Newbie questions
Jane McGary via pbs (Tue, 27 Apr 2021 12:39:32 PDT)

Although I don't grow South African bulbs, I can answer Paul's questions
to some extent. Here in the maritime Northwest we also had a very
unseasonal heat wave in April, and the drought is still going on. We
will have to start irrigating our gardens at least a month early, and
spring flowering is truncated to some degree.

Young bulb seedlings are best kept out of full sun. In nature most would
be shaded by taller vegetation. A shade cloth helps on a sunny cold
frame. My seedlings are in a shed with a large skylight, which is so
covered with tree pollen in spring that it acts somewhat as a shade.
More sensitive genera are on plant stands on a roofed patio. Once the
seedlings have withered, they should be stored where they won't get too
hot. I put them on lower shelves in the shed and cover them with
upside-down flats, and sprinkle them very occasionally -- not soaking,
just moistening to keep some humidity in the soil. Some bulb species
have a tendency to keep growing well into what would be the mature
plants' dormant period; Narcissus are especially prone to this, and I
keep them watered as long as they are in vigorous growth. I move the
second-year seed pots back up to the top shelves and water them well
when ambient temperatures drop in fall, around mid-September most years.
This routine pertains to winter-growing (Mediterranean-cycle) bulbs;
summer-growing ones like Lilium live on the patio.

Do not "prick out" bulb seedlings in growth. If they have germinated too
thickly, thin them out if they're not rare species (leave some of the
smaller ones, because they may be interesting color variants). However,
you can give them some extra room by carefully tipping out the seedlings
in their moist soil ball and replanting it in a larger pot, gently
stretching it out if you can do that without smashing the plants. I do
this often with 2-1/2 inch pots used for sowing a large number of seeds
received as seed exchange surplus. You can also do this
transfer-in-growth if a seed pot develops a very large plant too soon,
risking damage to a big tuberous root. Paeonia and Lilium seedlings that
have grown on through summer can be potted on in fall.

I mark pots of seedlings that will need to be moved on each summer.
Usually I leave Crocus for two years, and also anything that has only
one or two seedlings. Some pots will have viable seeds that haven't
germinated the first year, so I may spread the top layer of seed-pot
soil on the next pot. I use the soil from old pots as an addition to the
plunge sand in the bulb house, and more plants often appear there as a
result (usually tulips that I can't identify); the crevices between the
pots are happy homes for many species.

Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA

On 4/27/2021 11:14 AM, Paul McCarthy via pbs wrote:

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