Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Crocus => Topic started by: mark smyth on June 10, 2009, 03:26:59 PM
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All this week I have been weeding and tidying my pots of Crocus, Colchicums and other bulbs. Can I repot now or do I have to wait until until the end of the summer
Today I found this Narcissus 'Cedric Morris' that already has new roots growing
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I'd leave it until shortly before you want to start watering. Obviously this does mean that some things can be done now while others can wait until late summer. Soon for the short dormancy crocus ie Cc pelistericus, scharojanii.
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If you have the time now to repot, then I would go ahead. Just make sure that the new compost you are putting the bulbs into is nice and dry and stays that way until the September watering.
For things like that N. 'Cedric Morris' and some of the Crocus like scardicus and pelistericus, which will also have roots beginning now, it is better to get them repotted now so they can grow on without damage.
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I left out this photo
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I have just come in and read this.I have been repotting my crocus all afternoon having started yesterday.
All are dormant with the exception of pelistericus and scardicus which are still in full growth and the seed on them is a couple of weeks at least of ripening.I will repot them in about September which is when the old leaves will start to die back.
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I have just come in and read this.I have been repotting my crocus all afternoon having started yesterday.
All are dormant with the exception of pelistericus and scardicus which are still in full growth and the seed on them is a couple of weeks at least off ripening.I will repot them in about September which is when the old leaves will start to die back.
This clearly shows how bulbs that are making seed will stay longer in active growth. 8)
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I left out this photo
I'd get on with it then Mark, if I were you. And quickly! ;D
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I'll have to get some plastic sheeting over them so the mix stays bone dry making it easier when I start
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I'll have to get some plastic sheeting over them so the mix stays bone dry making it easier when I start
Good idea :D
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I wish the blooming rain would cease. My repotting is almost standstill. Some autumn Crocus are very advanced now with good noses and lots of fresh roots
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Merendera montana is already in flower with us.
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Good gracious David. I have a shoot on Scilla scilloides that I purchased a couple of years ago at the late bulb show in Dundee.
Anyone got scharojanii corms spare?
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I start repotting as crocus leaves becomes yellow - as early as possible, just when start dormancy. Then I have more free time. All depends from watering - when you start this. I do it from late July for early autumn bloomers (scharojanii, vallicola, suworovianus), others from middle August and few desert species from middle September. Seeds I'm sawing just after harvesting but watering of seedling pots start from middle of September.
Janis
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Good gracious David. I have a shoot on Scilla scilloides that I purchased a couple of years ago at the late bulb show in Dundee.
Anyone got scharojanii corms spare?
Scilla autumnale white form just now without watering finished flowering, other now in full bloom. Scilla scilloides in buds, but still no one crocus are in bloom yet. Good shoots on vallicola, autranii. suworovianus.
Janis
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This is what I like to find in a pot. I cant remember what it is but all corms were a really good size.
I have found four different things in pots
1. good sized corms
2. good sized corms and rice
3. rotting corms but not very often
4. nothing not very often
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This I hate and just dump everything in to a new pot after washing
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Yes, they're a pain when there are so many and of different sizes but you can make up a good pot with large flowering corms and perhaps the next size as they'll usually flower too, then grow on the smaller ones in another pot or plant them out to make a good patch in the garden by next year. Or bag them up for a salestable.
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That's what I usually do, Lesley.
It must be the almost continuous rain in July that is rotting the corms
Ian Y do you repot every year or every other year? I was thinking of partially repotting those I did last year by knocking out some old mix and adding new.
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I would be wary of soaking corms, unless you are planning to water them? :-\ I tip out and clean them but definitely don't use water.
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With the amount of rain we have had recently the pots are very wet anyway. I wash the corms in a sieve to remove the sand and potting mix that is sticking to each corm. I can then repot quickly. Many autumn flowerers already have roots and noses.
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If the bulbs are not overcrowded, what is the point of annual repotting? Can someone explain?
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With the amount of rain we have had recently the pots are very wet anyway. I wash the corms in a sieve to remove the sand and potting mix that is sticking to each corm. I can then repot quickly. Many autumn flowerers already have roots and noses.
I see. I thought these were the ones in the bulb house?
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Gerry they are moving in to small pots which means they use available food fast.
Anthony the pots in the red trays are those that are done already
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Ian Y do you repot every year or every other year? I was thinking of partially repotting those I did last year by knocking out some old mix and adding new.
If the bulbs are not overcrowded, what is the point of annual repotting? Can someone explain?
Ideally I would like to repot all my bulbs every year but I have so many that some only get done every two years.
You can get away with leaving them for two years but by year three you will start to notice a decline in the vigour and flowering of the bulbs.
Reasons to repot:-
1) It lets you see the health of the bulbs and react to any problems.
2) You can get them into fresh compost with good nutrients.
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The weather forecast for here over the weekend is going to be good so I hope to finish repotting.
Gerry I'm down sizing. All my collection were in 11x11x12 1L tall pots and will now be in 9x9x9.5cm pots
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Gerry they are moving in to small pots which means they use available food fast.
Mark - feed them!
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Ian Y do you repot every year or every other year? I was thinking of partially repotting those I did last year by knocking out some old mix and adding new.
If the bulbs are not overcrowded, what is the point of annual repotting? Can someone explain?
You can get away with leaving them for two years but by year three you will start to notice a decline in the vigour and flowering of the bulbs.
Reasons to repot:-
1) It lets you see the health of the bulbs and react to any problems.
2) You can get them into fresh compost with good nutrients.
Ian -
1) OK, maybe.
