Wow, Carol! That's quite a bulb collection you've got there! You're so lucky to be able to grow them outdoors year round!

What color is the house being painted? Will it go with pink? :-)

I keep thinking... no, I know... I owe someone seeds and bulbs from last bulb season, but I can't for the life of me find the email... if it's you, Carol, please email me again, and if not, please disregard. I have such a terrible memory... I remember promising someone a care package... but I can't find the email! It's driving me crazy, and making me feel very bad. I know I have seeds to send this season... it's last season I'm worried about!

Anyway... I can't wait to see a picture of your freshly painted house, with a garden of pink Hippeastrums blooming! That sounds lovely!

I soak my roots for about an hour. I use a huge vase with a smaller neck and set the bulb so that the roots (not the basal plate) is in the water. Plumps them up very well!!
:-)
K

WOW! Congrats on all those bulbs! VERY nice!

Jodi, it was not me. I have all the seeds I could ever want. I was going to link this post back to my July post of 150-200+ seedlings, but I only see *FOUR* pages of history in this forum(!). Yikes, what did Gardenweb do, PURGE?!!

I tried to get a count and stopped at 60! So you probably have 100+ and that's just the "dug ups! But being able to grow then in the ground makes all the difference, ad they do "clump up" nicely and quickly!

It is amazing how much growth a bulb can make when left undisturbed for a few seasons, especially when grown in ground.

Congrats on getting them dug and on getting your house painted!

Wow, Carol - that's quite a haul. It freezes where you are, right? But the bulbs make it through the winter no issues? I'm still wondering if I can do that here in Raleigh. I'm definitely going to try it next year with a few bulbs.
Alana

Each winter, we get one or two "hard" freezes where the temp goes below 32 Fahrenheit for about 4-6 hours. The difference here is that the *ground* doesn't freeze. You will lose your bulbs in Raleigh because you get longer freezes where the ground freezes hard.

These are only the bulbs from the side yards. I have at least this many more in the back and front yards. I have only ever lost one bulb that I know of. I had planted a series and in one spot, I found the remnants of a bulb. It looked like it had rotted. Or maybe it froze and rotted. If we get a longer freeze or even colder temps, it is possible that I would lose them all. I have lived in this house for eight years and so far I have been lucky.

Jodi, the house is light gray with white trim. Colors will stay the same 'cause I like it with the pink and blue flowers. (Blue provided courtesy of agapanthus/lily-of-the-nile and plumbago.)

The colors all sound like they go very nice together... the pink and blue flowers will really stand out!

We just rolled in from our Christmas up north... what a drive! I'm finally home, in my jammies, with a hot cup of coffee... feels nice!

I bought an Agapanthus rhizome/root last year, potted it up, and it hasn't done much of anything... just a few leaves now and then. I had the pot outdoors all summer, but not much happened. It's safely ensconced in the basement now, keeping warm. I hope it'll grow better next spring and summer.

Jodi, boy, there's nothing like comfy clothes and coffee... and home.

You probably already know this, but agapanthus do not like to be disturbed. They bloom best when crowded and rarely the first year planted. I bet it will do better next year. Whatever you do, don't repot or transplant. It's like starting over.

Carol

Carol (((hugs))) You have gone a long way girl! Good job! Gezzz...has it been that long since that time that you were getting so frustrated of getting orange flowered hippies instead of the pink ones that you ordered and wanted? Please post pics of your "Pink Hippie Garden" in bloom. Would be awesomely beautiful!!!

Thanks, Maria. You are right. That was back in December 2005. Those orange monsters found a home a long time ago at my sister's home at the beach. A year later, I found one more Happy Halloween and it had to go, too! She loves them, as her yard is mostly reds, yellows and oranges.

Over time, I've purchased bulbs on eBay (in 10 or 12 at a time from a reputable dealer, not someone's singles and one-offs) and can't believe how they multipled! Unlike most folks on here, I hardly ever buy a single bulb because singles just don't have much impact in a yard. They have big impact in a single pot, but in a yard, a big variety just looks like a mess. The biggest impact comes from mass plantings of the same variety.

I still have all of the Hercules purchased in early 2006 and yes, they are still red. Never did turn pink. But boy are those bulbs huge and have they multiplied. They are still in the ground where I first planted them. Here are pictures taken *last* February 2009:

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Hard to see the ruler, but about 4 1/2" in diameter (give or take).

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Last April 2009, when they bloomed.

Lovely, Carol! They look so beautiful in a garden setting!

Thank you for the Agapanthus advice... I had responded earlier yesterday, but GW is having issues with their server again, and the response disappeared.

If the plant shows renewed growth in spring, I'll carefully move it, without disturbing it, into a larger pot... then I'll leave it there. I fear it's in too small a pot to grow decently, to the point of bloom.