HTGSupplys Ask The Doc: nutrients-beneficials

4/13/13

Getting the Most of Your Spring Bulbs

In my previous post about forcing Amaryllis bulbs I talked about how you can get flowers inside anytime from plants that have a bulb. Amaryllis is a tropical bulb, which means that if you live in an area that has a cold winter, it will die if you put it in the ground over winter. However, you could force tulips, hyacinth or other typical bulbs like I do and then add them to your outdoor flower beds. This way you get to enjoy the flowers inside once and then outdoors every spring. I like to buy a bag of hyacinth in the fall, put them in the bottom of my refrigerator in wet soil or sand (damp not soaking wet) for a month. Then, as winter starts, I take one bulb out and force it. If you do this you will notice the first bulb or two will take much longer go grow and flower. Bulbs need a rest period, and one month is about the minimum. Once the bulbs flower, I keep them in a small pot with soil and keep them growing in a window until spring. I recommend dead heading the plants. This means cut off the flower bud that is left. You do not want the bulb using energy to make seeds. I then plant the bulbs outside. Make sure you water the bulbs (I do it before I cover the bulbs with soil) with a high phosphorus fertilizer. This is important for two reasons. First it will encourage the bulb to grow roots now, and second the phosphorus will encourage big healthy flowers next spring.

I am using fox farm bush doctor root drench this year, it has a high phosphorus percentage and microbes which will result in bigger and more flowers next spring.

Good Growing,
Dr. E. R. Myers

HTGSupplys Ask The Doc

4/13/13

Getting the Most of Your Spring Bulbs

9/21/11

Beneficial Microrgansim - Links to Products

Dr. E.R. Myers