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| I'm looking for some advice. I was given several flowering allium, dwarf iris, crocus, and tulip bulbs by my brother-in-law to grow in my flower bed (they were from a box at a store, I think). I didn't realize, as a gardening newbie, that I needed to plant them in the fall for them to flower this spring. Needless to say, I planted in late March/early April. I did get some leaves on all four and flowers from the allium, crocus, and a few tulips. Then the leaves and flowers dried up. I'm wondering if the bulbs will survive the remainder of the summer and all fall/winter to bloom next spring. Have I sapped all their energy by planting late and now will have an empty space in my flower bed? Should I did them up, or leave them and hope for the best next year?
Any advice would be appreciated. :(
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Alium and Crocus should return without any problem. Most Tulips are annual anyway, so do not count on them. Could you specify what kind of Iris did you plant? |
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- Posted by cheesecake983 7a, Maryland (My Page) on Tue, Jul 19, 11 at 14:58
| They were "Dwarf" Iris. Is that specific enough? The box showed them as a dark purple and the leaves that grew looked like chives. They didn't resemble "regular" iris, like I have growing elsewhere. Bummer about the tulips! - Rachel |
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| Do not give up on the tulips. I had been told the same thing that tulips were not reliable return plants. I got some from cheap online store for my Mom one year and they have returned every year for the last 20 years. She has red, purple, and white tulips blooming every year. One is fancy with a variegated leaf I know that one was suppose to really be a annual. LOL |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 19, 11 at 18:56
| if you figure out how to kill alium.. let us all know.. lol ... ken |
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| Marquest, Tulips are not perennial here in MD. Even Darwin tulips that return for many people in other parts of the country bloom once here. Only species and greigii tulips (those with variegated foliage you Mom probably has) return year after year, but is sounds very unlikely that big box store was selling them. That is why I advised to not count on them here. |
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| Your Dwarf Iris might be Iris reticulata. They have a tendency to break up into smaller bulbs and I have not had them return successfully. But your experience could well be different especialy if you have warm summers. Either way I would just leave them alone. The bulbs will be tiny and really too hard to find to dig up. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Iris reticulata
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