This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Premature and Floppy Paperwhites!
Morning all,
I duly planted some paperwhite daffs around the time when Monty did on Gardeners World so they would be flowering around Xmas ('twas the plan...).
I now have two issues - one is that they are a bit floppy and some are falling over, the other is that they are starting to flower now, before I've even started Xmas shopping...!
So...
Did I start too early?
Did I have them in the 'wrong' place (too much light / not enough?). They were mostly kept in the utility room which has natural light (similar to a kitchen).
Should I have planted them more deeply - the ones going 'floppy' are gently nestled into gravel with most of the bulb showing.
Advice for next year gratefully received!!
Cheers
0
Posts
I think that the mild temperatures have probably caused them to grow too quickly and too soft. Not sure what can be done about it now - keep them as cool as you can and support them. In the past I've used twigs to support them and covered the compost with moss. I've also hung little crystal-type icicles from the twigs - sounds a bit twee written down, but it looked pretty
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
When I've grown forced bulbs indoors I've stored them under the stairs where it is cool and dark. Too warm and they grow too fast without any strength
ops, I only planted mine about a week ago - missed Monty planting his - any idea when that was? only I am not sure how deep I should of planted them - under the compost or with the tips showing.
Last year mine grew to around 3ft - I just assumed that was what it was supposed to do.
My mistake made was probably putting them in the utility room then - it's probably too warm and too bright. I do have some planted in soil kept in the garage that are shooting up more slowly - with any luck they might be OK for Christmas!
Can the bulbs be kept and reused the following year or is it a case of them being too small / poor quality flowers the following year?
You may find that when they do come into flower that you wont want them again, all my family think they absolutely pong, we all had to put them out in the garden, couldn't stand the smell!
You may like them, some do.
They won't grow indoors again, they may grow if you put them outside in the garden, but not always.
Thanks Lyn.
Verdict still out on smell - it's not repulsive but I wouldn't describe it as pleasant either...!!
We thought a bit like doggy do
i put last years in the pot in a corner of the the greenhouse and forgot about them so they had no water over the summer, a few weeks ago when i was clearing i found them and put them outside with the intention of throwing them out but they got forgotten again two days ago i found them growing, dont know how they will do but will let you know