Spring flowers emerging at last

[Carol Dee]

I gave a shovelful to my unsuspecting neighbor - bwahahaha!

LOL … I was warned

 

[digitS']

My tulips were few this year. I'm not sure why they haven't multiplied or, at least, stayed near the same number. But, it would not have made any difference in 2019. The blooms froze.

The daffodils in the shade gave up this week. Those with any sun went long ago.

The dang ornamental onion is blooming like crazy! I don't dislike it but it reproduces waaay too much. Good thing that it doesn't smell terrible.

Wood hyacinth is in serious bloom. I understand that in some areas, it's spreading isn't appreciated. The plants are in a very shady part of the yard and I like seeing them bloom because that signifies warm, frost-free weather. However, I was just noticing that I'd better do something with the white ones because they are diminishing. Twenty some years, they certainly aren't trying to take over.

Vinca blooming.

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

@dig itS' I dug up my east facing, east of the house

bed several years ago and again in 2018, in September. I mixed mostly compost with the dirt that was a 1/2 and 1/2 garden soil and compost from 2015, planted pretty deep, like 6-7 inches and you can see (previous post) that I got a lot of tulips. IF you don't have a tulip predator, like squirrels or deer, you should be getting more. As I wrote, I gave away my super big tulip bulbs to a neighbor, so everything that you see in the previous post is blooming from medium to small bulbs, and I will need to divide aGAIN this year. We had -16 for a lowest temperature last winter, and a VERY long winter that gave us below zero for a low just over one month ago, so we had lots of freezing. Maybe this will help!
Here is my Purple Spring, so far. Always got SOMETHING growing in the cracks of the steps, but I let these (Columbine, native of TN) stay. The iris are black (purple), too!:

 

[ducks4you]

May is bee in blossom,
May is birds a-nesting,
May is picking violets on a hill;
May is young and twenty,
May is Sunday-besting,
May is eager Jack and willing Jill.


—The Old Farmer's Almanac, 1961

 

[flowerbug]

@ducks4you i've always liked columbines and they are scattered around here in several places. we've even cross bred some and i keep hoping i can get some seeds before the plants get dead headed. we have dark purple, purple and white, red and white/to pale yellow and a darker red/purple and white/pale yellow.

i'm going to try to get seeds this year from all of them if i can. have to remind Mom i want them or they'll get dead-headed...

 

[Carol Dee]

@dig itS' I dug up my east facing, east of the house View attachment 31540 View attachment 31541 bed several years ago and again in 2018, in September. I mixed mostly compost with the dirt that was a 1/2 and 1/2 garden soil and compost from 2015, planted pretty deep, like 6-7 inches and you can see (previous post) that I got a lot of tulips. IF you don't have a tulip predator, like squirrels or deer, you should be getting more. As I wrote, I gave away my super big tulip bulbs to a neighbor, so everything that you see in the previous post is blooming from medium to small bulbs, and I will need to divide aGAIN this year. We had -16 for a lowest temperature last winter, and a VERY long winter that gave us below zero for a low just over one month ago, so we had lots of freezing. Maybe this will help!
Here is my Purple Spring, so far. Always got SOMETHING growing in the cracks of the steps, but I let these (Columbine, native of TN) stay. The iris are black (purple), too!:

So pretty, I think I only have some purple ones left. Wonder what happened to the pink, red/yellow and white ones ? Time to get some more

 

[flowerbug]

My tulips were few this year. I'm not sure why they haven't multiplied or, at least, stayed near the same number. But, it would not have made any difference in 2019. The blooms froze.
Steve

i have some tulips that require no care at all and keep going ok. others, no, they are more picky about conditions, or subject to disease. sometimes the chipmunks dig some of them up and eat part of them or move them around. outside the fences the deer and rabbits will eat them.

my brother will eat them. one time we gave him a bag of tulip bulbs to plant and he thought they were to eat so he ate them. they are a wimpy onion like ish flavor. i've never tried them myself...

something that will give you an idea of what is going on is to lift the clumps of the poor performers to see if there is some disease or pest indications and then replant them in various ways (bone meal, more fertilizer, more organic matter, better soil, etc.) and see how they respond.

the disease issue plays some role here. as the tulips got more crowded botrytis spread a lot more quickly.

the past few years we've thinned them out and tried to remove them entirely from some places and of course the ones we've missed are doing great. they like the worm compost i've been adding (and wood chips and worm compost seems also to do an ok job of helping with the botrytis - which is a hypothesis i tested one season in the garden where the lily trees are at).

 

[ducks4you]

I have no idea where they came from. About 6 years ago I found them growing on the NE side of the house and I have let them spread. I understand that each plant lives 3years and that they drop seeds around them and they also scatter. I would like to get myself some of the red and yellow ones, bc Those are native to IL. Kinda partial to purple flowers, thought, so I am not complaining. Btw, I have planted CO columbine twice and they died both times. Better to stick to the natives.
https://prairiepiece.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/natures-origami/
The hummingbirds like them, too.
https://will.illinois.edu/environmentalalmanac/program/appreciating-hummingbirds-in-illinois
Hummingbirds love my Rose of Sharon, too.
https://www.riverbender.com/article...annual-hummingbird-festival-july-22-21869.cfm
https://www.gardenguides.com/98841-native-illinois-plants-attract-hummingbirds.html
Lots of different colored hummingbirds, link, from all over the US.
http://www.birdsandblooms.com/birdi...unning-hummingbird-photos-you-need-to-see/?22
Fyi--
https://wmeac.org/a-watershed-moment-native-plants-are-not-weeds/2012/

 

[digitS']

The tulip blooms froze after opening, @ducks4you .

I imagine that the plants have too much root competition.

The lilacs are blooming! Highs: first afternoon in the 70’s, 5 days ago to first 80’s, today!

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

The tulip blooms froze after opening, @ducks4you .

I imagine that the plants have too much root competition.

The lilacs are blooming! Highs: first afternoon in the 70’s, 5 days ago to first 80’s, today!

Steve

some tulips will grow ok in clumps for many years, they will recycle themselves and the nutrients they gather. when you dig them up you can see that they're very self-contained and adapted to sort of poor soils. others, will not do well like this and after a few seasons they do better if lifted and divided and have the amendments added again. the poorer soils however often lack the one creature which makes recycling in place better (worms ). when i've lifted many clumps of growing tulips i find the worms around and within the clumps doing their work.

there are some types of tulips that have a very thick tunic and that really need help to spread and break out of the tunic. there are others that make so many little bulbs that it can take a few years after they divide before those small bulbs will reach blooming size. seedlings take quite a long time to go from seed to blooming size. i used to try to cross breed and raise the seedlings but after several years i gave up because of the disease and animal issues. i still have some that are growing that i'll be interested to see what the blooms look like - if they are different from the parents or not... at the rate they are growing it might be another 3-5yrs - the rabbits/deer got them again this spring...