sitting out a summer without rain and

will

sprout when the rains begin. Others may be evergreen and never really

lose

their leaves. There are so many different variations.

How to treat them depends on what you are growing. There are books that
will give you information about different plants. It is also helpful to
find out where they come from and what the conditions are where they

grow.

Oxalis, one of your favorite bulbs, grows all over the world. We have
Oxalis growing in our Redwood forests in deep shade where they have

winter

rainfall and a dry summer except for the moisture that comes from fog

drip.

There are Oxalis growing in forests in Europe. Many of the really

gorgeous

ones are native to South Africa where some of them are found in areas

that

are low in rainfall, hot in summer, but never really cold in winter when
the rain comes. They sprout with the first rains and go dormant when the
weather becomes hot and dry. But there are summer rainfall Oxalis too.
Other species come from Central or South America where they may have year
round or tropical summer rainfall and grow in summer and are dormant in
winter. So even with Oxalis you need to know something about the species
you are growing if you want to be successful with it.

Some bulbs benefit from repotting and others will sulk for years when you
disturb their roots. It may be fine to leave bulbs in pots while they are
dormant or to remove them. It just depends. Most can be grown from seed.
Some will bloom quickly from seed and others will take many years and

even

then may not bloom if the conditions are not to their liking. Some seed

may

germinate quickly and other seed will take a long time. Some will grow
underground the first year and you won't even know that anything is

happening.

Unless you have a greenhouse or a large indoor growing area with lights

a beginner you'll have much better luck growing bulbs that are happy with
your climate. Many people in our group are able to grow bulbs that you
wouldn't expect they could by knowing what conditions the bulbs need and
providing those conditions. Some of us started however with things that
were very easy to grow before we tried harder things.

If there is a plant you are wondering about tell us what it is and
hopefully someone in the group who grows it will try to help you.

Mary Sue

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