Question:
My tulips and daffodils were removed from the ground after the foliage turned brown and stored. When should I replant them and should they be chilled first?
Answer:
Spring or summer flowering bulbs stored from the previous year are replanted during their typical planting season. So you'd replant daffodils, narcissus, tulips, etc in the fall while dahlias, gladiolus, and others would go back into the ground in the late winter, early spring. Yes, tulips should be chilled but not the daffodils before planting for six weeks as the ground doesn’t get cold enough. When chilling tulips in a refrigerator be sure, you remove all the apples, bananas, tomatoes and other fruits. The Ethylene Gas from the maturing fruit can damage the immature flower(s). That being said, the real question is whether it’s worth the effort or not. Tulip flowers vary so don't expect last years tulips to be as showy this year, as they wouldn’t. They require another growing season before they reach their peak again. You improve the color show by mixing in new bulbs with the older ones. Personally, I’d plant new bulbs each year. This is not the case with daffodils and narcissus as they're planted anytime before the rainy season begins. Also, it’s quite common to leave them in the ground year after year. The clumps are dug up and divided when the groupings become so crowded that the flower size is reduced. Also, the overcrowding is the major reason why daffodils and narcissus stop blooming altogether. Typically, they’re divided every three to four years. As with new planting, you should add Bulb Food or Bone Meal. Depending on the size of the bulb add a teaspoon or tablespoon under each bulb; so nutrients are immediately available to the new roots.
Question:
I read that to keep Hydrangeas a pink color you should feed them an acid fertilizer and then to turn them blue, use something alkaline. Each spring, I fertilize my pink Hydrangea with an acid fertilizer but the blooms turn out to be a dirty white color. What am I doing wrong?
Answer:
The flower color on Hydrangeas is determined by the acidity or alkalinity of the soil and it’s measured by the soil pH. A pH scale runs from one to fourteen with seven being neutral. Any reading below seven is acid while any reading above eight is alkaline. A simple pH kit is available at your favorite garden center to measure your soil. Unfortunately, the blue/pink formula is backward. Hydrangeas turn pink in alkaline soils while we get blue tones in acid conditions. You keep Hydrangeas pink or red by fertilizing with Superphosphate or 0-10-10. For blue and/or lavender Hydrangeas feed them Aluminum Sulphate, EB Stone True Blue, or Gro More Blue. You begin in the fall and continue monthly February through May. These additives are a supplement to your usual plant fertilizers, not a replacement.
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