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It’s time to plant Spring Bulbs

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Have you planted your Spring Bulbs Yet?

Spring Tulips Bulbs are easy to grow and are a wonderful choice for the garden. They take up little space and provide a burst of color at a time when your border, or garden, can be flagging.

Firstly ensure that the bulbs that you purchase are healthy and free of disease. Avoid misshapen bulbs, any that look dry and withered or with areas of mold showing. These will not grow, but, worse, they also have the potential to spread disease to your existing bulbs.

If you are buying for container planting, large bulbs will produce more flowers. Smaller bulbs are perfectly fine for mass planting in the border.

Many smaller bulbs such as fritillaria are also more successful when bought in containers- always check that these moisture loving and other woodland bulbs have not dried out when buying.

Most bulbs come from the Mediterranean regions and enjoy free-draining, sunny positions. Some woodland bulbs do not. Erythronium (Dog’s Tooth Violets), Trilliums, Anemone nemerosa, Galanthus (Swnodrops) and the popular Arisaemas all need humus rich soil and cooler, shadier conditions.

Spring flowering bulbs are planted in autumn, autumn flowering bulbs are planted in spring. The planting technique is similar.

Narcissi should be planted by the end of March. You can plant later but the flowers will not be as prolific as the bulbs will have started into premature growth. Tulips can be planted a month later. Containers of bulbs can be planted later than bulbs in the ground as containers tend to warm earlier and the bulbs come into flower before those in the ground.

Plant mail-order bulbs of pot them straight away. Don’t try to keep them dry for long periods.

Preparing to Plant
Prepare the border by digging in some well-rotted compost or adding a fertilizer such as blood and bone. Do not plant bulbs directly on top of fresh manures or partially rotted compost- the decomposition of these materials may well affect and infect your bulbs.

Make the planting hole about twice the depth of the recommended planting depth, then fill to the required level. This gives a good, fertile and friable soil for the bulb roots to grow into and you will see a measurable difference in the flowers.

Sand or grit at the base of the planting hole improves drainage, especially on heavy, clay soils, and can deter some bulb-feeding pests.

Clumps of bulbs, planted three, five or seven to a generous planting hole (don’t crowd them) look more natural than serried rows. It all depends on the look that you want.

Formal planting needs to be carefully done, using a line or wooden marker to keep lines straight. Organize you bulbs so that you don’t muddle them – a bright yellow tulip in the midst of a pink scheme screams mistake.

Mulching bulbs helps stop soil temperature fluctuations and unseasonable bursts of growth.

Planting Depths
Planting at the right depth provides the right conditions for your bulbs- too shallow and they may suffer from summer height or winter frosts.

As a rough rule of thumb bulbs should be planted at a depth equivalent to three to four times the height of the bulb. On lighter, sandy soils, go even deeper.






Summer Passion

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Summers fading quickly here. Is it starting to cool down in your part of the world?

Passion flower

A passion flower to remind us of the hottest days of summer.

This passion flower is Passiflora x belotii, it’s growing in a pot outside in my garden. It’s grown so much that it’s now climbing onto my enclosed back porches screened windows.

Passiflora x belotii is a hybrid of P. alata x P. caerulea. Named P. alato-caerulea by Dr Lindley in 1824, John Vanderplank’s book lists the following alternative names, P. x belotii, P. ‘Empress Eugenie’, P. ‘Imperatrice Eugenie’, P. ‘Kaiserin Eugenia’, P. munroi & P. x pfortii, some of which are still in use. The latest Passiflora Hybrid Lists have collapsed them all into ‘P. x belotii’.

Flower variations however include either a dark or light centre, one or a number of white bands on the coronal filaments & petals crumpled to varying degrees. Clearly there are a number of similar but distinct hybrids, probably all of P. alata x P. caerulea parentage.

Passion flowers are plants that grow as vines. This particular type can grow 20 to 30 feet. Mine is currently in the 20 foot range. They are hardy from USDA zones 7a to 10b. They thrive in sun to partial shade (bright shade, not dark shade).

Parts of the plant are dangerous if ingested, in fact the leaves give off a form of cyanide when crushed.

The blooms are pink to violet/ Lavender and the foliage has a shiny glossy texture. The blooms can be mildly fragrant. My blooms have a slight sweet candy like scent. Water regularly, this plant likes its soil moist but not damp. A well draining soil is needed for this plant.

This plant can be propagated from From softwood cuttings, semi-hardwood cuttings, simple layering, and by air layering. Seeds can be collected from ripened fruit and the plant can then be grown from seed.

I need to bring this plant indoors in the winter time as it is not hardy to my climate. I keep it in a brightly lit room and water it regularly to keep the soil slightly moist. It can be susceptible to spider mites and white fly so if you must also bring your passion flower indoors please try to keep the humidity up inside the house or the room in which the plant is housed. Occasionally misting the leaves and stems will help as well. It’s not uncommon for some of the leaves to drop off when brought indoors in the early fall. The plant will acclimate itself to your homes environment in a short while and will start to look healthy again if you care for it properly.

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Recent Search Terms #2

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You’ve been searching my site, here’s a few answers to your questions:

What do bee balm seeds look like?

Bee Balm Seed Head I don’t have a good picture of my own Bee Balm seeds, although I do have a photo of a bee balm seed head.

The seeds are very tiny, as shown on this Great site by the SeedCo.uk . The bee balm seeds are the fourth image in the top row.

