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Bulb Time In Southern California

10/3/2016

8 Comments

 
PicturePink nerine naturalize wonderfully in my garden after Fall bloom. Bloom time is extended because bulbs are planted in each of 17 levels up a ramp, with those getting the most sun blooming first, and the ones getting the least sun blooming last.
     Now’s the time to purchase and plant first-quality bulbs for spring bloom.  These include alliums, amaryllis, anemones, brodiaeas, crocuses, daffodils, freesias (so fragrant!), fritillarias, galanthus, baby glads, glory-of-the-snows, grape and Dutch and wood hyacinths, Dutch irises, ixias, leucojums, lycoris, montbretias, narcissus, nerine, paperwhites, peonies, ranunculus, scilla, snowdrops, sparaxis, tigridia, tritonia, triteleia, tulips, dog¬tooth violets, watsonias, and winter aconites. 
 
No Bargains
     Whether purchasing bulbs at a local vendor or through mailorder and online catalogs, there are bargains and then there are ways to waste your money in the name of economy.  Waiting to purchase bulbs when they go on sale is a waste for two main reasons:
     1.  Bulbs that have been sitting in store displays have been slowly losing vitality because they’ve been too warm for too long. 
     2.  Bulbs that have been overlooked by previous buyers are smaller and less vigorous.
     Even at bargain prices, these will provide less than mediocre results.  Better to spend less on premium-quality and get great results!
 
Which to Choose? 
     Choose big, plump bulbs, as these have the most stored food and will produce the largest and most numerous blooms over the longest period of time.  They cost a bit more, but they'll provide a great deal more pleasure when they bloom. 
     Especially fragrant freesia cultivars include Athene, Allure, Demeter, Excelsior, Golden Wave, Mirabel, Pink Westlind, Snowdon, and Welkin.
     If you like having blooms in the lawn, these are good for naturalizing, and the ripening foliage following bloom won't interfere with mowing the lawn:  Chionodoxa, eranthis, muscari, ornithogalum, and puschkinia.
     Don't forget to buy some bulbs just for indoor forcing color from Thanksgiving  through January.   Good choices include amaryllis, crocus, freesias, lily-of-the-valley, paperwhites, and tulips. 
 
To Chill or Not to Chill?
     Store the bulbs in a cool, well-ventilated area until you're ready to plant them. 
     Chill crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, narcissus, and tulip bulbs in a paper bag on the lowest shelf in the refrigerator -- at about 40 degrees -- for at six to eight weeks.  Use a paper -- not plastic -- bag since the bulbs are alive and must breathe. 
     Keep chilling bulbs away from ripening fruit like bananas and apples, since the ethylene gas being released as they ripen will destroy the flower-developing hormones in the bulbs.
 
Planting
     Enrich the soil where the bulbs are to be planted with compost, bone meal, and granite dust or wood ashes (but not from charcoal briquettes used in the barbecue, which contain harmful chemicals).  Also, add some nitrogen, as it is easily washed from the soil by winter rains (hope, hope!), and bulbs need a small but continuous supply all winter long for strong growth of the foliage and the bloomstalk. 
     For a long-lasting spring display, plant some early, mid-season, and late-blooming bulbs every other week through mid-December, and again beginning in late January. 
     Depth of planting also affects when the bulbs will bloom.  Shallower plantings will  bloom sooner.  Deeper plantings will bloom later.  If you want everything to bloom for one spectacular display, plant the bulbs at the same time and at the same depth.  If you prefer color over several months' time, plant bulbs every several weeks, and vary the planting depths each time you plant.
     This makes them perfect for planting in containers.
 
Saffron Crocus
     Plant autumn-blooming saffron crocus now.  Each corm produces from one to three flowers, and about six corms should provide sufficient saffron -- just the three tiny red stamens in each bloom -- for each cooking or baking recipe. 
 
Two Excellent Online Sources
     For bulbs that don’t require special cooling attention because their climates of origin are closer to our own, there are two wonderful online resources: 
  1. < >  offers wonderfully thorough information and great variety of bulbs and tubers specifically for naturalizing in our Southern California gardens.< > categorizes its bulbs by origin -- Western US, South Africa, South America, and Other Parts of the World. For its blog of tips on cultivation and other information, go to www.thebulbmaven.typepad.com

8 Comments
Best Push Mower 2017 link
10/21/2016 04:06:54 am

Thanks for your article. Can you give some tips about Depth of planting?

Reply
Yvonne Savio link
10/21/2016 01:10:43 pm

Hi, Best Push -
Planting depth varies according to the type of bulb and whether it's "normal" growing area is in colder-winter climates than Southern California. For example, Many bulbs like tulips and hyacinths that "normally" grow in areas where the soil freezes have long stems and bloom later in Spring. But when they're planted in So Cal, they'll bloom in early Spring and with short stalks; sometimes even blooming at the base of the foliage right at ground level. So, they should be planted 4-5 inches deep to approximate some of that cold as they develop their root systems and then bloom. Bulbs that're touted for naturalizing here in So Cal can be planted higher, but they'll still do better when planted deeper. A general guideline for all bulbs is to plant them 3-4 times the longest dimension of the bulb - for example, a freesia corm is one-half inch wide and 1 inch tall, so plant it so the base of the bulb is 4 inches deep.

Reply
Wynesta Dale
2/22/2021 03:39:05 pm

I bought tulips with bulbs from Trader Joes. The tulips are now done flowering. Is there any way to cut the bulbs off and save them for planting next spring?

Reply
Yvonne Savio
2/22/2021 03:58:48 pm

Hi, Wynesta -- In Southern California we must consider tulips as a one-time bloomer, since they need a much longer period of cold than our gardens can provide for future bloom. For other kinds of Spring-bloomers, which will rebloom in future years, let the foliage dry back completely so all the energy can be reabsorbed back into the bulb.

Reply
Martha Beals
5/6/2021 02:55:28 pm

HI! I planted tall phlox bulbs purchased from Costco this spring. I didn't get them into ground until mid April. It's been almost 3 weeks and nothing is showing. Should I leave them in and see what happens? Could they still come up? The daylillies came up and are doing well but got them into ground late March. I live in North County San Diego. Please give me some advise on what to do with the phlox? Thanks!

Reply
Yvonne Savio
5/7/2021 08:45:21 pm

Hi, Martha -- The phlox roots should be sprouting ok, since now is the time to get them in, and we haven't had any blasting heat yet. Perhaps gently nudge away the soil around where you planted them to see if they're still there or perhaps rotted away.

Reply
Donna
5/12/2021 06:34:53 pm

Hello! I’m in SoCal and looking for some good places, either online or local, to purchase sparaxis, ixia, and other bulbs. Do you have any recommendations? Thanks!

Reply
Yvonne Savio
5/13/2021 11:22:46 am

Hi, Donna -- These bulbs are generally available in the fall. An excellent online resource is https://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/ . Another is telosrarebulbs@suddenlink.net . You may also like to refer to https://www.gardenia.net/guide/best-spring-bulbs-for-the-southern-pacific-coast-region

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