Wow! That's quite a large operation you guys have, there! It reminds me of the garden center I started my education at... began small, and grew to be huge in just a few years! From 2 employees, which were more friends than workers, and now the guy has trucks and a whole team! It's all wholesale perennials now.

Larissa, we're just happy you're here... we're casual, and curious about more than just the bulbs you grow, so feel free to post photos showing us what you've got going on! I tried to keep the forum moving last summer with my garden photos, and I'm pretty sure most didn't mind very much. After all, there is a long slow season here while our bulbs gather energy to bloom again! Once Hippi season stops, the forum moves really slooooowwww...

It's good to see you posting! Thanks for sharing a little piece of your life!

Ditto what Jodi said - but also - it really does one good to see all those sprouts in mid-February when us northerners are still snow-bound. I can't get enough of looking at seeds, sprouts, and all that goes with growing plants. Thanks! I feel better already!

Awesome...germination chamber...that has to be the coolest thing in the world. I am trying to grow more than usual from seed. I was scared to death of the geraniums and impatiens from reading what others said but they finally came up. I also planted some lobelia (sp?) from seed b/c I had seen it online and could never find it. It looks more like I sowed the seeds and it took forever for them to come up. I do not think I will even see them bloom this year. LOL!!

Are we not supposed to water I our hippies after the bloom? Oh no, I am in trouble.

Wow, that is quite a production you have!

I love the "sleeping" sign. I lost a plumeria this winter to the good intentions of someone with a hose. They thought it was in desperate need of water when it started shedding leaves. Maybe I should swipe a few "do not disturb" signs from hotels and hang them on my plumeria in the fall!

Ryan

Oh, no. You DO water them after blooming....but over-watering is the kiss of death. I only water them when they are DRY DRY. I treat them almost like succulents. To each his own..... lol I'm glad you guys put up with me and my eccentricities. :-D

Larissa...

Whats your potting medium like? I belong to the House of Jodik School of Medium (or the HJSM) and use almost exclusively acadama and other large particulate. I am a bit of a reformist though as I add just a bit of organic material (but nothing that can compact). Anyway, I ask because if it takes that long to get dry it might be too heavy of a medium.

I treat mine like succulents, too. Odd isn't it? They seem to love feasts and famines.

I especially like the acadama though because the clay beads have the ability to absorb some moisture (and nutrients) but keep mostly air and the roots wrap around the acadama, I suppose pulling the water and nutrients out.

I love that I can leave for a week and then come back and not fear having my bulbs all dead. They do just fine in a dry spell.

Larissa if you weren't so far away I'd totally help out. but alas, this garden gnome ain't in Kansas no mo'.

Larissa buddy! I miss your posts too but appears you're MORE than busy.I really enjoyed the greenhouse tour.Look at all those crops will ya! I hope they really crank it up there.I searched for Kuma in the pix.I didnt see a nose,ear nor tail.Maybe he gets wildish and underfoot in the greenhouse eh.You can bet he'd be interested in that little bull snake.Get the "bull" outta here and go get those mousies eh? Peace,Mark
Keep up the good work and hang in there.It's all looking very productive with promising results

When hips need water depends on many things, temp, dryness of air, pot size and type, leaves or no, retention in medium, etc. Most of mine only need water once a month this time of the year due to the cooler temps and high humidity where I keep most of them. Others, in a dryer atmosphere need water about every two weeks, some weekly. I don't think any need it more often than once a week, but then my growing medium holds a fair amount of water and I tend to keep most in plastic pots with a fair amount of growing medium. If I used smaller clay pots they would need water far more often. Remember I am gone about half the time so I want them to be able to go a long time without water.

Even in the summer, I am amazed at how long they can go without water. Also how well they tolerate an occasional drenching when they are outside and actively growing--at least in the main growing season. I try to keep them much drier as summer comes to an end.

Ryan, I'm honored, really, but the credit goes to Al over at the Container Gardening Forum. He's the one who turned me on to a more porous, bonsai like medium, and told me why it was the better approach. I've modified his original recipe, too, to suit my needs.

I gotta say, though... I got a great laugh, and a great feeling from your post, though! Thanks! :-)

I only had to preach for a little while, and we only had to lose a few bulbs among us to rot, before it all began to sink in! LOL!

But seriously... I do think the key is matching the medium to your growing conditions, and learning proper watering techniques. Bulbs are a lot more like succulents than most of the information out there tells us!

I agree with Anna... all us northerners get mighty blue as winter drags on and on... seeing anything green and growing is a huge pick-me-up!

Hey, Ryan. I just use plain old potting soil. We buy it in bulk for the greenhouse. A few of my bulbs are potted up in orchid mix. You know....the bark stuff? They really seem to like that, too.

Larissa, if you can possibly find bulk pine bark fines (not really the fines, but tiny pieces), that's the base for the medium... either that, or a bonsai mix... I guarantee your bulbs will love it as much as, or more, than the orchid bark!

The principle is the same, though... major porosity and oxygen to the roots, excellent drainage, and complete control of water and feed.

