Spring bulbs, not flowering

rachaelsisley · April 2023

I bought an array of small spring bulbs and potted them in these pots in October. I then left them (no extra water). But they don’t seem to be flowering! Where did I go wrong? See picture.

JennyJ · April 2023

Where have they been over winter? It's possible that they've been sodden and then frozen solid, possibly repeatedly. There was a thread recently where someone had had daffodils behaving similarly. Of my bulbs potted last autumn most did fine but the ones that were on the front of the top tier of the growhouse frame that I stood them on (so more exposed than the others) some didn't come up and those that did were kind of warped with browned/yellowed tips, and didn't flower.

bédé · April 2023

My daffodils became mush in a winter on a Belgian balcony. Yours could have frozen this winter.

Ceres · April 2023

Same problem here. All the bulbs that stayed in the greenhouse over winter have grown well but the potted ones in the great outdoors have fared very badly. When I dug some of them up they had turned to mush so I too reckon the weather was to blame.

noxon · April 2023

My larger pots of bulbs were fine but some smaller bowls of narcissi looked like yours because the bulbs had frozen/thawed/frozen and turned to mush. A friend who owns a small nursery lost loads of potted tete a tete this winter as they froze while they were growing.

rachaelsisley · April 2023

Thanks all! Sounds like smaller pots need to be protected when we have a hard frost. I will put them in a more sheltered space and only get them out in spring time in the future!

bédé · April 2023

PS. I like your planned presentation. A pity it went awry.

I have a 3 step wooden stepladder that I use as an "auricula theatre", and also for violas. I also have a structure based on old wine boxes.

rachaelsisley · April 2023

Thank you. Yes, in my head it was going to be so pretty! There’s always next year

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In the summer I fill it with a variety of geraniums but sadly they didn’t survive the frost under bubble wrap in my greenhouse. Note to self: take cuttings for the windowsill next time.

Fairygirl · April 2023

That's a shame @rachaelsisley. As others have said - it's the wet/freeze cycle that will have done for them. I've lost quite a lot of good, reliable daffs to that this year. They can cope with plenty of moisture and frosts in pots, but when it's a sudden swing between mild and cold, rather than a more gradual one, that's the problem. Many other plants have been problematic for people this winter too.
Smaller pots definitely find it trickier than big ones, but it also depends on the type of bulb you're growing. Some are more forgiving of lots of moisture, some need drier conditions etc, so it's worth checking the requirements of each type you have. If you're not sure, you can ask here as long as you know which species/variety of bulb you have.

It would be worth tipping out and checking them, and only keeping the ones that are still viable. You can then repot them and just let them die back naturally - a little feed or two will help as well, and then tuck the pots away somewhere sheltered. Make sure they're labelled too

rachaelsisley · April 2023

Excellent advice you!

Spring bulbs, not flowering

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