various questions: tulips, larkspur, etc

21 years ago

Hi folks- I've been too busy to post all my questions lately! Ugh. I have thousands upon thousands of sunflowers in the ground, though, and 3,000 glads... 500 lilies, 800 amaranths, the list goes on.

ONE THING I'm missing, which grew for me so well last year (and so LITTLE grows well here) is the larkspur-- my self-sow larkspur got overrun with weeds and there are only a few plants in there. I'm very sad about this and I had this idea tonight to order some seed ASAP (tomorrow) and put it in the fridge cold for a week and then just sow it. Any chance I'd get larkspur in August, you think?

(And as long as I'm ordering seed, well GEE, maybe I'd better toss in a few hundred more fast sunflower seeds! Right??!)

Next, tulips-- when I bought all these darn tulips, I didn't know what I was doing-- I bought some short varieties and some early varieties which are NOT working for me. I've only got 2 varieties that are late enough and tall enough. So I need to dig up all my tulips, which are taking up space... Is right about now (when they are turning brown, totally done blooming 2 weeks ago) a good time to dig them? How do I store them until fall? They'll be lovely up by the house in our "lookie lou" garden but they've got to get out of my cutting garden. Suggestions on timing and how to do this-- just dig them now and plant them back in October-- is this ok?

Kristen

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Comments (4)

Noni Morrison
21 years ago
I would think the tulips might need more time in the ground . Is their foliage stil green? You want all the enegy to go into the bulb before removing hte tops. MAybe is would be just as well to toss those and plant new ones in the "lookie lou"? I have yet to see a tulip that is as good it's second year though I do use them. THey are always smaller. THey mke nice fillers in mixed bouquets but not sure that would be worth it.
flowerfarmer
21 years ago
Larkspur:

Sown in the field, seed does not germinate well in temperatures above 55 degrees.

This is the method we used this season:

Seed in flats, water them in, stack them, cover with a black plastic bag, put them in a cool dark place for approximately 3 weeks, put them in the hot greenhouse. They germinate quickly; and, germination is right around 98-99 percent.

Using this method now you would have flowers in late September. The plant is evergreen, however. So, if late September is too late, you would be ahead of the game for next season..........
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Jeanne_in_Idaho
21 years ago
As long as you wait to dig until the foliage on the tulips is completely brown, and replant in the fall, after the ground has cooled, they should be fine, if they were in fertile soil with enough water this year. The milder winter of LizaLily's area usually causes a decline, as she mentioned. Tulips just LOVE our winters.

Your cold nights might get the larkspur to germinate just fine, after their initial chilling. How many nights have you had that were above 55 so far? Not many, I'd bet! I'd try what you suggested, and not use the greenhouse, or maybe try a little of each, for insurance.

Jeanne
kristenmarie
Original Author
21 years ago
thanks, and yes, Jeanne, you're right, tulips LOVE our winters-- these were 2nd year blooms this year and they were all way bigger than the 1 st year. tulips are very perennial here.

and we haven't had a single night over 42 yet this season, with FROST (hard ones - 28) the last 3 nights, so I think larkspure might be OK (you see flowerfarmer, why I thought April was early for sweet peas?! my climate is INSANE).

I guess my concern with the tulips is that they already turned brown. They bloomed, and the next week we had a major heat wave, and all the foliage died off. I guess I can go ahead and dig them but it sure seems early to me too!

Thanks,
Kristen