88
Last fall I stuck a bunch of Scilla siberica (Siberian Squill) ‘Spring Beauty’ bulbs in various flowerbeds. Eventually I ran out of places to put them, so I sliced into the lawn with a shovel in a few areas and tossed in the leftover bulbs to see if they would thrive.
Sure enough, the sky-blue beauties are popping up everywhere I planed them. They supposedly naturalize rapidly and are even invasive in some areas of the country, but my other Scilla bulbs that I planted in a flowerbed 2 years ago are still blooming politely in a small clump. Time will tell.
These plants grow 3 to 6 inches high in full sun to part shade. They are very hardy (to Zone 2) and bloom in early spring.
4 comments
A real beauty indeed! The intensity of the blue is remarkable.
Have my seeding completed, but we are experiencing very cold weather.Minus 3 C this morning with a wind chill of -12 C. This is the coldest April for years. Today has broken a record. But we must cling to hope. Your flowers help. James
Sorry to hear that, James. You had a rough spring last year, too! We’ve haven’t had any warm days yet, but it’s been pleasantly spring-like for the last week or two. The furnace isn’t kicking on as much so my seedlings aren’t growing very fast since the temp in the basement is about 63-65F (rather than the 75F it can hit in the winter months when the furnace is chugging regularly).
I think we might be able to plant annuals outside earlier this year, but I never trust that there won’t be one last freak frost in mid-May (our last frost date), so I’m going to err on the side of caution and plant at the usual time!
We have electric heat. Have the temperature set on 17C. Been having freezing drizzle for past three day, one more to go. The trees are full of ice! Looks pretty. But the picture is staying too long! Supposed to have a decent next week.
My marigolds sprouted in two days in our kitchen. Under the lights now. Excellent germination! Should they have much fertilizer? Regards, James
Marigolds are always such a joy to sprout because they rarely disappoint. They tend to grow pretty fast so you may want to hold off on the fertilizer for awhile until you know spring has really arrived in your area. I’ve never had a marigold turn funny colors on me (like my petunias sometimes do–some sort of weird nutrient deficiency that turns the leaves white–once I plant them in the garden the leaves turn green again, it’s the darndest thing), so I think you could get away with skipping fertilizer or really diluting it until you want your marigolds to take off!
Comments are closed.