Gardeners are now busy with a wide variety of pleasant tasks: bulb planting is in full swing; evergreens are being set in; some of the summer bulbs are being dug and cured; the last of the late winter- and spring-blooming annuals are being planted, and in the higher altitudes borders are being bedded down for winter.
Growing Better Tulips
Cool, moist soil is one of the most important cultural requirements of tulips. In October and November plant the bulbs 6 to 8 inches deep in partial shade. Water the bed thoroughly once a week. Add fertilizer and a mulch of compost or manure during the spring.
In the regions where the winters are warm, delay planting tulips until November. During October store the bulbs in bags and pre-chill in the refrigerator or a cool room. The best storage temperature is 400 to 500. never below 36′. After a month remove the bulbs from storage and plant them immediately.
How to Tame Will Flowers
If he remembers a few tips. even a beginner can raise wildflowers from seed. For example, you can get better germination if you broadcast the seed after the first fall rain. To facilitate sowing the seeds farther apart, mix some sand with the seeds in the packet. The top 2 inches of the seedbed should be loose and porous. Sow wildflower seeds with abandon, for a few scrawny rows will never give the bountiful effects that are found in nature.
Planting Grape-hyacinths
From now until November is the planting season of grape hyacinths. Soon after the first of the year and continuing until Easter the bulbs will send out dense flower spikes of exquisite blue. There is also a white-flowering variety, Muscari botryoides var. album . Plant the bulbs in a bed receiving full sun or light shade, covering them with I to 2 inches of soil.
Water the bed thoroughly about every tenth day. In three or four years it may be necessary to lift the bulbs and replant them farther apart for grape hyacinths to produce offset bulbs very rapidly. The best time to lift the bulbs and replant them is in late spring after the foliage has turned yellow.
Fruit Trees Need Water
Though fall rains start in early October in some parts of the West, in other areas the rains don’t start until November. And in the Southwest, particularly, there are often two or three hot spells accompanied by dry north winds. So, during this time, if the soil is dry, be sure to water the fruit trees, including walnuts, peaches, plums, apricots, avocado, and citrus trees.
44659 by Norvell Gillespie