I already had two other Alliums, Allium cernum and the purple drumstick one. This doesn't look like either of them. It's supposed to be a ball-type Allium. Is this what they look like when they first sprout?The second mystery will be a bit harder to solve. I had a bunch of tiny Daffodils, 'Little Beauty,' that I planted in the Woodland Garden. The question is: why, year after year, does only one of them bloom?
I've treated them all the same. It looks weird, and I don't like it. Why won't the others bloom? What's wrong with them? Are they special, non-blooming Daffodils, prized for their foliage that got mixed in with one 'Little Beauty'?
I've treated them all the same. It looks weird, and I don't like it. Why won't the others bloom? What's wrong with them? Are they special, non-blooming Daffodils, prized for their foliage that got mixed in with one 'Little Beauty'?Finally, what happened to all my 'Tete et Tete' Daffodils? About 15 years ago, I planted a dozen of them together, and they used to all sprout and bloom. (I have this great photo of the boy when he was a toddler in front of them.) This is all that remains, one lonely little Daffodil, unable to have a Tete et Tete.
Were all the others dug up by squirrels? That seems unlikely, as squirrels don't usually mess with Daffodils and I never saw any bulbs lying around. Did they all die? If so, why? And why didn't this one? It looks silly blooming all by itself, but I don't know what to do about it, dig it up or plant more around it.
Were all the others dug up by squirrels? That seems unlikely, as squirrels don't usually mess with Daffodils and I never saw any bulbs lying around. Did they all die? If so, why? And why didn't this one? It looks silly blooming all by itself, but I don't know what to do about it, dig it up or plant more around it. Redbud update: My little Redbud tree (Cercis canadensis) is once more vertical, but is now a bit more interesting after having been completely bent over by the snow.
Whether that scoliosis is permanent, only time will tell. At least it didn't break.
Whether that scoliosis is permanent, only time will tell. At least it didn't break.
19 comments:
Bulbs are a mysterious part of gardening. You never know what they might do.
I have a Forest Pansy Redbud tree that the trunk split in half in an awful storm. Then the half that was left fellover and my DB stood it back upright. I figure it won't last much longer but it is trying to heal and is setting blooms. Amazing.
The red blush on the leaves is no something I am familiar with, but the shape of the allium leaves looks right. I have some gladiators (huge ball) that look like that.
Often, if daffs don't come back, they may have rotted. Too much water?
picture #1 looks just like my hyacinths do before developing a flower bud. #2, not all my daffodils bloom either. Do all people bloom? #3 would seem to be a mineral, ph or other environmental change function. Like everything else, I would probably just experiment and see. I love mysteries, though the little grey cells sometimes falter. Enjoy!
I don't even think the great Sherlock Holmes could solve those mysteries.
In my garden daffodils don't bloom if they are in too much shade alto they keep producing foliage every year. The bulbs don't increase either. But why then would one bloom and not the others?
Don't know yet if my redbud suffered winter damage. Often it does. Perhaps this year I'll get some bloom.
Marnie
Hi MMD, the larger ball type alliums do look like that. As for the daffs not blooming, I would say too much shade, not enough food, or too crowded. I have also messed mine up by planting something on top of them, like a daylily with that huge tangle of roots without realizing they were under there. Hopefully they come back after a while. The no flowers might be too much shade in your garden. Good luck with the alliums, I remember your drumsticks from last year and ordered some last fall to go in with the muhly grass and some Purple sensations. I think it was you. :-)
Frances
I am very good at planting things and not remembering what they are. I try to label but I don't always do that.
Looks like you have good information. Here's mine! I find the little daff bulbs the most difficult to get to bloom in half shade...Everything else seems to bloom in shade...but not those little guys! gail
I am still hunting for the winter aconite that I surely planted somewhere...
Perhaps the daffs are planted too deep and need a bit of fertilizer as Frances suggests. I would dig up the ones with no flowers to see how big the bulb is and then just replant it with fertilizer, foliage and all. You might sacrifice one at this time of year but you might solve the mystery. The tete a tete's? Hmmm....location probably. Just some thoughts.
Mmmmmmm - I suffer from IDRPS too :) Can't be of much help other than with the Tete a Tete daffs - we are under siege from grey squirrels and they turn up their little snouts at them :)
Lisa - Redbuds are finicky trees. I hope yours manages to heal itself. They are so beautiful in bloom.
