Irrigation Hippies

16 years ago

I started with a few bulbs in containers. When the pots increased in number, watering them from below became impossible. My seedling experience proved that the bulbs did better in the ground than the pots. So I kept a few in pots and transferred the rest in the garden beds. Now it was flood irrigation and no sprinkler. But summer was so dusty that I had to wash the leaves at least fortnightly. During the rainy season I used to protect them from showers.

But now it is growing them the easy way. Except very few (mainly experimental) all are planted outside in garden preferably under shifting shade of trees or shading net. It has rained much more than normal.(almost every other day for the last month and a half) While some of my other perennials are showing effects of over watering the Hippies are quite happy (my soil has good drainage).

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Comments (5)

kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
16 years ago
Dear Arif,
I'm glad that the weather is giving you a helping hand. Can't wait to see all the lovely blooms you'll have in the spring time! We have had quite a bit of rain here and with the tropics getting active, I know there will be more. Another 5 inches this week! Saves on the water bill!

I also used to protect them from the rain, thinking that it encouraged rot. Well, some are still under shelter and others are out in the open, and I've lost 2 bulbs in each group. Guess it's just bound to happen (still don't know how a bulb can look fine one day and be a heap of mush a few days later - and no, I don't give each a squeeze to check them). Well...now that I have well over 150...a lose or 2 in envitable. I'm sure the others with hundreds on the list can chime in. It's not a happy day when a bulb rots, but it happens here in the humid climate (and elsewhere I'm sure).

Can't wait to see more photos of your lovely garden!
Kristi
e36yellowm3
16 years ago
Well, I'm glad someone's getting all the rain. It's been really dry here lately. Arif, I agree - it seems my hippis love to be in the real ground and not in pots as well. I'm not fortunate enough to be able to grow seedlings that way, so window boxes will have to do. But the big bulbs I put in the ground seem to grow bigger and bloom with better colors.

Alana
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brigarif Khan
Original Author
16 years ago
I loose most bulbs on re-planting. some go dorment loose teir roots and just die away.
Same thing happens through out the year ., some stop putting up new leaves and eventually die. I have not been able to pin point any one factor.
Strangly this year my bloom rate was poor and so it was with others in Lahore. Climatic change MAY BE.
Arif
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
16 years ago
I think we touched on this in the past when we were trying to figure out the age of some of our oldest bulbs. They must have a finite life...and when they send out an offset, it's easy to lose track...do we have the original or an offset!?

Knock on wood, I haven't seen a single narcissus fly this summer, but I have also be religious about using the systemic insecticide!
:-)
K
joshy46013
16 years ago
Do you guys regularly see the "Bulb Fly" I've been keeping my eye out and I've thought I've seen a few and I hurried to spray them with some sort of insecticide. I'm not one to want to kill ANYTHING but these things are 100% evil!