repotting

[mark smyth]

This I hate and just dump everything in to a new pot after washing

[Lesley Cox]

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.

[mark smyth]

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.

[Anthony Darby]

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.

[mark smyth]

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.

[Gerry Webster]

If the bulbs are not overcrowded, what is the point of annual repotting? Can someone explain?

[Anthony Darby]

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?

[mark smyth]

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

[Ian Y]

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.

[mark smyth]

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

[Gerry Webster]

Gerry they are moving in to small pots which means they use available food fast.

Mark - feed them!

[Gerry Webster]

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.

[Anthony Darby]

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!"

[Lesley Cox]

And I wondered why wash them. One repots when the bulbs are dormant/dry so a quick rub between the hands removes anything necessary.

[Rodger Whitlock]

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!