Q.
Hi, I have been growing some bulb and tuber plants for the last few years. They shoot out at the right time of the year and grow okay, but some plants are not flowering well or at all. What can I do to make them flower? Thanks, Yukari.
A.
Bulbs need plenty of sunlight, water and bulb food to thrive, so ensure they are in a sunny spot and receiving plenty of nourishment. If you are growing your bulbs in the garden feed them when planting, when stems begin to appear, when starting to flower and when dying down with Tui Bulb Food. If you are growing them in pots, you need to change the potting mix every two years and feed with Tui NovaTec Premim Fertiliser. Once your bulbs have finished flowering, leave all the foliage on the plants until they die right back.
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How can I encourage my bulbs to flower? Comments
I moved house within the same area last September and dug up some of my daffodill bulbs to bring with me. I kept them in a large tub and planted them in the garden of our new home in May. Not one flowered even though we had hundreds of leaves. They had always flowered in our previous house's garden. Have you any idea why this happened? Do you think they will come up next year?
Barbara
Hi Barbara, there could be several reasons why your daffodils haven't flowered. It may be that your daffodils weren't planted deeply enough in their pot when you dug them up, if not planted deeply enough the summer heat can affect flowering. Did they receive enough water throughout summer? Ensure the foliage is left intact at the end of each season as that is the bulbs food storage for the following season. Not enough sunlight and keeping them in a shaded spot could affect flowering. Have the daffodils been fertilised with a balanced fertiliser such as a specialty bulb food, a fertiliser with too much nitrogen can cause a lot of leaf at the expense of flowers. Make sure the fertiliser contains phosphorus and potassium to promote flowering. I think next year they should flower as long as the bulbs are planted in a well drained soil, and are fed with a balanced fertiliser. Mulch over the summer months will protect the bulbs from intense summer heat.
Lianne