Dormant bulbs

Blee811@aol.com Blee811@aol.com
Sat, 26 Jun 2010 17:36:45 PDT
 
In a message dated 6/26/2010 4:44:38 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
oldtulips@yahoo.com writes:

The  Daffodil growers dig bulbs 6 weeks after blooming and immediately put 
them in  mesh bags and let sit in the sun for a few hrs.  then store in cool 
well  ventilated area.  It seems that if you try to replant them and water 
in  they will rot, as narcissus do not grow new roots until the cool soil of 
the  fall.  

I suspect you are growing miniature narcissus , i dug my  miniature 
narcissus  when the foliage was yellow to gone and re planted  them in barely damp 
mix in my frame under glass or a sheet of plywood with  ventilation under 
it.  , but i do not think you need to wait that long,  just let them dry out a 
little- few hours in well ventilated area 

I  know there are some daffodil enthusiasts in this list, Bill Lee? please 
chime  in


Hi, Rimmer. Haven't seen you in a while. You ought to try to come down to  
one of our Cincinnati daffodil shows. Do you ever make it to the Chicago  
show?
 
Anyway, I would agree with Rimmer's assessment of daffodil bulbs. I have  
several thousand drying in my barn right now, all in slotted side-and-bottom  
binds for maximum ventilation. They will spend most of the summer there, 
and  then a crew will clean them up and bag them for our club's sales. These 
were all  dug over Memorial Day weekend in Michigan. Cool temps and 
ventilation are the  key factors I think.
 
The bulbs can be planted in the fall and will break dormancy and begin to  
put down roots.
 
The only time I would plant daffodil bulbs in another season is when they  
are discovered in another season (such as stuck in a corner of the 
basement). I  would plant these ASAP, although not in winter. A lot of daffodil bulbs 
can  probably survive a year out of the ground if nurtured some after 
finally being  planted. Of course this will not be true for the one you spent a 
lot of money  on.
 
I always tell people who ask what they should do with the bulbs they  
discovered in their garage that daffodils live in the ground, not in the garage,  
and the best chance they have for that old bulb is to plant it out. I 
probably  would not plant in the heat of mid-summer, although I might if I had a 
cooler  shady spot.
 
Bill Lee


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