Planting Bulbs (Ogden: house, purchase, live)

[Plan R]

Are there any good local stores still carrying flower bulbs -- daffodils, crocuses, etc.? Most online stores have stopped selling, perhaps because many are in the northeast and it's getting to cold to plant there. Here, it's still perfect, and I need to fill a few holes in the garden.

Any suggestions? If the bulbs are on clearance by now, even better. For the curiousity of any fellow gardeners, this year I'm planting bulbs that will naturalize here, like tazetta daffodils (Avalanche), other daffs (southern naturalizing mix from Scheepers), and species crocus, but I can always have some more tulips/hyacinths/etc.

Thanks!

[BagongBuhay]

I don't advice it. The recent frost and ensuing warmer weather tricks bulbs into sprouting. It's November and the iris stalks are up. By spring, they're a dead bunch of stick-looking stems. Can't grow bulbs worth a damn down here if you're used to the north.

[cfr]

I usually find them in the plant clearance area in HD or Lowes. As to planting them now or later, I usually take a chance. P.S. Being they are on clearance watch out for mold or dried out bulbs.
Good Luck

[nascarnancy]

Last year about this time Lowe's was out of bulbs but HD still had some out. I did already purchase some this year and need to get them in the ground. Maybe that will be a project for this weekend. With all this rain hopefully the red clay won't be too hard.

[Plan R]

Originally Posted by bibit612

I don't advice it. The recent frost and ensuing warmer weather tricks bulbs into sprouting. It's November and the iris stalks are up. By spring, they're a dead bunch of stick-looking stems. Can't grow bulbs worth a damn down here if you're used to the north.

The same bulbs definitely do not work. Tulips, for example, do not seem to come back for me very well. Gladiolas were a disaster, came too late and were destroyed by thrips.

There are good bulbs for this climate, however, including wonderful things that won't grow in the north at all. Crinums, for example, are amazing flowers/plants. The bulbs can get as big as a soccer ball, with nice foliage and huge plumes of flowers. Some of the species crocus, some daffodils (tazetta type) and some others supposedly do well here, too. Here's a picture of a crinum in flower:



Here are some good resources:

Texas Grown Heirloom Flower Bulbs - The Southern Bulb Company - heirloom southern bulbs collected from abandoned homesites and old gardens


Old House Gardens Heirloom Flower Bulbs - will give good recommendations on things that work here -- for example, they sent me good recommendations on dahlias that can take the here

Amazon.com: Garden Bulbs for the South (9780881928136): Scott Ogden: Books - excellent book on old southern bulbs

[BagongBuhay]

Plan R - thank you for those links. I'll definitely look into them. Maybe I can get motivated again. Is the one in the photo planted in the fall to bloom in spring?

[Plan R]

I think you can plant crinums anytime, but I planted mine (that photo is off the internet, I don't have any photos of mine) last spring. The foliage holds up well, and the plant is pretty big. It doesn't get ratty and yellow like tulip or daffodil foliage, although I think frost will probably knock it back. Still green now. Neat plants, apparently they live a very long time and form big clumps. They also can send up flowers after a hard rain through most of summer, much longer bloom season that you think of for a bulb.

I actually got my first ones from Costco in march or so, although I've since ordered some more from ebay. Two of the bulbs bloomed first year, two did not. I think I will dig them up and plant deeper this winter (say 12-18" -- they're currently just below ground) and see if they bloom next year.