Bulbs Selection, Planting and Care

I have a question about my amaryllis plant as well as a dilemma.  Six or eight years ago I received an amaryllis bulb from my mother. It is currently in a large pot along with many of its offspring. The entire top of the pot is packed with bulbs so separation and transplanting would be disruptive and quite a chore. It is blooming now and also blooms each summer.  Should I separate and divide the bulbs or leave well enough alone?

When I brought my amaryllis inside last October, it bloomed right away instead of waiting until Christmas. It also was much more prolific than usual—unfurling six blossoms. Do you know what caused this behavior?

My amaryllis produced seeds this year.  I let the pod dry on the plants.  The seeds have dropped out of the pods, now what?

I have three amaryllis plants. I put them outside each summer. How can I get them to rebloom?

I have hundreds of spring-blooming bulbs in my backyard. The soil in our area is sandy and I feel it needs to be amended. How can I do this without digging up all my bulbs?

I am growing what I think is Anemone coronaria.  What can you tell me about it.

I purchased a huge banana plant for my patio this summer.  I live in zone 5 and hate to let it die over winter.  Any suggestions?

What is the difference between a tuberous begonia and Non-stop begonias? Can the non-stops also be saved over winter?

I’ve read that you shouldn’t remove leaves from spring-blooming bulbs until they turn brown. But where I live, the foliage stays green until late summer. By then, it’s too late to plant our annuals. How can we have beautiful annuals in summer and lovely spring flowers for the following season?

I had some bulbs stored in my garage for winter.  I planted them outside during late February.  The soil was not frozen but a little soggy.  What will happen?

I planted many bulbs this fall.  I read somewhere it was good to plant them deep.  So I planted them deeper than the package suggested.  Will this hurt?

I planted hyacinths and tulips this fall. What can I do to insure they’ll return each spring?

What’s a surefire way to distinguish the top end of a bulb from the bottom? I especially have trouble when planting elephant’s ears.

I planted some bulbs in pots on my patio this fall.   I put a 2" layer of woodchips on top of the soil in the pots.  Will this offer enough winter protection?  If not, can you please suggest how we should go about doing this?

I have some red and green caladiums growing in pots. I’d like to bring them inside to use as Christmas decorations, but I’ve heard that they need to rest during the winter in order to return in spring. Is this true?

This year I had a calla lily blooming with another one inside of it. Is this an oddity?

I have grown very tall red calla lilies in the garden. Can they stay in the ground over the winter? If so, what care do I provide? And lastly is calla pronounced like Kay or Cal? 

I dug, washed and stored my canna roots in the basement only to have them rot.  Is there something different I should do to increase my chance of success?

Is it OK to leave canna lilies in the ground over winter?  And when they are done blooming what are the funky looking little balls where the flowers used to be?  They are filled with very hard black balls. Are these, or any part of the plant poisonous?  

Can you tell me a little about Cape Tulip and if we could propagate it?

I have an 8 year old Clivia miniata. It has not bloomed in the 3 years I have owned it. What do I need to do to get those beautiful orange flowers?

We found corn lilies (false hellebore) growing under our basswood tree in Ontario. Research tells us they may be toxic? Are they rare? Please give us more information on this plant.

I received a pot of flowering crocus as a gift. The flowers are gone. Now what do I do? Can I plant them outdoors?

I heard you should not mix daffodils with other cut flowers.  Is this true?

Several years ago, I noticed yellow flowers popping up all over our yard. They appear at the same time as our daffodils. While they looked similar, the flowers had at least double the amount of petals.  Can you tell me what they are?

I had to dig up my daffodils in fall and put them in a basket with dirt for winter storage until I can replant elsewhere in spring.  Do I need to leave the garage door open during the day?

How do I keep dahlias over winter?

Every year my dahlias bloom in early autumn and only have a few flowers. Why do they always bloom right before frost? What should I do differently? 

I’m looking for a dahlia variety that will grow well in the South.  I live in Waco, TX and I’ve tried planting them in numerous locations, but the plants and tubers never make it through summer.

