Publisher's Note

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Page added on September 22, 2009

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GARDENER’S CORNER – THE SEASON OF BULBS

Bulbs are those magical plants that appear when the last of snow disappears in the spring. These consist of tulips, crocus,daffodils,hyacinths,narcissus,and summer bulbs such as lillies. Onces you master growing these there is no limit. Choose your planting site with good drainage and sun exposure.Water logged soil will cause bulbs to rot. Most bulbs are rated for zone 2. With a little planning you can have splashes of colour all through spring. When shopping for bulbs watch for mold and rot. Squeeze the bulbs ,should be frim, if soft discard. Be wary of sealed paks. Plant out in mid to late fall in groups of 5,7 or 9, in odd numbers. Plant five to six inches deep, mix bulb fertilizer into the soil just below the bulbs and place the bulb with the point end up. To help your bulbs to florish year after year allow the leaves to remain until they naturally turn yellow and begin to die down. Then clip off the plants at the soil level.

Tulips always bloom beauitfully tor several years but deplete after much of their energy is used to nurture bulblets. As a result, flowers become smaller or even fail to flower at all. For this reason you may want to plant out new tulips every year and dig out the older ones and dispose. Holes and notches in leaves are usually the work of slugs and snails which can be attracted to beer traps.

Lilies if planted in a good site will produce dazziling displays. They love a sunny site, cool moist well drained rich soil. Plant lilies in late fall or very early spring. Plant at a depth of 3 times their diameter of the bulb. A 2 inch bulb should be planted 6 inches deep. Again the pointed end must be up for the bulb to grow properly. Lilies are long lived, easy to grow perennials that are seldom troubled by insects and are very disease resistant. Plant lilies in groups rather than singly for best diplay. Space 9-18 inches apart depending on type of lily. Tall varieties need staking especially in windy locations. Avoid wetting foliage when watering but keep soil moist. Do not allow lilies to dry out. Divided lillies every 4 to 5 years or they will produce thin nonflowering stalks. Dividing in the fall is best and divisions may take 2 to 3 years to flower. Mix bone meal into the soil when planting and add good loam to bed area. Lilies prefer sunny locations but need cool roots. Use a mulch around base of plants or grow low groundcover such as thyme, creeping speedwell, dwarf bellflower or any other low growers.

There are hundreds of varieties and I find lilies perfect to explore with in your garden. Happy gardening.

H. Kriaski

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