Boosting Your Bulbs - Daffodils & Other Bulb Plants

 One of the tasks I have decided to dedicate myself to this year is boosting our Daffodil bloom next year. I have done some research into the methods of doing this and decided to tackle them thoroughly to see if it makes an improvement. The general gist of it is that you need to do whatever you can to make the bulb (the energy storage of the plant) as big and strong as possible.

 From the research I have carried out, the 3 things that make the biggest difference to blooming success are the following.

1. Deadheading the spent flowers once they have begun to die.
2. Thoroughly feeding the plant once the bloom has finished.
3. Making sure that the leaves are left on as long as possible once the bloom has finished.
4. Clearing surrounding foliage.
   

 Deadheading

 Daffodils will often begin producing seeds in the little pods on the back of the flower once they have been pollinated. The seed pod requires a lot of nutrients and energy from the plant, and as such this means that less energy and goodness goes back into the bulbs.

 I tend to remove the flower heads as soon as the flower begins to die. This means the seeds has as little time as possible to begin sapping energy from the plant.

 The next thing I like to do is remove the head just above the little joint point on the top of the stem. This will mean that the seed pod (shown by white arrow) is removed fully, but it will also leave a closed top on the end of the stem rather than leaving the tube open to water. (I am unsure if this makes a difference overall, but I do it just in case). Deadheading can be carried out by either pinching the head off, or using a pair of scissors to get a nice clean cut.

The red line shows the point at which I like to cut / pinch off the head.

  Finally, make sure that you leave as much of the flower stem as possible. This section also photosynthesizes and creates energy for the bulb, so you may as well leave it on.

Leaving a closed top to the stalk, I believe, reduces the likelihood of rot if water gets in.

Feeding

 Feeding a Daffodil (or bulb plant), wasn't something I had thought about until recently. Logic would state that during the bulb formation period, the plant requires a lot of nutrients to pack into the bulb.

For ease, I have often just gone around with a watering can filled with liquid plant food. I do this as I dead head the plants so that I know which ones I have already fed and watered.

 Another good option is to use slow release plant food or good quality mulch / compost spread around the base and then watered in. The nutrients will slowly mix into the soil and provide a boost for the bulbs.

 Leaving the Leaves!

 This is one of the biggest reasons for bulb plants to end up "coming up blind" the following year. The term "Coming up blind" is used when a plant comes up, but does not produce flowers.

 Often you will see people either cut down the leaves, or tie the leaves up once the flowers have been deadheaded. Doing this does neaten up the garden, but it also seriously hinders the plants ability to rebuild the bulb and produce a good storage of energy through the winter. The weakened bulb then fails to produce flowers the following season.

Removing Nearby Foliage

 Finally, the next thing you can do to significantly help your Daffodils (or other bulb plants) is to make sure that they are getting a good source of sunlight! 

 For example, the Daffodils in our garden are planted where various other weeds and plants like to compete. (often the dreaded ground elder and goose grass).

 Once the flowers have bloomed, and the heads have been removed, it is a good idea to go around the plants and remove as many competing weeds as possible. This allows a greater amount of light, helping to build up the bulbs energy storage.

 

The Daffodils above are surrounded by encroaching plants. These will sap light and nutrients from the recovering plant.

Clearing around the base (if the encroaching plants are weeds) will mean more light and nutrients for the Daffodils.

Propagating Our Snowdrops - Tips & Tricks

 One of our more reliable plants are our snowdrops. Initially started in the garden by my Dad around 8 years ago, they have consistently provided good early year ground cover and wonderful flowers. They also provide some very early food for foraging pollinators. 

 Feel free to have a look at this post if you're interested in what plants give good year round food supplies to pollinators.

The area of snowdrops above have finished flowering and are now in their dormant phase. Perfect for propagating.

 The image above shows the section of our garden that the snowdrops are located. It is covered by large trees above (out of shot) and has two Acer trees that grow leaves well after the snowdrops have flowered.

 A recent task I have completed in the garden is the propagation (spreading by separating clumps) of snowdrops. This task is very rewarding, and leads to a much larger bloom / coverage of snowdrops the following year if done correctly. 