I recently purchased some Anemone ‘DeCaen’ bulbs, but after looking on the internet I noticed that some say to plant in the fall and some say in the spring. I also noticed different planting directions. What do you advise?

I recently dug up some tulip bulbs to divide. They were much smaller than when I originally planted them. Should I replant these at the original depth or shallower? Are they even worth saving?

It’s November and my daffodils are starting to grow.  I can see small green leaves peeking through the ground.  What should I do?

I would like to add some color earlier in the season before the daffodils and tulips bloom. Crocus are nice, any other ideas for early bloomers? Also, when is the best time to plant them so that I will enjoy them early next spring?

Planting an early spring container

I received a beautiful lily for Easter.  Can I plant it out in my garden?  Will it survive our cold zone 5 winters?

I was quite surprised last year when my elephant ears bloomed. Why did this happen?

Last spring, the blooms on my Gladiator allium bulbs grew so heavy that they broke off of their stems. Is there anything I can do this year to keep it from happening again?

I have dug up my Gladiolus, what is the right way to prepare and store them for the winter?

I would like to transplant some grape hyacinth bulbs. When is the best time to do this? 

My daughter is getting married on May 13th and would love to use hyacinth's planted in decorated clay pots on the dinner tables. Since cost is an issue I was wondering if there is a safe time to start bulbs in the house to be ready for a May 13th wedding.   

My lilies set seed this year.  Can I plant them?

I want to add hardy lilies to my garden. Are they hard to find? What type of care do they need?

Each summer my neighbor’s lilies produce these little black ball type things along the stems. Are they seeds or what?

I received a pot of tulips for Valentine's Day.  When would be the best time to plant them and should I let the leaves turn yellow before cutting them?

My husband brought home some oriental lilies that his sister bought and decided she didn't want.  They are from a big box store and the packages have not been opened.  On close inspection I noticed that a couple of the bulbs have sprouted. Will they be okay until I can get them planted late April early May?

Last fall, I planted 65 bulbs. How do I go about planting flowers for bloom after the bulbs are done without disturbing the bulbs?

I am looking for information on Red spider lily.

Last fall I purchased about 500 fall bulbs -- tulips, daffodils, crocus, etc., with, of course, the full intention of getting them planted. I left them in the garage, however, in the original packaging all winter. Now they are all starting to sprout. I have asked many people what to do and everyone has a different solution. In my heart, it feels like I should plant them, knowing that they won't bloom this year. (But will they bloom next spring?) If I put them in a cool dark spot, it seems they will continue to grow since they have sprouted already.

I have beautiful Siberian squills in the wooded area behind my home that first appeared two years ago. I usually fertilize the area with weed and feed to keep the dandelions, thistles out and have nice shade ground covers, hostas and shade flowers thriving. Will weed and feed kill the Squill or prevent the new seeds from growing? I want to create a lush bed of these blue flowers without other weeds taking over.

I received a potted Star Gazer lily plant as an Easter gift. I would like to plant it in my garden.  When and how should I plant it? Is there a chance it could grow again this coming season and flower this summer?

What can you tell me about Star-of-Bethlehem?  A friend gave me a clump and I would love more.

Is there a secret to growing surprise lilies? The leaves appear in spring, but there’s no surprise when it’s time for the bloom to appear.

Can I dig up bulbs in the spring without harming them so that I can replant them in the fall? I am trying to move some flower gardens and plant grass where they used to be, but I missed quite a few bulbs when I took the plants out.

My daughter is planning a May wedding and wants to have tulips for the flowers.  Is this practical?  Do you think I could plant them in pots in my house next fall and hopefully have them in bloom for this wedding?

We planted our first tulip bulbs last year and now we’re confused. One neighbor digs hers up when they’re done blooming in the spring, while another leaves his in the ground. Who’s right?

I bought tulip, crocus, and scilla bulbs, but was not able to get them in the ground before freezing and snow. What can I do with the bulbs now?

When is the best time to start planting daffodil and tulip bulbs?

More than 30 years ago, my grandmother gave me a cutting of a flower she called her ”surprise plant” because its stems are bare in the morning, but often are covered with pretty pink blooms by evening. Do you know what it is?