Seems a strange way to run a 'store' requiring approval for shoppers. but all is okay. At least now I know. Thanks for all the help

Ginny, that's excellent and a much better result than most seem to have with them . Do they also reproduce vegetatively through offsets? I read that these normally don't produce offsets so will die from old age after a few years, but I would be happy if this was incorrect. Especially as I've planted some last autumn. Even if they don't produce offsets 10 years is much longer than I thought they could survive .

I have never had a Schubertii increase offsets. Just 1 bloom per plant per year. I have started new ones at my current house so we'll see what happens!

Mary Stella, she does it as a group you have to join on Facebook to keep from spam, people trying to just advertise or sell crap, and aid like that.

Legalily said:I just got my last bill This will be paid for by the "happy hubby" plan so he doesn't have a clue the total!

Dare I ask what this "happy hubby" plan entails?

You are IN Mary Stella!

Thanks Kay. Got in and looked around. You are right, so many sold out. I will have to be much quicker next year. lol But I appreciate your help.

Australis said:

Dare I ask what this "happy hubby" plan entails?

The "happy Hubby" plan is when you pay with part check, part cash, and part charge

RJ I appreciate you letting me know about your amaryllis, I didn't want mine to be an odd ball.

Jack, yeessss magic lilies. Lycoris, crinum, do NOT like to be moved. These I do have experience with. Your schubertii picture was so pretty in the database.

William, the foliage on the foxtail was not that high before it died back. Don't know how tall it's supposed to be but by the flowers I've seen in pictures it was much more than I had.
My old nemesis, lack of cold. I understand that's why some of my lilies don't have the larger blooms that they did the first year. My first allium were drumstick and Ambassador, they come back reliably. Trying again for caerulean, Globemaster, Ivory Queen. New this yr is Purple Sensation. I'm just grateful they both came back after the drought last yr.

Ah Ginny you are poetry in motion my friend!

Kabby, I've never grown Allim schubertii, but I've had good luck with foxtail lilies. The leaves typically stay pretty short, I'd estimate a foot or less, and don't stay around for very long after the flower fades. I've planted them twice, and both times some bloomed the first year and others waited till the 2nd to bloom. I had great luck with them returning, but lost a few due to forgetting where they were planted and digging into them in fall while planting new bulbs.

Just a word about the use of coffee grounds to discourage squirrels. Day 3 and no new damage. If you look at the pics here:

https://garden.org/thread/view...

You will notice there wasn't much coffee applied. I actually took those pics prior to laying down a covering of the used coffee grounds.

So, the crocus blooms have tripled, iris too. And as of today, two yellow crocus with a TON of hyacinth coming. Also beliw are a few shots of my squirrel feeder...ALWAYS kept full of shelled peanuts.

Awwww. He is so cute.

Looks even better through a rifle site. Just sayin'

Since we switched to a Keurig several years ago, we really don't have coffee grounds anymore. I tried saving the little cups and emptying them. Geeze! For the amount of work it took to get a teaspoon of grounds, it's not worth it.

rosieann99 said: and some new ones lachenalia (cape primrose) ronina/rosabeth and rupert anyone grown these i live in north west uk going to try them in the conservatory anyone grown them in there do i need heat

I live just west of Oxford and I have Lachenalia aloides which I grew from seed and actually got to bloom in a sheltered spot outdoors in the mild December of 2014..............


5 to 10°c is ideal so as long as the conservatory is not heated like the rest of the house they'll do fine (or may well have done fine by now). They're winter blooming in South Africa so my tip for successful growing year on year is to give them a good baking in the greenhouse during the summer when they're dormant.

@RickM My husband would agree with you. Me? Not so much..... even if they do destroy the insulation in my house sometimes

UrbanWild, that's a great tip! I'm seeing rodent damage on some crocuses this year, more than usual, so I'm going to try coffee grounds. I'm not sure if the culprits are squirrels or rabbits, but the grounds may work for various rodents.

@longk , how rewarding to have blooms on your seed grown Lachenalia aloides! And impressive too!

gemini_sage said:UrbanWild, that's a great tip! I'm seeing rodent damage on some crocuses this year, more than usual, so I'm going to try coffee grounds. I'm not sure if the culprits are squirrels or rabbits, but the grounds may work for various rodents.

@longk , how rewarding to have blooms on your seed grown Lachenalia aloides! And impressive too!

Thanks for the welcome. Lachenalia are easy to germinate - buy fresh seed from S.Africa for best success (plenty of SA based sellers on fleabay or Seeds For Africa ).

Coffee grounds are great for slugs! Best cure for squirrells is a canny cat or a lump of lead I hate squirrells - they are obsessed with tipping my pots out!

Coffee grounds for slugs?? that's a new one on me but if it works I have tons of grounds. Will begin saving them again.

The feral cats here seem to only kill birds. If they didn't crap all over the place (scents most foul...and not welcome surprises when working a bed, or container! ), and they would only kill house sparrows and starlings, I might not be so hardened. I'll take squirrels any day. The biologist in me is fascinated by those birds and survivorship... but that same side knows they should not be here.

BTW, I pick up coffee grounds about every 3 days from a local coffee shop. I first started doing it to keep cats out of areas, but the smell wears off and they eventually return. I suspect the same will happen with squirrels but I'll keep using it as a deterrent. I already plugged every gap and hole in the fende to deter cats in back. Working so far. I still get opossums and racoons but right now they are better behaved and prefer the compost pile.

@Kabby, you are correct, every year, when we get back from spring break, the bulbs are blooming. They're weeks ahead this year.

BTW, I grew allium Schubertii. They were planted 2 years ago and bloomed well. The leaves have been up all winter here, and I've noticed several buds. .





Thanks to our unseasonably warm temps, the spring blooming bulbs are opening fast. I'll be posting more pics on the 2017 blooming thread.


Welcome @longk!

Regarding coffee grounds, I also have a Keurig, and I open those annoying little cups each time I use them and throw the coffee in the garden. I'll have to check with our local coffee house to see if they give away the grounds.

I've planted mini daffs around the edge of the back garden to deter the squirrels, and I also use Neem oil, which seems to have prevented them from digging up the bulbs in the front garden.