Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Bulbs General => Topic started by: annew on August 14, 2018, 08:17:35 PM
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It has just been brought to my attention that the growing instructions on my website http://www.dryad-home.co.uk/pages/growing%20info.html (http://www.dryad-home.co.uk/pages/growing%20info.html) are out of date. I've now updated it, but here is the relevant part:
The compost I use is usually a mixture of two parts John Innes No2 (Singleton's is unsurpassed if you can get it), two parts perlite, one part leaf mould. A slow-release general fertiliser is applied at the recommended rate before the pile is thoroughly mixed.
The layer of very coarse sand around the bulbs is important. I’ve also been trickling fungicide over the sand layer before topping up with compost using the belt-and-braces approach.
Do NOT use vermiculite – I find it stays too wet, and does not aerate the mix as perlite does. The problem with perlite is that when you tip the used compost onto the garden, it looks like an explosion in a polystyrene factory.
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Anne,
Thank you very much for these most useful instructions - would you please let me know
which fungicide do you apply and sorry - what is the 'belt-and-braces approach'?
Gerd
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The compost I use is usually a mixture of two parts John Innes No2 (Singleton's is unsurpassed if you can get it),
Just received a pallet load! No grit in your mixture then?
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It may be worth a reminder of a previous discussion about Keith Singleton John Innes compost here: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=3532.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=3532.0)
I would think for the kind of bulbs you mainly grow Anne that it would be very suitable. But we found that its very high organic content led to rotting of bulbs such as the Rhinopetalum group of Fritillarias i.e. those kinds of bulbs that are especially sensitive to moisture levels and need perfect drainage in a compost that doesn't hold too much water. We gave up using it for most bulbs - with a few exceptions such as the more moisture-loving Fritillaria camschatcensis which did very well in it.
Paul
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Anne,
Perlite is not available in my area.Only vermiculite.
What about replacing it by grit?Have you ever tried it,how much, and what was the result?
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It has just been brought to my attention that the growing instructions on my website http://www.dryad-home.co.uk/pages/growing%20info.html (http://www.dryad-home.co.uk/pages/growing%20info.html) are out of date. I've now updated it, but here is the relevant part:
The compost I use is usually a mixture of two parts John Innes No2 (Singleton's is unsurpassed if you can get it), two parts perlite, one part leaf mould. A slow-release general fertiliser is applied at the recommended rate before the pile is thoroughly mixed.
The layer of very coarse sand around the bulbs is important. I’ve also been trickling fungicide over the sand layer before topping up with compost using the belt-and-braces approach.
Do NOT use vermiculite – I find it stays too wet, and does not aerate the mix as perlite does. The problem with perlite is that when you tip the used compost onto the garden, it looks like an explosion in a polystyrene factory.
Thank You, Anne, for Your tipps to improve soil for Galanthus, especially the differences of Perlite and Vermiculite! I use since several years the organic soil-improver: Leonardit from the Roesl-Compost-Companie Regensburg. This is a black material fron a special young brown coal, which improves the capacity of waterholding and nutrients in soils and activates the activity of soil-fauna. I use ca 2 kg/m2 in open grounds or 5 % in soils for pots. The results are good, as You can see in the added foto from bulbs of my G. elwesii seedlings, middle and right in comparision to common G. nivalis. Greetings from Germany Harald
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It may be worth a reminder of a previous discussion about Keith Singleton John Innes compost here: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=3532.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=3532.0)
I would think for the kind of bulbs you mainly grow Anne that it would be very suitable. But we found that its very high organic content led to rotting of bulbs such as the Rhinopetalum group of Fritillarias i.e. those kinds of bulbs that are especially sensitive to moisture levels and need perfect drainage in a compost that doesn't hold too much water. We gave up using it for most bulbs - with a few exceptions such as the more moisture-loving Fritillaria camschatcensis which did very well in it.
Paul
Interesting to note that. I put in extra perlite for some things that need extra drainage. It is worth noting that most of my bulbs are either in clay pots or baskets plunged in sand which will wick away any extra moisture.
I used to use grit a long time ago but could not find a source of suitable grit locally, also it was very heavy for me to move about. Many growers use it very successfully.
