Selecting Bulbs to Plant

For a second week in a row, I'm keeping to an informal schedule to answer multiple questions asked on daffodil planting.

If you are replanting bulbs that you dug, or bulbs from friends or from the garden center, it is important to select the bulbs to keep and the ones that are excess to need. Sort the bulbs to size, and note the numbers of each type bulb that has to be planted.

The picture to the right is that of my bulbs dug this summer, and that are to be replanted this fall. I have a lot of bulbs, about 4,000, but each and every one of them has to be cleaned and inspected by my hand before they go back into the ground. There is no good situation like one in which you are comfortable that your bulbs are healthy.

I know, it's the middle of October and I haven't started planting yet. However, it's still too hot in my zone 6b, and the ground is still above 54 degrees "F." I'm waiting for the basal rot fungus to go inactive, as discussed in last weeks article.

Don't plant diseased and damaged bulbs in your garden. Doing so is a firm recipe for trouble. The saying is, "Don't plant problems in your soil. You may be the rest of your life trying to get it out." That's generally considered good advise.

Test each bulb for firmness. If the bulb has rot on it, including blackened spots with mold growing from it, or if the bulb is soft and spongy, throw it away. Throwing bulbs away means to put them in a plastic trash bag, seal the bag and put it in your trash for disposal. Do not put bad bulb into you compost, as you will only spread the problem to all parts of your yard.

If space is a problem, like in my case, keep all the bulbs in the same bag until final sorting for planting. The listing you made will let you know how many bulbs and what type bulbs are on hand. I plant back seven bulbs, and set the remainder aside for the various bulb exchanges and for "give-aways." At the bulb exchanges, the triple-nose and double-nose bulbs are popular for garden application.

The mesh bag below is the bag where the bulbs are stored and where they will remain until planting time. That's the type bags that are in the picture above. The color of the bag doesn't matter, except I try to use different color bags for bulbs from different beds. That way, I know where the bulbs came from by just a glance. The orange bags in this picture are from my mid season beds, the red bags represent my entire early daffodil garden, and the blue or purple bags represent new stock received last year that I had to dig and re-establish in a raised bed.

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