Spring bulbs and lack of stems

I have a few spring bulbs in my garden, tulips, hyacinths, snowdrops, crocuses and daffs, but they never really develop proper stems. So my 3 poor little snowdrops that have just come out are barely an inch off the ground, and one of the hyacinths which is developing a flowering stem has them all bunched in a knot at the bottom. This has been the case for as long as they've been planted out - they have been given to me as gifts in pots and looking perfect, but as soon as the following year rolls around (having transplanted them to the borders) they don't develop a proper stem. Is there something I can put in the soil to help them?

Any advice much appreciated! Thanks.

 

Hi Gsylass, welcome to GC.



Bulbs don`t flower for a few reasons, one is that they are planted too deeply-by the time they have reached the top of the soil they are knackered out and can`t summon the energy to try to reproduce. It does sound like yours are in too deep, how far below the soil surface are they?

And secondly, have you fed them at all?

 

My thoughts exactly, Claire.:gnthb:

 

Hi Claire and Dai, thanks for your replies. The hyacinths are not very deep, the top of the bulbs are level with the soil surface. I tend to plant bulbs about 2-3x their depth, but once the neighborhood cats have rearranged the flowerbeds that reduces the depth at times.

I don't feed them anything specific, but once they die down I usually put some blood fish & bone into the soil. Is this right?

 

Cat pee is said to be quite poisonous to plants, so if cats are rearranging your garden, perhaps there is your problem.

 

Hi Gsylass,Are you sure it is not something you are putting on your soil ,say over fresh compost Or drifting herbiside.J

 

Hi Joyce, I don't put anything on my soil except the blood fish & bone when everything's finished dying down. I don't even know if that's bad for bulbs, I was just told it was good for the garden. Is there something better?

I think perhaps it was the depth thing, as a couple more snowdrops are up and they have more respectable stems. I wish I could do something to help my hyacinths though, as if they were any higher up they'd be sitting on the bed!

 

David`s right, they need it when they are growing, if it`s there after they have finished they can`t do anything with it and by the time they are growing again it`s all gone.

 

Oh, ok, I was afraid of burning them with all that salt, well I'll know for next time thanks!