Latest Bulb Log 2016

[Ian Y]

Hi Robert
Well the summer conditions is relative and very cool compared to you, we just made it to 21C just after mid day - if we get temperatures in the teens we consider it summer. Also we have had  rain at some point even on the good days, often it came at night which suits me best as it soaks in to the roots rather than evaporating and we can enjoy the dry daylight hours.
Ian

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

I very much appreciate the information. Your summertime high temperatures are similar to warm wintertime high temperatures in our part of California. Of coarse the minimum temperatures can be close to or below freezing even when it gets close to 20 C during the wintertime. Stormy weather brings cooler weather too, and the day length is short. I keep having to remind myself that your summertime day length is very long in relation to our part of California. It is fascinating that some of the same plant species can adjust to vastly different climatic conditions and thrive equally.

Anyway, thank you for the reply.

[Tristan_He]

Very nice Ian. The Campanulaceae are so beautiful aren't they? That is a spectacular Cyananthus. Mine has a little way to go yet, and if it reaches that size I will need to rejig the rockery a bit! I've never been that fond of Codonopsis to be honest - nice individual flowers but most of them don't seem to make much of a display. Your C. grey-wilsonii looks very good though, I'll keep an eye out in the seed exchange.

I was interested in your comment about wasps and Trillium seed. Do they eat the seeds (!?) or just the sugary coating - if so this might be a dispersal mechanism, a sort of turbo charged version of the ant dispersal used by Cyclamen.

Robert, the British summer is one of the three days a year when you don't need a sunroom 

[Ian Y]

I was interested in your comment about wasps and Trillium seed. Do they eat the seeds (!?) or just the sugary coating - if so this might be a dispersal mechanism, a sort of turbo charged version of the ant dispersal used by Cyclamen.

Correct they do not eat the seed but are attracted to the sugary appendage so it is a very efficient dispersal mechanism - the problem for me is somewhere within wasp flying distance of our garden there must be a garden full of our Trillium seedlings:-) :-(

[Ian Y]

In this weeks Bulb Log I am dividing and propagating Corydalis and the first Crocus flowers appear.


http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2016Aug311472641458BULB_LOG_3516.pdf

[Ian Y]

Bulb Log 3616 online now, sixteen pages with The storm, troughs, art, gardens and more...


http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2016Sep071473251524BULB_LOG_3616.pdf

[Matt T]

There's no denying that autumn is here! It's an exciting time for bulb enthusiasts 

I like your gloaming picture, which hints at the effects you see at this time of year/day when colours can be super-saturated and make the garden / landscape come alive.

[Ian Y]

Bulb Log 37 online now with autumn flowering bulbs, cutting  back shrubs and re potting bulbs



http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2016Sep141473851515BULB_LOG_3716.pdf

[Gabriela]

What a brilliant idea to place the small clay pot inside! I will try it for small Arisaema tubers which are also hard to manage in pots kept in the open.

If you don't mind me asking here, would you recommend that I repot Allium bulbs of this year (started very early) or should I keep them in the same pot (10 cm) one more year? Thing is, I don't really know how many they are, I noticed they are down at the bottom of the pot. Thank you.

[Ian Y]

If the bulbs are dormant then it would do no harm to repot then now, if they are still green I would wait.
I am in no doubt that bulbs will grow on better if they are repotted evey year, the reason I don't is I have so many . if you repot into a bigger pot make sure you replant them at least to the same depth that you found them.

[Gabriela]

Thank you - I will repot them then. They went into dormance in late July and I thought them dead actually. I was looking to clear out my 'empty pots', luckily I paid attention.

[Ian Y]

Bulb log 3816 -  Crocus, Colchicum, seed and more.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2016Sep211474452951BULB_LOG_3816.pdf

[Jan Jeddeloh]

Hi, Ian,
I just followed the link in Bulb Log 36 back to 2013 when you redid some of your plunge beds.  Plunge beds are a major interest of mine right now because my husband is going to start building mine this weekend.  I've got to figure out his marching orders before then. One bed will be 10" (25 cm) deep and the other, well, I'm trying to decide.  I see you only do yours 6" deep with a little over two inches sand.  I assume cramming the pots together helps with temperature control and the sand gives them constant moisture.  I'm wondering how well this would work where I live-it gets a lot hotter here (up to 35C) and pots can get quite hot.  As I work on repotting I'm finding out what really hated hot pots.  Some bulbs just aren't there.  You can just feel the warmth in the soil.  Do you think your method would be a problem for me given our climate?  I would use the shallow plunge primarily for seedlings and propagation.  I'm also going to get some 70% shade cloth before next summer to help with the heat. 

Thanks, Jan

[Ian Y]

Jan, the methods I show are what works in our climate and you are absolutely correct that in your much hotter conditions you would have problems.
There are a number of measures you can take one in an ideal world I would have sand plunges that went all the way to the ground, mine are 6 inches deep because that is how they were made I would advise you to make them as deep as possible. Summer shade will also help, as well as shade you can cover the dormant pots with newspaper in the summer dampening it down the each day will help keep the bulbs cooler.
Good luck and enjoy the journey.

[Ian Y]

Bulb Log 39/16 is now online click the link to see some of autumn's jewels in flower.



http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2016Sep281475064109BULB_LOG_3916.pdf