Pakistan Gardening Forum

Dear Fellows speciall @ Khabbab: i like your interest in bulbs kindly if you could guide me in soil preparation, fertilizing and watering the bulbs, i have just ruined Iris, Renunculus, Hycinths . Iam using potting soil mixed with sand 50% plus i use grains of 10-10-10 fertilizer mixed in soil, i used liq fertilizer monthly plus i watered 3 times a week. Iam living in saudiarabia where temp from Oct to April remains belw 30 C and above 10 C.

I think minimum temperature of 10c is little on the edge regarding hyacinth and ranunculus. In lahore, temperature keep 0c-10C for many weeks. But forcing should be successful for sure. Check this link for hyacinth http://www.lahoregardening.com/2009/12/ ... rm_22.html you can place your hyacinth in

Hyacinth:
- Try both forcing in water and also growing in a pot.
- For growing in pot, plant the bulb when winter is at its extreme. In lahore, i plant the bulb on 15th December approx. I grow in 80% peat moss and 20% normal bhal. Even 100% peat moss will do. I use 1.5 liter plastic container. Before planting the bulb, water the container well. Next day after watering, plant the hyacinth. DO NOT water again until flowering stalk starts to appear.
- Keep this pot in indirect sunlight but bright sunlight.
- When flowering stalk starts to appear, check the dryness of soil. If it is dry, water with NPK 5-15-45. Hyacinth likes high potassium. This is the second watering overall.

Bundle of thanks,

From thisit appears to be watering an issue, you are saying i should not water after first watering even the pot is dry, here i plant Hycinths in November and the shoots appear in January, it takes almost 45 days to appear, shall this be right can it survive without water ? PLus you are saying fertilizer is not required only peat moss which is by technical means not a fertilizer can do well. hmmmmm...appreciate your good guidance.this same has happened to IRIS as well.

My renunclus 5 out of 10 emerged but 4 already dead after yellowish leaves like they have been burned by fertilizer maybe, one has survived.
Same happened to Some Glads i.e. both are not rotten but dried.

The best of bulbs is Freesia which after all this are still suviving and thriving.

Lookingforward to your guidance until i became a specialist in bulbous Plants . Best regards,

Try butter cup seedlings, Freesias are good, only if the stem could stand errect.

In my very limited experience all the bulbous plants need no fertilizers during blooming.. but during active growth which may be before blooming (like Dahlias, Ranunculus, Anemones etc) or after blooming (like Narcissus, hippeastrums , Callas, Freesias, blood lily, nerine, lycoris etc) they need fertilizers like any other plant..
When bulbs, tubers and corms are planted they have enough energy to produce roots and new shoots, but after 2 weeks of sprouting they readily accept fertilizers..
I plant my bulbous plants in plain garden soil mixed with coir and sand. When they sprout and start to grow, I give them NPK 17:17:17 lightly with good results.

this is excellent info, so if i plant in sand and after sprouting i use liquid fertilizer fortnightly that would be good. Presently iam spreading some granular fertilizer on top after a month

Sand must be mixed with some material which can hold the moisture like peat or coir.. another point is that high Nitrogen content in medium will promote more foliage and weak bulbous part..

Thanks, it will surely help me planting bulbs next time, as my love for bulbuous plants continues.