Thanks for so many encouraging and detailed responses. Hopefully there are other novices out there who learned something from this query. PBS is a gem. - Paul On Wed, Apr 28, 2021 at 5:13 PM Uli <johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de> wrote: > Hello Paul, > > Welcome to the PBS! Your questions are absolutely appropriate and I will > try to answer them as good as I can. But let me first say that the way > you ask and what you ask shows that you are a good observer and I am > sure you will end up with a successful collection of bulbs. We all make > mistakes! You live in one of the best climates to grow winter growing > bulbs (and much more) > > For the labels I recommed the old fashioned lead pencil on thick plastic > labels or aluminium if you can get it. Fading labels are a pain, if you > use them longer you will find that brittle labels are a pain, too. > > Your pictures show plants in the process of going dormant but most are > not yet dormant so I recommend watering them until the foliage has died > down completely. For sure they are not dead! The longer you can keep the > remaining green leaves green the better for the young bulb. Once they > have really dried up you should stop watering. I noticed that there is a > Lilium with the other bulbs, this needs a different treatment as it is > summer growing. It happened to me that I did not notice an evergreen or > summer growing pot in the trays of winter growing seedlings and I killed > it with the standard winter grower's regime. Never force a plant into > dormancy if it does not "obey" . It may be wrongly named and thus be > something else or, more likely many first year seedlings skip the first > dormancy and remain green especially in a mild summer climate like > yours. Each pot needs an individual treatment at this time of the year. > > My recommendation for your climate is to sow winter growing bulbs > outside, in the open, exposed to the weather, the rain and fluctuating > temperatures. You seem to be in a frost free location, so no problem. > Why did you put your seedlings into a cold frame? I use an old hotbed > window above some of the pots which I consider too fragile for the open > air treatment but even that produces so much warmth that I remove it > during dry spells. Warmth or even heat always signals the onset of > dormancy. That is why I think you live in a great climate, you should be > able to keep your bulbs green well into May or even June because it will > not be hot. The Dutch bulb fields are in a similar climate, not for > nothing. Just a few days of warm weather will not matter if you keep > your plants shaded (removable shade cloth) and well watered. Full sun > during the winter months is fine but as soon as the sun gets stronger > partial shade/shade cloth or diffuse bright light like on the north side > of a wall is better. > > Re-potting seedlings: I absolutely agree with Jane in all what she > wrote, never prick out bulb seedlings in growth. But turning a crowded > seedling pot upside down and have the entire root ball on the other hand > is fine, then repot into a larger pot, the bulbs will use the available > space, as Jane said, you can gently loosen the root ball without taking > it apart. I often do that in the second season when I realize that a > seedling pot is too full, immediate watering, shade for a few days, I > never had any losses this way. If you use a soft plastic pot the pot may > bulge which is always a sign of overcrowding, if there is no bulging > there is still enough space underground. All the pots I see on your > pictures are not overcrowded. > > Fertilizer: Why do you say that slow release fertilizer is a bad idea? > Personally I do not use it for seed but did you have problems with it? > Fertilizing seedlings is very important, especially at the end of the > growing season before dormancy sets in. It is this period where the > bulbs increase most in size and fertilizing with a high potash and > phosphorus and low nitrogen product is very beneficial, type tomato > fertilizer. Slow release fertilizer release the nutrients temperature > dependent and I had a disaster once in my greenhouse. It became very hot > and all those plants fertilized with SL fertilzer had burnt roots > because of a sudden release. I now use a water soluble balanced one. > > First dormancy is the most critical time. once you are sure the leaves > have fully died down stop watering and move the pots to a place where > they do not get wet uncontrolled. As your summers are not as hot as mine > in Portugal, I would think that once every four weeks a small amount of > water is enough. Most young bulbs do not want to remain brutally dry for > months on end, I have lost seedling bulbs this way. And for heavens > sake, keep the bulbs in their compost in their pots! Too much water is > not good either. This sounds more complicated than it really is and you > will soon get the experience. Most bulbs are forgiving but the odd one > may teach you a lesson..... You mention pot size. The bigger the > seedling pot is the more stable the conditions are in it. I use square 8 > x 8 x 8,5cm pots as standard but for some seeds I use up to 6 liter > pots. The big pots are good for Ranunculaceae and those which resent > transplanting. > > Transplanting: I do not recommend transplanting bulb seedlings during > their first dormancy. As Jane said, there may be many seeds left which > will still germinate in the second season (or even later) which you > would lose and I would also worry about missing very small bulbs in the > process. You will have to find your compost which remains stable and > well draining/moisture retentive for more than one season. I find > especially South African Gladiolus species are better kept in their > initial pots for at least two seasons. Obviously big seedling bulbs like > Freesia can of course be transplanted once dormant. In case of doubt, if > I toss out a pot and find only very tiny bulbs I put everything back > into the pot. Potting needs some discipline and organisation in order > not to mix up things, personally I do not reuse compost. > > You ask about Amaryllid seedling. They very often skip the first > dormancy so watch them and keep watering and fertilizing them as long as > they remain green. > > The length of the dormancy is depending on the individual plant species. > Many will show new shoots even without watering, this always is a sign > that dormancy is over for this particular bulb. This is triggered by > soil temperature in some plants, so dormancy will be much shorter in a > mild climate compared to a hot one. Some have an internal clock and will > sprout whatever the conditions are and some will be started by the first > watering. This should not be later than the beginning of October. Those > which show no sign of growth by then should be watered once and then > left alone. One drench in October supplies enough moisture to wake up a > dormant bulb and the moisture remains for quite a time. If such a late > riser is overwatered it may rot because it cannot handle so much water > at this moment. > > I have looked again at your pictures: Your bulbs are in good condition. > I noticed that you have sown them very early in the season, which is > absolutely fine, they will germinate when the time has come, probably > much earlier with your climate than with mine. This means you are on the > winning side time wise, even if you stopped them by frying them > accidentally this spring. You are using different sizes and types of > pots. I think the ideal model is the tall square one. Most bulbs have > deep roots and/or bulbs. Bulging would be visible as most pots are soft, > I don't see any. The size of your seedlings is VERY good! > > I will send you my contribution the the Bulb Garden about growing seeds > privately. > > Here is a picture of my seed pots in the open garden, some are under the > mentioned old hotbed window. > > > Bye for now, > > Uli > > > > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>