We get giant amounts of regular potting soil, too... but I never touch the stuff for my bulbs! :-)

Well-- yes-- Winter can drag on and on in the North-- but I am VERY pleased to announce that you could smell Spring in the air this morning in Colorado. Well, at least in Denver.

Other things I noted-- we have a family of robin's chillin' in the trees just outside. Our grass, which turns to a depressingly brittle and crispy tan in the winter, has green blades poking through, and the days are definitely getting longer.

Of course, here in CO I can't count on two hands the number of times we'll have 70 and sunny followed by 70 MPH winds, feet of snow and cold that settles right to your bones.

But for today, Spring is coming!

We've had robins hanging out for at least a month, but it's still really cold... I think they're here a little early, though I don't know why. The days are definitely getting longer, and I have noticed a few tiny weedy things in the lawn turning greener. Spring will get here... it just takes so long!

Wow Larissa, what a great place. You can grow so many great things, I can can just picture beautiful citrus plants, mangos, etc. To me a place like that would be heaven.

What is acadama?

Citrusnut--

Acadama is a clay medium often used in bonsai soil. I use it for some of my trees but have begun using it for my amaryllis, too. I don't know if it varies from maker to maker, but mine are clay balls that have been fired to become hard and porous. They're the consistency of light rock. The amaryllis seem to love it and have responded well so far. I do have to water more often, as well as incorporate a fertilizer with every watering as the soil will not keep the water long and will not provide much nutrition but on the plus side, the bulbs don't sit in water (and rot) and the roots are VERY healthy.

Ryan, are the clay balls similar to hydroton growing medium? I found some listed on Ebay and its used for hydroponic systems. Just curious if its the same?

Ryan(phx)

Ryan--

It seems to be.

I think the difference might be size of the clay pieces. If you do a bit of looking around the internet at bonsai websites and hydroponic websites, they both use a similar type of medium, though I think the medium particles are smaller for bonsai.

Since it's an inorganic medium, you have complete control over watering and fertilizing, however it must be done a bit more often. I think the key is matching the medium to your individual climate or environment. For me, growing in a medium that holds moisture is a bad thing, but for someone growing in a hot environment, they might need a medium to stay moist a bit longer. So, I think we each have to match our medium to our conditions.

Jodi, yer gonna wanna smack me for this...
regarding the porous materials used for potting, it's wonderful, there I said it. Only one caveot (did I spell that correct?) If you are in an area that has narcicuss bulb fly make one hundred percent certain that your bulbs are one hundred percent protected. This type of medium allow much easier access to the basal plate of the bulb. I keep my hippis indoors year round now after losing quite a few 2 years ago.

This is true, Chaz... it's important not to give those flies access to the bulbs... but, compacted soil suffocates root systems and allows moisture to hang out for too long. I think it's important to protect the pot the bulb is planted in, and take care not to suffocate that basal plate!

Since most of my bulbs stay indoors, working with a porous medium is the only way to fly... I might resort to a different medium mix if I take those Minervas outside for the summer, and use one that won't dry out so quickly. I'm not even sure we have Narcissus Bulb Fly in our area, but I plan not to take chances, and will be using some sort of screening, I think.

On the other hand, I can afford to sacrifice a Minerva or two, and might just stuff a few in a big patio pot and let them grow without netting. I'll have to un-pot in the fall and scope out the bulbs to make sure no flies got in.

Honestly, I don't know what I'll do yet... I'll cross the bridge when I get to it, I suppose. If the Daffodils all come up and are unaffected, chances are good we don't have the fly here. If the Daffodils are gone, or appear sick, Hippis are staying in.

I agree Jodi, If I had known why my daffs had all vanished I'd never have put my hippis outside. I'll be switching to a more porous potting medium eventually, probably after this growing season. I'd been using a fast draining cactus/succulent mixture but it breaks down to quickly as other potting soils do. Those grown like my clivia in soil similar to what you use do great, just take a bit more monitoring for moisture content.
I'm so annoyed I'll never be able to enjoy daffs unless I plant new bulbs every fall.

Jodi & Chaz, would using a weak systemic fertilizer/pesticide help with the flies? I know, its a chemical, and organic is better, but if used in small doses only in the most extreme cases.... I had never heard of these flies, until coming on here, so I'm assuming its not something that afflicts the Phoenix area.

Ryan

Ryan I think it can affect your area. In fact I think it can INfect any area but some places have worse cases than others. In my part of the country, we often haven't enough water to breed many insects except for the occasional gnat or mosquito. But if you consider how bulbs are shipped around all over our country, it wouldn't take much to get these flies into a garden near you.

With that said, those in a drier climate haven't as much to worry about with regard to these flies.

I hate bugs.

Ryan, Ryan,
I'm not against using chemicals against bugs, after moving here to New England and coming up against these flys as well as red lily beetles, earwigs, japanese beetles, slugs, wasps of unbelievable varieties, termites, carpenter ants, post beetles, all in a short growing season, I'll use about anything at any strength to make sure they don't become resistant to the chemicals. I am only organic right now with anything I grow to eat. Sorry folks but I've had too many losses at great expense not to use a full aresenal. Of course I have no children running around the property to worry about.

