Disappointing bulbs

I buy my bulbs online from Farmer Gracy, & have never been disappointed; they have a fantastic range, & often have special offers

I grow tulips in big pots but don't keep them from year to year. Monty Don once said, think of them as a bouquet and get rid of them after they've flowered. Very few are truly perennial.

Petra - I like Sarah Ravens's selections but you do get odd things. This year I bought 50 of her Seashells on the Beach tulip collection and divided them equally between two pots. 3 rogue fancy daffodils have just flowered in each pot. I definitely didn't order those!

As for damn squirrels: Last year they destroyed all my tulips. This year I planted them with shavings of scented soap, scattered chilli seeds on top and then put big mesh covers on the top, All is well, so far (apart from those gatecrasher daffodils..)

pennyg

I buy my bulbs online from Farmer Gracy, & have never been disappointed; they have a fantastic range, & often have special offers

I use Farmer Gracy too, very good, as long as you realize it's not a little farmer lady, in Lincolnshire beavering away

It's a big international plant marketing company in Holland.

I think you were just unlucky but I would never buy from a supermarket.Always a garden centre, plants is what they do!

Apparently squirrels don't eat daffodils, although they might dig them up by accident. I plant mine in bulb trays so they can be moved out of sight after flowering. Then I give them a good sprinkling of sulphate of potash to help build them up for next Spring.

I generally buy mine at Lidl and they are very successful unless the wild roe deer eat them. There is only one part of my garden safe from deer. Tulips are a particular favourite. Daffodils are left alone so are maybe poisonous?

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Only these flowering so far. Lots in bud.

Nell82

Apparently squirrels don't eat daffodils, although they might dig them up by accident. I plant mine in bulb trays so they can be moved out of sight after flowering. Then I give them a good sprinkling of sulphate of potash to help build them up for next Spring.

This is interesting and thanks for the tips as to what to do with the bulbs. I shall have to get some bulb trays and sulphate of potash once they have finished flowering- thanks!

I planted tulip bulbs in pots, the squirrel really enjoyed them! The next year I covered them with upturned Howie hanging baskets until they were growing well and they werd lovel.

After that I planted them in garden beds and the rockery but year on year they have dwindled rather than increased.
There seems to be a single isolated tulip in about three places around the garden 🌷🌷🌷

Howie No idea who Howie is 😀
wire hanging baskets

My tulips came up lovely but no a single daffodil this year and we planted loads of bulbs!

sazz1

My tulips came up lovely but no a single daffodil this year and we planted loads of bulbs!

Are they planted deep enough? Is the soil lacking in nutrients?

All mine are in pots and troughs and come up regularly with no problems.I don’t have an actual garden just a yard, so when they finish flowering I allow them to die down naturally then give the bulbs to friends and relatives to plant in their gardens.

maxmyers

I’ve just spent the last few hours digging up alliums which have spread and are smothering everything else in the flower bed. They are like wild garlic with tons of foliage and tiny white flowers. They were in a bag of mixed allium I bought from Parker’s bulbs online. The rest of them haven’t done very much- a couple of purple globe alliums, but these tiny ones have invaded the whole garden. Very disappointing and frustrating. Some of the best bulbs I’ve had came from Aldi.

I think I have those in my garden & they are a nuisance.I didn't buy them though, they arrived under their own steam. Crazy putting them in a mixed allium collection!

We have tulips & squirrels & they co-exist nicely , but we do have a lot of hazel around here, so maybe they prefer the hazelnuts.

My bulbs thrive on neglect. I am digging up snowdrops like weeds at the moment. Tulips seem to be biennial and are in prolific bud this year.

valdavi

We have tulips & squirrels & they co-exist nicely , but we do have a lot of hazel around here, so maybe they prefer the hazelnuts.

I'm finding hazel nutshells all around the lawn where the squirrel has dug up his/her cache!

FranP

My bulbs thrive on neglect. I am digging up snowdrops like weeds at the moment. Tulips seem to be biennial and are in prolific bud this year.

My snowdrops have been there for years in a clump but never seem to spread, unfortunately.

Did you know that narcissi bulbs stink of tomcat pee?

I didn't until I spent two days figuring out where the horrible smell was coming from.

They've now been banished to an outside windowsill.

Re dahlia bulbs - I planted dahlia bulbs from Lidl last spring. They took a very long time to flower and some of them never flowered at all.

Now those pots have been outside all winter and there's no sign of life. I think the long wet winter has killed them.

Should I dig some of them up to check, or leave them for another while? Dahlia and tulip bulbs that I planted in the autumn are growing strongly, so I think the ones from last spring are gone for a burton.

Supernana1

Re dahlia bulbs - I planted dahlia bulbs from Lidl last spring. They took a very long time to flower and some of them never flowered at all.

Now those pots have been outside all winter and there's no sign of life. I think the long wet winter has killed them.

Should I dig some of them up to check, or leave them for another while? Dahlia and tulip bulbs that I planted in the autumn are growing strongly, so I think the ones from last spring are gone for a burton.

Dahlia tubers are the opposite to tulips, you dig then up in the autumn (or protect them), store them in a frost free pace and plant in the spring.

We went to an NT garden yesterday the dahlias were protected with little straw cloches, with warmer winters thats enough in the south.

valdavi

maxmyers

I’ve just spent the last few hours digging up alliums which have spread and are smothering everything else in the flower bed. They are like wild garlic with tons of foliage and tiny white flowers. They were in a bag of mixed allium I bought from Parker’s bulbs online. The rest of them haven’t done very much- a couple of purple globe alliums, but these tiny ones have invaded the whole garden. Very disappointing and frustrating. Some of the best bulbs I’ve had came from Aldi.

I think I have those in my garden & they are a nuisance.I didn't buy them though, they arrived under their own steam. Crazy putting them in a mixed allium collection!

Eat them 😆

My spring bed, which is usually my pride and joy, is very disappointing this year. Something has eaten all my tulip bulbs, ( about 50) except of the red ones. This was one from a packet given to me over 40 years ago as a housewarming gift from SIL. They had spread and formed an incredible display. I am so upset they have been ravaged.

Should read ‘except one of the red ones’.

David49 I know the dahlia bulbs should have been protected during the winter, but unfortunately I wasn't in a position to do it.

My question was, should I now dig up some of the dahlia bulbs to see if they're still alive? Since there's no sign of any foliage, I doubt if they are.

In any case, I think I'll just leave them as they are until I need those pots for new plants.