Spring bulbs are absolutely one of the best features of our
gardens.
Spring bulbs are absolutely one of the best features of our gardens. While I’m a fan of many flowers, I’ve always especially appreciated daffodils because they are one of the first big flowers to appear and are so darn cheerful with their yellow star-like shape. There’s no surer affirmation of a coming Spring than seeing a bunch of big daffodils shooting out of the ground like mini-rockets heading toward the sky.
Those interested in beautifying our town will be pleased to learn that our second annual daffodil giveaway is happening now with the sponsorship of Johnson Lumber. Due to Johnson’s generosity, 2,000 bulbs are being made available to Morgan Hill residents for no charge at their local store. There is a limit of 20 bulbs per household in order to share the wealth and the only rule for the program is that you must plant the daffodils in a location visible to the general public. If you haven’t been to their new store, this is an excellent opportunity to check it out.
I don’t want to scare anyone out of planting the bulbs, but I also wanted to provide folks with some good planting information taken from the Daffodil Society’s website. Rest assured, if you don’t do all of the stuff below and just plant your bulbs this month, you’ll get nice flowers next year. If you want your flowers to flourish for many years to come, do the following:
Choose a well-drained, sunny place. Drainage is the key. Spade at least 12 inches deep. Improve your clay with well-rotted compost, soil amendment, or planting mix and raise the bed. Slightly acidic soil is best, so you might add soil sulfur if you have alkaline soil.
Plant your daffodils so that their top (pointed end) is at least two times as deep as the bulb is high (so the top of a 2-inch bulb is 4 inches deep). Exactness isn’t crucial; they’ll adjust. Plant bulbs deeper in sandy soil than in clay.
If you are to leave them down for years, then work some bone meal into the soil (it will do nothing for the plant the first year). After planting, top-dress with a sprinkling of 5-10-10. Top-dress again with 5-10-10 when the leaf-tips emerge. As they flower, top-dress with 0-10-10 or 0-0-50. High-nitrogen fertilizer should be avoided.
Daffodils need lots of water while they are growing. Water immediately after planting and keep them moist until the rains come. Continue watering for three weeks or so after blooming time; then stop watering. The bulbs make their next year’s bloom after flowering. (Your first-year bloom is largely due to the previous grower of the bulb.)
You may leave daffodils down if your area is dry during the summer. Mulch the bed. If you water, or grow other things there, then you must dig them.
Warmth plus moisture = bulb rot.
After the bloom ends, pull off the seed pod so the energy of the plant will be put in strengthening the bulb for next year’s bloom. Never cut the foliage until it begins to yellow (usually late May or June). Then is the time to dig them.
Wash the bulbs thoroughly and let them dry completely (at least a week, out of the sun). Put them in onion sacks (or panty hose) and hang them in the coolest place you can find until November. Good air circulation will keep storage rot at a minimum.
Eco-Fact of the Week: The city was very pleased with your response to our second Annual Second Chance Week. The donations of coats and eyeglasses were outstanding and an incredible number of you came out to recycle your batteries and old thermometers. We will definitely be repeating those events next year. The Saturday e-waste collection event was another rousing success with 132 televisions, 305 computer monitors and nearly 16,000 pounds of e-waste brought to the facility.
Eco-Web Pages of the Week: If you are a big daffodil fan, you might want to check out www.daffodil.o rg/index. html for some cool links.
Anthony Eulo is a program administrator for the City of Morgan Hill who was happy to recycle his old batteries. He welcomes your questions, comments, and thou-ghts and can be reached at en*****@************ca.gov or 779-7247.