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Anne,
Thank you very much for these most useful instructions - would you please let me know
which fungicide do you apply and sorry - what is the 'belt-and-braces approach'?
Gerd
Haha! 'Belt and braces' - a Yorkshire saying. If you have a belt and also braces (two ways to keep your trousers up) then you have a backup in case one fails.
The fungicide I use is Fungus Clear Ultra
Regards,
Anne
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Harald-Alex - your soil improver looks to have very impressive results.
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Harald-Alex - your soil improver looks to have very impressive results.
Hallo Anne, if I get an adress, I´ll send You a probe of Leonardit, that You can test it!
Greetings from Germany - Harald
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Interesting to note that. I put in extra perlite for some things that need extra drainage. It is worth noting that most of my bulbs are either in clay pots or baskets plunged in sand which will wick away any extra moisture.
I used to use grit a long time ago but could not find a source of suitable grit locally, also it was very heavy for me to move about. Many growers use it very successfully.
Haha! 'Belt and braces' - a Yorkshire saying. If you have a belt and also braces (two ways to keep your trousers up) then you have a backup in case one fails.
The fungicide I use is Fungus Clear Ultra
Regards,
Anne
Thank you Anne! The saying is quite understandable - my translator puzzled me.
Gerd
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Harald-Alex - your soil improver looks to have very impressive results.
Hallo Anne, I´ll send You a probe of the soil-improver "Leonardit" (plus certificat), that You can test it. Leonardit is a special active coal product, younger than brown coal with a high capacity for holding nutrients and water and contains many humin-materials. I use it since several years for snowdrops, but also for planting shrubs and trees very sucessful. Have a good sunday
Harald
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Thank you - Harald-Alex! I cannot find a source for it in the UK though.
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Anne:
Found this one.
https://aphaeas-agri.com/humintech-products-uk-ireland/
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Thanks, Arnold - it looks interesting.
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Thank you - Harald-Alex! I cannot find a source for it in the UK though.
Hallo Anne, a probe of Leonardit for testing with Zertifikat is on the postage-way!
Greetings Harald
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I met a guy this afternoon who grow his bulbs in pure zeolith, feeding each 3 weeks.
Seems to work well with Narcissus, Crocus, anemone and Ccilla.
He fails with tulips. It stays humid one week even during a sunny week under glass.
My results with seramis are pretty good with Crocus but i never tried with other genius.
Mineral soil works well with bulbs but it needs more often fertiliser.
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I keep Rain lilies (Zephyranthes) in common hydroculture: Clay pepples and fertilized with a ion exchanger every 6 months. They do well and flower the same way as those in soil.
Hannelore
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I think of hydroculture as the same moisture levels all year. Does that mean you never reduce your rain lilies water availability through the year?
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I think of hydroculture as the same moisture levels all year. Does that mean you never reduce your rain lilies water availability through the year?
Yes. And they do not go dormant all through the year. They flower only in summer but they're green in winter too. As they're tropical plants I do not think that that is unnatural.
Hannelore
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Preparation of the substratmix for bulbs: Compost and sandy soil as basis plus Seramis or Lavasplit (orange), Stockosorb (white) and Leonardit (anthrazit-black) bevor mixing. Organic nutrients are given after planting on the pots.
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you add Stockosorb ? it doesn't retain too much water?
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Even the compost is pretty!
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you add Stockosorb ? it doesn't retain too much water?
Hallo Yann, Stockosorb I use only in small amounts and mix the pouwder quickly with the substrat, so Stockosorb don`t clumb. Only for this foto to demonstrate the ingredients, I concentrated Stockosorb in four places.
It holds the substrate moist, but not wet! Greetings Harald
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Even the compost is pretty!
Hallo Annew, with this ingredients the substrat for the bulbs will be soft, moist and with a good drainage too! Also in dry conditions bevor repotting the substrat is not hard, as former mixtures!
In the foto You can see ca 60 new Galanthus varieties in waterplant-pots and some other bulbs in hard pots for our 1. Springbulbshow next march in Torgau.
Greetings Harald
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I have tried out the sample you sent me in different places. I divided some pots of narcissus into two and put added it to one of the pots to see if there will be any difference. I will be interested to see the results!