Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Winter flower pot in summer

TattyMacTattyMac Posts: 81
in Problem solving
I'm a bit of a starter and last year I made this pot of bulbs to go through winter and spring. The tulips sprouted leaves of five inches and then died. Not the cold due to fleecing. Was it a bad year for them? Perhaps the one foot deep pot isn't deep enough. Are the bulbs dead now? The winter flowering pansies were great but they keep going and look very pale now. Should I put it in shade now? Any comments to help along the way will be much appreciated! 
Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.

Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I would take everything out and plant up summer flowers. 
    Sounds bad luck about the tulips, maybe it was a bad batch. They don't usually do so well the second year and a lot of people treat them as annuals. The pansies won't do so well now and they don't like winter heat. They are quite cheap to buy so I'd put them in the compost and buy new ones in autumn.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    It was a very dry April and my tulips were not as good as usual and plenty of people on here said the same. So don't beat yourself up about them, there's always next year :) If you have space you could plant the bulbs in the garden, but it is unlikely that they were able to store enough food to flower next year.
    You can get summer flowering pansies , but I found in the past that violas did better - smaller flowers but lots of them. I don't grow much in tubs now, as watering them in a hot summer is a problem I can do without.
  • TattyMacTattyMac Posts: 81
    Thank you both for your help. A compost job then. Nice and easy!  :)
    Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I'd meant to say summer heat, not winter heat!
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • TattyMacTattyMac Posts: 81
    Oh well never mind. They're nearly as hot as each other these days.
    Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Lack of water at the necessary time is the most likely reason for the tulips not doing well. Dry conditions in earlier spring caused that problem in a lot of areas, just when they needed some moisture.
    There's really no need to  fleece them - even in pots. They come from very cold areas [mountains of central Asia]  but it's soggy wet conditions that they dislike.  :)
    If you live somewhere that gets very wet winters, just keep them against a house wall until nearer flowering time, so that they aren't sitting in wet soil for long periods. I do that with mine, as rotting is the main reason for any problems here, even in a good growing medium. They need very good drainage, so that bit of protection through long wet spells in winter helps, especially if you get heavy rain, then a freeze, in the same 24 hours. 
    The depth of pot is fine though, so don't worry about that  :)
    I never grow anything in with them either. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • TattyMacTattyMac Posts: 81
    I'm near Deal in Kent and I wouldn't say it's been soggy but like most places the weather had been a little unusual. A dry April and wet June. I don't remember the weather before April but we must have seen some rain. I always watered when the compost was dry. The daffodils came up with no problem I have to say. I put everything in fleece not knowing if this was right, including bay, box and an oak tree (grown from acorn) all in pots. The box looked a little brown when it got its jacket and it died. Must have locked blight in I expect. You're in a great area! 
    Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'm assuming you mean my signature photo? That isn't where I live - that would be very tricky. It's over 3,000 feet above sea level in the north west Highlands ;)

    Tulips are just trickier to grow in the UK - we don't really have the best conditions for the fancier ones in most areas, and it can be a fine balance. It's why they're generally seen as annuals, and apart from the species ones - which return each year and multiply, they diminish over time. If you get a few returning for a couple of years, that's pretty good. 
    The species/botanical ones still need good drainage and a sunny spot though. It's worth looking at those if you want to have some which will be more reliable. Most of them are smaller, but there are some bigger, brighter ones too.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sign In or Register to comment.