Throughout the summer I usually dead head the bee balm flowers that are starting to look a bit raggy. However, near the end of the season, say early September or a bit later, I let some of the blooms dry out and turn into seed heads. Once they get to the stage seen in the photo above I will shake out some of the seeds into a tiny clear plastic bag, label the bag and store it in a cool dry spot in my basement for future use.

I sometimes pluck off the dried seed head and shake some of the seeds out on the ground near the current plant, or in an area in which I’d like to grow a new bee balm plant. Try to remember to label the area in which you planted some seeds if you do this. I scuff a little bit of soil over the seeds and basically forget about them until mid- spring when new plants start coming up. In the spring I weed out new plants so that they aren’t too crowded. Sometimes I even pot some seedlings up and give them to friends who have admired my Bee Balm.

Care instructions for jasmine sambac:

Jasminum sambac is an evergreen shrub, that often reaches 5 ft in height in pots. Called “pikake” in Hawaii,Jasminum Sambac is the plant used to flavor the jasmine tea and making perfumes.

Arabian Jasmine blooms all year long in the greenhouse.

To grow these plants outdoors, you have to be in zone 8 or higher. Jasmines like hot and humid conditions during the day, and cool temperatures at night. Since frost can kill these plants, with care one can successfully grow these as house plants. (I do put my Jasmine Sambuc outdoors in the summer in an area of bright shade. It’s usually outside from mid-June until Mid-September, and it often looses some leaves when I move it from indoors to outdoors and back again.)

Jasminum Sambac can be grown both in full sun (forms a nice bushy shrub when pruned) or in shade (tends to grow more like a vine, leaves get bigger and darker). Perfect container plant. Use great amount of organic matter when planting (leaf mold, peat moss, humus, compost), but soil must be well-drained and evenly moist at the same time. Jasmines do not like soggy conditions.

From spring through fall, fertilize monthly with a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10. Tie the stems to supports and keep the soil evenly moist through the growing season. Prune after flowering to keep the plants thinned and shaped. Some branches may reach 6 to 8 ft long. Pruning also helps keep an abundance of flowers, since flowers are produce on new wood.

My Jasmine Sambuc loves it’s water. The plant is approximately 3 feet tall. In the summer when it’s outdoors I water it almost daily, and in the winter I often water it every second or third day. It doesn’t like damp conditions so be careful to make sure that the soil is not damp.

One more tip – If you bring your Jasmine indoors in the winter make sure the room it’s in is not dry. Humidify the air. Dryness brings on spider mites and they will quickly damage your plant and can get out of control easily. Along with regular watering to keep the soil slightly moist, I will often mist my Jasmine with water. If I notice any spider mites starting up I’ll add a drop or two of liquid detergent to my spray bottle and mist the plants leaves and branches with the soapy mixture.

Green Thumb

I’m not sure what the person was searching for with this term. Were you looking for a gardener with a green thumb or perhaps my meme “Green Thumb Sunday”?

I never realized that I had such a green thumb until we purchased our first house five years ago and I started my lovely garden. Yes, I’d had pretty good luck with house plants prior to becoming an outdoor gardener, but the true test was beginning and maintaining my outdoor garden. I haven’t lost too many plants, and the ones that I’ve lost I can mostly blame on either poor initial health when I purchased the plant or to severe winter conditions. I guess I do have a green thumb.

If you have a green thumb, want to have a green thumb or you love taking photos of nature, gardens, plants and landscapes think about joining my meme Green Thumb Sundays. Post a new picture every Sunday and visit other Green Thumb Sunday participants. It’s easy.

If you aren’t a gardener or passionate about nature and lovely landscapes don’t feel left out. You can join one of my blogrolls if you’d like. If you are Canadian you could join the “I am Canadian Blogroll“, and if you are from Toronto you could join the “Toronto Bloggers blogroll“, and if you have a photoblog that you post to regularly you might be interested in joining “Fabulous Photoblogs“. Think about it.

What grows in a dark garden?

Not too much.

However, plenty of things will grow in a shaded garden.

Some of the hardy geraniums are good for shade. There is Geranium phaeum and its many varieties for spring flowers, G. pratense for summer and G. procurrens for fall bloom.

Violets, Primula, Bergenia, Brunnera (giant forget-me-not), Dicentra (bleeding heart), Pulmonaria (lungwort), Epimedium and London Pride bring spring flowers. All of these perennials are available in several forms that offer variations in flower and foliage coloring.

There are perennial foxgloves in yellow, pink and apricot for early summer bloom. Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) forms highly attractive mounds of serrated, pleated leaves and sprays of greenish yellow flowers that are excellent in fresh cut and dried arrangements. Corydalis lutea, a ferny bleeding heart type perennial, gives yellow flowers all summer.

A pretty ground cover for shade is dead nettle (Lamium), which is available in a variety of different foliage variegations and flower colors. Flowering is from late spring through the summer. Christmas rose and Lenten rose (Helleborus) bring big buttercup-like flowers in winter to early spring, the Christmas rose in white and the Lenten rose in deep plum.

Mainstays of a shaded perennial garden are the feathery astilbes and glamorous-leaved hostas. Both are available in miniature to giant size, and in a wide choice of colors.

While the perennials in a new bed are young and small, plant the spaces between them with summer fill-ins — pansies, impatiens, monkey flower (Mimulus), coleus and begonias. An attractive floral cascade effect could easily be achieved in several spots by setting trailing hanging basket type fuchsias, in their containers, on upended pots to elevate the fuchsias off the ground.

Over time I will discuss the care of a number of the plants mentioned above as well as many more.

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