Rita is the best!

Thank you all. It is true that I do love my garden. I know its work but I really get so much enjoyment out of my garden. I just can't imagine not having a garden.

So who was saying that I am not crazy? I must be crazy. I worked outside in the garden today and then came inside and ordered more bulbs! 2,500 more bulbs. My total is up to 6,500 already and I am totally out of control. I did order lots of crocus though and those are fairly easy to plant.

I got-
1,500 mixed large flowered crocus
150 yellow large flowered crocus
50 daffodil Suda
250 daffodil Early Flame
50 Tulipa kaufmanniana 'Hearts Delight':
50 Tulipa kaufmanniana 'Stresa':
50 Tulipa double early 'Abba':
50 Tulipa double early 'Monte Carlo':
50 Tulipa double late 'Angelique':
50 Tulipa double late 'Double Focus':
50 Tulipa double late 'Freeman':
50 Tulipa darwin hybrid 'Centennial Mixture':
50 Tulipa triumph 'Leen van der Mark':
100 Tulipa single late 'French Kiss Mixture':

So that makes 550 new tulips. You can tell I love my tulips.

That wasn't me Rita! I said you were crazy for sure! But an awesome kind of crazy!

My crocus around here got mostly wiped out as I did my garden redos. Then last fall I put 500 of those big flowered mix crocus into my southside rose garden. Planted between the roses. I was so bummed out when the squirrels dug just about every one up. So I have to replant. This time I will immediatly much them so the squirrels don't know they are there. But I have plenty of other spots can use crocus so I will use them up.

I can't believe you've already ordered 6,500 bulbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!

Question:
When you plant bulbs & you are supposed to plant them X" below the soil ---- when you use mulch on top do you count the depth of mulch as part of the X" depth? Sounds like a stupid question even to me but I don't have experience with planting bulbs. AND does that work Rita? To cover w/ new mulch right away & then the tree rats won't dig them up?

Excellent question Ann! I've planted lots of bulbs, and I'm a mulch addict, but I've never thought about the depth before! Hopefully Wonderwoman Rita knows the answer!

Well, around here the tree rats only dug up the crocus, the other stuff (daffs and tulips too deep for them to notice). And they didn't notice the crocus that were in a muched bed. So I think mulching right away will definately work.

No mulch does not count. So planting depth is from the soil line. But just about all my gardens are muched and mulched heavily. The bulbs just come up thru the mulch.

And I usually plant my tulips deep, at least for the none traditionally perennially ones I always had. But here again, different classes of tulips I have planted at different depths.

I have a plan on planting. I have these already ordered bulbs mostly from these places that ship in Early September. That means I can have them all planted by the time the orders come from Brent & Beckies, Scheepers and Van Engelen. Those last three places I will order from, haven't yet. They ship mid late October. So the early bulbs done, gone in ground like it never even happened before the late round of bulbs gets delivered., That means the early ones almost don't count, right?

Gor! Rita's going to shoot for the 10,000 mark this year.



Oh, & thanks Rita for the depth answer!

flaflwrgrl said:Gor! Rita's going to shoot for the 10,000 mark this year. !

Well, you never know. I am crazy. I still want to order lots of crocus and those small bulbs really add up quickly.

If anyone can do it you can!

Maybe she'll stop at 9,999? Kinda goes with the 4,999 last year! Rita, I think it would be worth a trip all the way across this beautiful country, just to see your yard!

Natalie said:Maybe she'll stop at 9,999? Kinda goes with the 4,999 last year! Rita, I think it would be worth a trip all the way across this beautiful country, just to see your yard!

Nope, last night I was reviewing what I still have to order and its going to go way over 10,000. Mainly because I still have at least 3,000 more crocus to order. And a few more daffs and tulips.

Yikes!!!

Well, crocus are small so they hardly count right? I have a really speedy method of planting them. I use a soil knife or a really skinny pointy trowel. Stick it at a slight angle. twist upright and hold in place. Leaves a gap then insert crocus bulb, (using your other hand) release and pat down. Its a variation of the way very small seedling shrubs and trees are planted en mass. It is really fast and easy. I did my rose garden with 500 crocus this way last fall, it was done in a snap. Worse part was getting attacked by the roses as I was working.

Unfortunately that was the area the squirrels dug up the crocus so I have to redo it. I will mulch immediatly after planting there this time so the squirrells don't see them.

And its going to be doable because this stuff I have already ordered are from places ship early September. So by the time those ones from the places that ship mid late October come, the first batch will be done and planted. It has to be so I can get the rest done. That's my plan and I am sticking to it!

Rita, every one of those crocus count!! My method for planting them in large groups is to scoop out a shallow area of the dirt, stick the bulbs in, and then gently cover them with the dirt I removed. It goes very fast that way. Of course, I've never planted hundreds of them, so your way is probably a lot faster!

I'm amazed at how tall crocus can grow to get to where they can bloom. I have some that are growing under some ground cover. They have to grow at least 12 inches or more to get through to the sun, and they do that every year without fail. Others only grow half that tall, at best, if there is nothing but some mulch to grow through. I sure do love them!

I'm going to dig up a bunch of muscari from the backyard to take with me to Idaho. It's been a real problem plant for me, and takes over quickly, but I'll plant it where it can grow wild, down the side of the hill. In a couple of years, that wild hillside should look amazing! I swore that I'd never have muscari in my yard again, since most of my weeding in the spring is to pull more of it up, but growing it where I won't have anything organized would be great. It's everywhere in my daylily beds!

I guess I have never planted crocus where they need to get tall because that has never happened to me. I do notice that they come up if they are planted really, really shallow or if they are planted really, really deeply. They are not fussy about that at all.

But the crocus are long gone here. Bloomed already.

Here are some daffy dillies from today-

Gigantic Star. New for me this year.


One of the daffs gardens. And then another daff area.

Backyard tulips again taken yesterday before I pulled out all the orangy red short ones! They weren't what they were marked to be so they had to go. I do really love the yellow one up there. Just such a pretty tulip.


Red Emperor today.


And Apricot Emperor.


Beauty of Apeldorn in the front yard.


More Firespray tulips-


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