MA - the red on the tips of the foliage threw me too, but if the shape is right, I guess those are the Alliums I thought I planted. Rotting is never an issue here, so I must search further for the answer to the missing Daffodils.
Hi, Rachel Claire! All people should bloom, in their own, unique ways, so I expect all Daffodils to bloom too. The little grey cells are getting a workout today.
R&L - I can't imagine that there is a shaft of light that shoots down onto only that 1 Daffodil. Something else must be going on. My Redbud has yet to bloom. I hope yours is glorious this year.
Frances - I do believe you've solved the mystery of the missing Daffodils. The Lamium went crazy in that area, swamping everything in its path, so I've been pulling it out. Then there are the Asters & Goldenrod over there also, seeking world domination. They need to be kept in check. And yes, I do have the purple drumstick Alliums, which sometimes bloom with the Liatris.
Phillip - I hate plant tags, so I don't use them. I'm sure I wrote down the names of the bulbs I planted last fall, I just wasn't sure where I planted them.
Gail - I did not know that. I guess I could move them out front and plant some of the taller ones there. I'd love something like 'Lorikeet,' or maybe some more 'Honeybird's.
Layanee - forensic pathology sounds like a good idea. If the bulbs seem otherwise ok, I might have to move them to a sunnier spot.
I LOVE the term IDRPS!
Agree that the Allium foliage looks OK - mine look like that at the moment.
To add to your daffodil advice - they may also be planted too shallowly! The other ideas offered already are also valid. We also get a narcissus fly over here (don't know if it's over there as well), whose maggots eat the bulbs, so they rot. As for shade, it depends on when they get shaded - if there's enouigh time for the bulbs to make their food after flowering, then they should be OK. Mine are planted in woodland, but keep flowering, as the leaves on the trees stay away long enough before shading everything out.
Every spring my case or IDRPS returns. It's so exciting to finally have the aha moment when it all comes back to me and I remember what it is.
MMD, you have gotten several theories to help with your mysteries. I can't help much other than I have daffodils that are now in full shade and haven't bloomed for a couple of years. I need to move them, but by fall I always forget. :)
The first plant reminded me of hyacinths, too. I hope you post a picture of it when it blooms.
I have some pics of plants I hope to get posted soon to see if others know what they are.
I'm sorry about your daffs that don't bloom or disappeared.
I think the foliage is indeed an allium. My friend has some coming up in her yard and we discussed how I didn't think that's what allium leaves looked like! I know daffs need to be divided in order to keep blooming, but yours don't look that overgrown. All bulbs need sun to bloom, though, and maybe the one that blooms gets a ray of sun the others don't? I notice how differently the sun hits my winter-sown trays, for example, even though they are all very close together. Sincerely, Miss Lemon
Anna - I know that "under siege" feeling. My garden gloves & clogs reek from spray-on repellent to keep the little buggers from digging things up or clipping them off.
VP - I guess I banged my head too much Wednesday listening to Queen & Green Day, because I made a typo in the acronym. Thanks for the reassurance on the Alliums. I guess I'll be dgging up Daffodils to try to determine whether they are planted too deeply or too shallowly.
Catherine - Aha moments must come easier if one doesn't engage in serious head-banging. (See previous comment.)
Beckie - have you tried moving the Daffodils "in the green"? They aren't blooming anyway, so you may as well trying moving them now.
Sue - isn't it great that there are so many smart people out there to help us ID our plants?
Hi, Miss Lemon! I guess the big Alliums have foliage that is markedly different from the smaller ones, and the onions, garlic & chives. I think I might cut a corner to see if it smells the same. I'll keep an eye on the Daffodils throughout the day to check the sun/shade pattern, though there's not much shade out there yet.
Fun to have so many folks help solve the mysteries! I agree @ the allium, cuz' mine looked weird like that, too. The non-bloomers would be likely shade, not enough fertilizer, or hungry voles can chow and do some thinning. I'd heard that sometimes a clump of bulbs will need thinning to bloom better, too. (Especially daffs)
I was on the north side of my house recently when something caused me to look up. I instantly forgot whatever that was because of the bright orange blooms of a Mexican Flame Vine dancing at the roof line. Yep, another case reported of IDRPT (pronunciation? I drop it?)
Lisa - thanks, I'll get some bulb fertilizer.
Cindy - love the pronounciation!
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