2) I'm not convinced this matters. With regular liquid feeding I've had, e.g., frits, in the same pot/compost for 5 years with no ill effects. Martyn Rix told me he had had the same experience. I only grow relatively easy bulbs & for these scattering a bit of fertiliser (e.g., Vitax Q4) on the surface of the pot is perfectly adequate.
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Gerry they are moving in to small pots which means they use available food fast.
Mark - feed them!
Why did 'The Little Shop of Horrors' come into my mind? "Feed me; feed me now!" :o
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And I wondered why wash them. One repots when the bulbs are dormant/dry so a quick rub between the hands removes anything necessary.
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A reminder re best practice when repotting bulbs: deal with one pot at a time from start to finish. Do not decant, say, a dozen pots putting the bulbs in yogurt containers intending to then repot all dozen seriatim. Inevitably you will knock these over, irretrievably mixing up the bulbs!
Those who are skeptical, heretical, or disbelievers are also reminded that this is the voice of bitter experience speaking!
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All my potted bulbs are in 1L tall pots in a mix of bought weed free top soil, grit and some Q4. When I knock this out the big bulbs are easy to find but the smallest are very well camoflaged when covered in soil particles. The pot contents are wet anyway so a quick wash in a sieve to remove soil, sand and fine particles will not do any harm. No worse than the down pour on Thursday when the drains couldnt cope with they water coming off the roof and flooded in to the garden. I've repotted 410 and another 120 to go I'm not changing the way I do it now.
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With regard to narcissus species, the late Kath Dryden advised as follows: “They are repotted fully.......every three to five years and top dressed in between. In the case of rapid splitters .....lack of disturbance discourages splitting.” I follow this advice.
In the case of bulbs with tunics which disintigrate slowly ( e.g., tulips) it may be a good idea to repot fairly often simply in order to clean them up. Some crocus may also benefit in like fashion.
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here is a before and after shot taken just now to illustrate why I wash the corms
Gerry Brian Duncan the daffodil breeder lifts an divides all his collection every year. I had an email from him today asking if I would like to go and help in his bulb shed
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If it's any consolation Mark I wash those of my bulbs/corms that stay outside the year round when I re-pot. It seems to be the only way I really see what kind of condition they are in to chuck out any soft ones given my wet climate. Some of them were like emptying out a pot of very damp porridge. I don't wash those I grow under glass.
About another 50 pots to go before my re-potting is finished. Given how wet it has been this year (and last) I was fearfull about losses but so far have lost only Crocus baytopiorium, C. goulimyi and C. cartwrightianus albus where I failed in my own system of using a yellow label to remind me of species that need to be kept on the dryer side. C. speciosus and pulchellus in particular were showing root and noses.
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I can send you a couple of each of C. goulimyi and C. cartwrightianus albus. I need to check tomorrow. I promised corms to someone else and mislaid them ::)
I too had corms filled with porridge :o
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Mark, if you have them to spare I would welcome them. Let me know please.
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Just finished the re-potting exercise and, given the very variable weather it seems to have taken an age this year. Would have been quicker if I hadn't been banned from using the kitchen when it rained!!
What have I learned?
1.If you are going to use a yellow label in pots requiring a dry/dryish summer rest then be consistent. I lost a few pots of Crocuses in particular because I forgot to implement my system. 1a. For taxa you are growing for the first time ALWAYS (not just sometimes!) check the Bulb Log/Forum/books etc. to make sure you know that a dry summer rest is needed.
2. You try to grow too many pots-be a bit more selective (I tell myself this every year but never learn).
3. To eke out a shortage of greenhouse space I bought one of those three tier plastic frames with a polythene cover from the local garden centre this lead to some bulbs being kept too dry too soon (especially Iris reticulatas and some spring flowering Crocuses) leading to some very small corms and bulbs. Be consistent with your watering.
4. Don't loose interest once you've grown and photographed a plant. Wield the paint brush and get some seed and don't just leave it to the bees.
5. Improve the information you write on a label-that will save you the need for umpteen trips indoors to check on the computer and will also mean fewer moans about muddy boot marks all over the kitchen floor and the stair carpet. Also, write the information on the label CLEARLY, this will mean fewer expletives when you can't read your own writing.
6. Pay as much attention to enjoying them as you do to trying to grow them. It's meant to be enjoyable not stressful.
7. If you think you will need 2 bags of grit/sand/compost buy 4 because you face a 20 mile round trip when you find you are running out because you refuse to buy from the garden centre down the road. This is especially true in the case of compost where you face a round trip of some 150 miles.
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An addition to #5 ..... buy yourself some easy slip-on outdoor shoes (I have something called 'Crocs' that slip on easily, are made of a polythene so can be washed etc, but have a full toe so keep my socks dry! ;D). I have a pair outside the back door and a pair outside the front door..... that way there is an "outdoor shoe" that I can slip on when I go outside, and change back into slippers etc when I come inside again.
Depending on the pots, you can also label the pot instead of using a label. I write on my black plastic pots with a paint pen. This means I can write more information if I want (particularly on seedlings) and no birds/mistakes etc can shift labels.
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I use a paint pen on black labels. I was in a garden today and was very distracted by the white label graveyard.
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Getting ready for the first heavy rains of autumn I moved all my Pelargoniums and replaced them with pots of autumn flowering bulbs.
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Impressive line up Mark !! ;D
Thanks for the "Bulblog" David ! A lot of useful information there going from growing bulbs to keeping a good household.. ;D ;D The latter being a subject badly neglected by our unsurpassed BD ! ::) ;)
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Very good advices David, I shall try to apply them in future :D