[Lara]

Sub-tropical zone here and heading into winter (1st of June in Australia) and although winter in my local area doesn't get particularly cold, I'm just wondering if anyone knows if I could transplant some bulbs into different pots or into the ground after they've begun to shoot their leaves? Last year they flowered beautifully in the pots but I was living at much higher altitude in a fairly cold area. Now I'm seaside and warmer. I just don't want to kill them off although they're probably pretty tough. I've always transplanted things like aggapanthus but they don't die down. These ones I'm wanting to transplant die down to bare bulbs by summer.

So, I've got jonquils and blue hyacynth.

The hyacynth is only just shooting out of the pot, so there's hardly any green growth there, but some of the jonquils are already showing leaves of more than a foot in your measurement.

Thanks in advance.

[mrsD]

Here is a link that says Daffodils don't need cold treatment, but some others do in warm climates:

http://www.bulb.com/templates/dispat...?page_id=21597

All bulbs need phosphate fertilizer to make flowers. So if the soil is low, you need to enrich it. Phosphate is the middle number on fertilizer labels... 10-30-12 for example is 30 phosphate and is a high number. Some people use bone meal, but I prefer inorganic types (they don't molder or rot).
I put triple phosphate on my bulbs in fall. And use a high number fertilizer when I do that in spring. Sometimes daffs stop blooming. If you have too much nitrogen (the first number) they grow leaves but no flowers.

I bought a cheap bag of mixed daffs on sale last fall to put where the city dug up my garden across the street and they were the nicest I've ever had! I was so surprised! Sale bags usually have inferior bulbs. There is nothing like a Spring surprise! LOL

[Lara]

Thanks so much for that link, mrsD.

This is from that link and what I thought...

The trick to growing tulips, crocus, and hyacinths is giving them a "cold treatment" to fool them into thinking they've gone through a cold winter underground. This can be done quite easily in your kitchen refrigerator (though if you're planning to store a large quantity, and still plan on eating, it might work better if you have an old, spare fridge handy).

Mine might not do so well this year then. If they do flower, I'll certainly take photos and post them. I have a feeling they got too wet as well.

You never know though. I have been called the "crocus fairy" before now. lol It's not really a huge deal I guess, it's just that they gave me so much joy when they flowered last year in the colder climate. I need to look after them better by the sound of it.

Thanks!

P.S. I made a spelling error in the title.
I tried to correct it but it didn't seem to work. I'm feeling a little out of sorts with making such an error. It stands out to me like a lighthouse!

[mrsD]

What's the error? I don't see it.

What do you want it to say?

[Lara]

In the thread title it says "Translplanting bulbs".
It should be "Transplanting bulbs".

I edited it quickly but it only stuck in the title.
It didn't fix the actual thread title.
I think there's a time limit on doing that and I just missed it.

It's not that important really. Just playing on my oc mind a tad. LOL
I'm sure I've made much more serious errors, both spelling and judgement, but this one is driving me crazy.

[mrsD]

Okay I see it. It only shows up at the index, not on the thread itself.

I fixed it for ya.