A single large clump can be split easily into 3 or more smaller clumps.

Steps for Propagating Snowdrops

 The steps for propagating snow drops are fairly simple.

1. Wait until all the flowers have finished blooming.
2. Choose the locations that you wish to propagate the snowdrops to.
3. Dig small holes ready for each new clump you create.
   
4. Dig up large clumps using a fork.
5. Split the clumps by hand, being careful not to rip / damage too many leaves.
6. Plant the smaller clumps into the pre-dug holes.
7. Water (and feed) thoroughly after replanting.

  As said in the list above, the first step is to make sure that all the flowers have finished blooming and died off. This means the plant is now in its dormant phase, and is ready for propagating.

 The locations you choose will determine how well the snowdrops will thrive. Snowdrops thrive in well drained soil with light shade cover. (According to the RHS website).

 When digging the new holes for the snowdrops, you may find that adding leaf mould or fresh compost helps to encourage root growth and helps to settle them into their new spot.

 To dig the clumps out of the ground it is best to use a large garden fork for bigger clumps (over 20cm diameter) or a hand fork for ones under 20cm diameter. Start at the edges of the clump and work your way around the clump, gradually loosening it from the ground. Eventually you will feel the clump "free up" and loosen. Carefully lift the clump out, and place it somewhere to separate it.

A larger clump of snowdrops like this one required a full size garden fork rather than a hand fork.

 Once lifted, it is time to separate the clump. At first this can feel rather daunting as it feels like you are damaging the plant! The way I did this was to grab one side of the clump (by the bulbs) then slowly try to take a handful. As you try to close your hands around the clump of bulbs, you will slowly rip that section away from the larger bulk. Once you have separated the bulbs, take care to slowly pull them apart as the leaves will be entangled with each other. Gently shaking the sections will help the leaves separate.

A single large clump of snowdrops can easily produce 3 (or more) smaller clumps.

 Once the clumps are separated, simple drop them into the holes you have dug, pack them around with compost or soil that has been previously removed, and then water them thoroughly. I like to water them in using water that has had plant food added to it. I believe this encourages the roots to spread out into the fertile soil around them. It also provides goodness for the bulbs to take in ready for the next season of flowering.

 Finally, once they have been replanted, allow them to settle and die off naturally. The allows the plant the longest possible time to rebuild its energy stores in the bulbs, providing a greater bloom and spread next year.

A small, empty patch perfect for propagating snowdrops into.

Freshly propagated snowdrops, filling the previously empty patch.

Bee Friendly Plants

 Afternoon All!

 I have often found myself searching for bee friendly plants for our garden. This is mainly due to the fact that we have bees in our garden. The bees are looked after by a local beekeeper that places a hive in your land and then gives you honey in exchange.

 Ever since the bees have arrived here I have done what I can to make sure that they have the required nectar and pollen to help sustain them, and to help them produce good quality honey.

 Near where we live there are a lot of fields filled with rapeseed (oilseed rape). These fields are good sources of food for the bees, but are short lived, and quite a distance away from the hive.

 I did a lot of research and started to plant based on what can provide nectar and pollen for as much of the year as possible.

Snowdrops & Cylamen provide good winter forrage for bees and other pollinators.

 The above image is a section of our garden that provides a fantastic food source for those bees that are willing to venture out during the cold late winter (February-March). Snowdrops and Cyclamen are both loved by pollinators due to them being a good early source of food.

 I have also found that bees particularly like Crocus plants as well. They are a great source of pollen.

Crocus provide a rich source of pollent to early foraging bees.

 Having done a lot of research into what plants are prefered by bees, I decided to create a table that shows the flowering period of some of their favorite plant varieties. I tried to include a wide range of plants that would provide pollen and nectar throughout as much of the year as possible.

 Using a range of plants & flowers from the chart below will support bees and other pollinators throughout the whole year.

 Two of the clear favorite plants we have in our garden for bees are Atlas Poppies (also known as Moroccan Poppies) and Buddleja Globosa. The poppies are hugely rich in pollen, and the Globosa is packed with nectar.