About Long Island Gardener Expertise Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.
Experience Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.
Question The bulbs have been in the ground for about 3 years. I dug them up, the clump of bulb is approx 5" in diam. When I start to break them apart, they fall apart almost like petals on a flower but w/no root. Will these develop roots and bloom? What is the correct way to separate them?
Answer An essay posted on the B&D Lilies website, 'Increasing Lilies Vegetatively', gives you all the directions you need to do this:
www.lilybulb.com/propscale.html
These pieces, called 'scales', grow into individual Lily plants. After peeling off the outer layer of scales, you snap off all the scales that are left, one by one, until you reach the heart of the Bulb.
Leave everything out on a table for 24 hrs. Then replant. The Bulb heart can go right into the ground. Each scale is set in Peatmoss and left in a warm location, covered with clear plastic to retain constant moisture. The 'bulblets' that form should be protected from harsh Winter weather. Notes B&D: 'After six to eight weeks of temperatures just above freezing, the bulblets are ready to be planted either outdoors or in a greenhouse.'
Lots of detail you'll find helpful. I can't copy it due to copyright protections but you have the link. Thanks for writing.
