Summer Bulbs

Surprisly i start to see summer bulbs already been sold in my local market and poundland , the temperature in poundland is not the best for keeping bulbs so if anyone got a chance is better to get them now.



overall there was lots of hostas , lilys , gladiolis , iris , berrys bush and so on.

 

I wonder if they (stores) in general push items early, knowing that the uneducated will buy them, and not keep them right, so they die, and then the person has to go back and buy them again. I was at a good nursery once looking over their hydrangea shrub selections, and they were offering shrubs that would have not wintered over in my zone. I questioned the owner, why would you sell these knowing they will die, of course some mumbled answer.

 

I had a thread with a similar question as my local was selling succulent as outdoor plants , the unswer was: we are selling plants..... it up to customers decided where to keep them , if they ask we will tell them .......or it just a good move for uneducated to kill more plants and buy more every years , we know what we doing and we still buy plants .

 

DIY stores have a habit of selling bedding plants very early and I cringe when I see people filling their trollies with them, knowing that they've wasted their money as they will die when planted out.

 

Spotted my 99p Shop putting the bulbs out this evening.

 

what do they sell???
years ago I`ve found really interesting plants in those shop , even QD sell cheap bulbs and wilkinson are selling interesting plants as well ....got my eucomis and trigridia from poundland

 

So .... where do you keep them so they are at the right temperature?

 

Alway keep sand around , tomorrow i will pot them in sand and move them in the greenhouse , lily and iris can only survive for a short time dry , sand is just perfect for them .

 

That's great advice, Sal

Would sand from the beach do? I can grab a bag when I take Ozzy out if that will work?

 

No mum , never use sea sand in the garden , in periods like this is worth going to your local garden center and buy compost and horticultural sand (no salt , no lime ) , I always make my pot mix , with sand , grit , peat and what ever the plant need .

I use horticultural sand to store bulbs as many bulbs needs to be always little bit wet , the sand will absorbe the moist from the air and keep the bulbs happy .

 

I'll take a look tomorrow as I need to go in to get some 70cm trays for the windowsills where my house plants live.

 

Mum, near us is a pebble/ sand mixed beach and a width of "promenade" alongside. When the wild high tides chuck the sand and grit onto the prom, I go along after a couple of days wth a bag and a flat trowel. I make sure it has had a good rain soak first( to eliminate the salt residue) and shovel what I need into a carrier bag. I mix it in with my compost to the volume I think the plant will like -
hopefully,
Jenny
( these are Hard Times....)

 

Ive planted my Canna bulbs already.

No I'm joking, but Begonia bulbs often do well here if planted in January, they seem very hardy.. but there are some bulbs you just wouldn't.

 

I live near the beach but I have reservations about using this sand in composts. my feeling is that it's too salty and alkaline and does not provide enough drainage. However, it is very good for covering veg seeds in the open garden. It clearly marks the rows, does not contain weed seeds and provides a good, light "topcoat" for the seeds. So far....a lot of winter to come, I know.....I have a lot of summer bedding still in flower as well as cannas, gazanias, etc. ok, a wet winter but mild !!

 

I repeat , I only use horticultural sand , do never use sea sand it may kill the plant , overall i actually use pure sand to keep the plant moist at all time in winter , for my cactus i use coconut fiber when i can .