Chaz-- no judgment from me! I use to live in Pennsylvania and I still remember the swarms of japanese beetles that would eat everything in their way. Oh the horror.

So I say lay waste to those buggers.

For me its cockroaches, wasps, black widows and wolf spiders. Some summers I really should just buy stock in RAID! (oh, and I don't mean the little cockroaches, I'm talking 4 inches long!)

Otherwise I let the hundreds of gecko's in my yard take care of anything else that crawls or flies.

I have to be careful with any pesticides in my back yard, for fear of contaminating my fish pond.

Small quantities of bugs I'll just ignore, when they get bad, I'll deal with them in a very localized way so as not to poison any gecko's.

But anyway, back to my original question, would a systemic work on the narcissus flies?

I try not to use chemicals, but I will if I have to! The few that I do use are mainly for prevention and root growth on my bulbs, which I've invested quite a bit into, in both time and money. Outdoors, I let the praying mantises we have devour most everything, but I do use a systemic on the roses. Aphids and Japanese beetles are horrible here.

I haven't run into any Narcissus Bulb Flies, but I haven't been looking, either. I'm not sure if they're a problem in this area. I'll find out this year.

I'm with Chaz... all the time and effort and money invested demands a bit of inorganic gardening every once in a while.

Chaz, when you do get ready to look into porous mediums, there are some nice bonsai shops on the east coast. This is where our local garden center orders their bonsai medium from, link below. Unfortunately, they only order it in very small bags.

Ryan in Phoenix, I'm not sure if a systemic would work, but it's worth a shot. You could also check with your County Extension Offices or farm services and see if the fly is a local problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: New England Bonsai Gardens

Oh God I miss this post!!!!
Larissa I LOVE the greenhouse, I must confess I started trying to grow cutting of everything I can put my hands on. When I started being embarrassed about asking my neighbor for a cutting here or there, I started with every seed I can get. Also made a vegetable garden, not so good to start it in the middle of the spring under Florida sun, but I manage to get some vegetables. I stop having a vegetable garden when I have to start taking care of the baby, now he is two and a half years may be he can help put another one.
So girl you MUST post everything you want to, we really appreciate it and enjoy it, thank you.
Mariae.

Ryan,
I'm not sure if a systemic would work or not. I actually injected neem oil directly into the bulbs 2 years ago and it didn't work. Since I don't put mine outside anymore I haven't looked into systemics. If you search on here for narcissus bulb fly there is a link in one of the posts about a type of insecticide and how to treat them in the ground, at least for narcicuss. I'm not sure if it would work for hippis.

Larissa my buddy! Look at all that fun stuff...am I a dork to say that looks like fun? Maybe. I don't care. My first (real paying) job was at a nursery and I LOVED working with all the plants! No wonder you've been missing. Perennial Geraniums...wowsa!

Ryan- Gecko's really? Do you have any pictures? I am fascinated!

-Frank

Sadly, Frank, no photos of the geckos. They are extremely timid and QUICK buggers!

I have a family of them living in the wall behind my back porch light. When I go out and sit in the yard for a while, they'll eventually get brave and come out from behind the fixture. These geckos are unlike any I've ever seen, and I can only assume they've adapted to life in a "human" world. They are nearly translucent and nocturnal. Most of the geckos have the scaly skin you'd expect from a reptile to protect against hot sun. The ones living in my wall don't have this. They've adapted to feeding at night off the bugs drawn by the light. They are so fun to watch, as they have no concept of how large a shadow they cast across my yard when they run around on the light fixture!

Maybe someday, I'll get a better camera with a remote control and get some shots of them. Until then, they hide behind the light until the humans are quiet, after that they make T-Rex shadow puppets in my yard.

Sorry Larissa for spamming your post
Phoenixryan-Is this the Gecko you speak of?

http://www.reptilesofaz.com/Lizards-Subpages/h-h-turcicus.html
It sure sounds like it right?

When we were kids, my parents took us to Florida every year for vacation... we drove down and camped near the Gulf around the Clearwater area. Anyway, at night the trees would come alive with tiny little lizards and critters, out feeding. Even during the day, there were certain types of tiny geckos that would only move when we'd hold still for a little while. If we moved, they'd freeze, and only go about their business when they thought it was safe again. Very interesting little creatures!

I worked for a small garden center on and off for several years during the late 80's and early 90's, and I had the most fun! My favorite part was helping the customers choose the right type of perennials for their gardens, or helping them pick annuals for large container arrangements! Another thing I enjoyed was choosing seed and perennials for the following year! It was one of the best jobs I've ever had!

In the garden, I use a systemic in granule form. It's made by Bayer, and is formulated for roses and ornamentals. It's about the only thing that gets of rid of aphids on my roses and shrubs. I would ask my local county farm bureau if the Narcissus Bulb Fly is even a threat in your area before reaching for an insecticide. Certain areas of the country are probably not plagued by this pest.

Frank, that's the one! They are the cutest little things.

Yes, Larissa, sorry for hijacking your posting.

Jodi, I also use the Bayer product on my roses.