Amateur Gardening – 21 May 2019

10 AMATEUR GARDENING11 MAY 2019

Spring-flowering bulbs

B

RITAIN’Smajorbulbgrower

andwholesaler,fourth-

generationfamilybusiness

O&ATaylorof Holbeach,is

thisyearcelebratingitscentenary.

Lastmonth,theyheldanopendayfor

gardenersandthepress,whereI found

muchhadchangedsincebuying bulbs

fromthatareain the1960s.

Thescaleof operationis impressive,

asis modernmechanisation,withtheir

hugeliftingmachineabletodigouta ton

of narcissusbulbsin a minute.Daffodils

andnarcissusaretwo-yearcrops– just

leftthefirstyear,anda cutflowerharvest

takenbeforeliftingthesecondyear.

Somethingsdonotchange,and

growerSamTaylorendorsedmy

experience: always buy the top-size

Bulb size can make a differencetoresults,saysPeter

“Alwaysbuythe

top-sizebulbsofany

given cultivar”

bulbsof anygivencultivar.Theycosta

littlemore,butgivemuchbettervaluefor

money– andin thecaseof narcissus,

biggerflowersandmoreof them.

A regularquestionis:whyhave

clumpsof narcissusnotflowered?While

thestandardansweris congestionand

theneedtoliftafterfoliagehasdied

down,splitup,andreplantmorewidely

spaced,therecanbeotherfactors.

Althoughtheyneedmoisture,water-

loggingin heavysoilcanbea cause.

Too-smallbulbsizeis anotherfactor,and

droughtin latespringoneortwoyears

previouslycanreduceflowering.Once

narcissushaveflowered,it is worth

snappingoutthedyingflowerheads

topreventa seedpoddeveloping,

andfeedingwitha high-potashroseor

tomatofertilisertobuildfoodreserves

inthebulb,improving flowering in

futureyears.

It is a similarstoryfortulips:always

buytop-sizebulbsandsnapoffflower

headsideallybeforethepetalsfall.The

pollen-bearinganthers,whentheyfall

ontoleavesbelow,cangive an entrance

point for fire disease.

Peter’s top tips

4

Avoiddamagingleavesand
liftingbulbsbeforethefoliage
hasyellowedanddieddown
naturally.Oncelifted,keepaway
fromripeningfruit– theEthylene
released can damage flowering.
All photography Peter Seabrook / TI Media / Alamy, unless otherwise credited

with Peter Seabrook, AG’s classic gardening expert

Listento

Peter’sfree

podcastevery

Thursday.Searchfor

‘ThisWeekInThe

GardenwithPeter

Seabrook’on

iTunes

3

Smallsizesof tulips,often

offeredcheaplyin pre-packs,

canyieldsmall,poorflowersthe

following spring and then fizzle out.

2

Top-sizetulipsof anygiven

cultivar,especiallyDarwin

hybrids,willfloweryearafteryear

formanyyearsif planteddeepand

leftundisturbed.Poorerflowerson

the right indicate smaller-sized bulbs.

1

Thereareearlyandlate

cultivarsof narcissus,soby

choosingcarefullyyoucanextend

thefloweringseason.Narcissus

‘Eminent’andthePheasantEye

typeswillflowerlongaftertrumpet

daffodils have finished.

LargebulbsofTulipDarwinhybrid,

interplantedwithwallflowers,whichwill

continue to fl ower after the tulips go over

FragrantNarcissus‘SirWinston

Churchill’floweringwellin

theirsecondyearin a pot,

havingbeenfedwith

tomorite

GreigiihybridTulipDouble

‘RedRidingHood’with

hosta-like varigated foliage