[pbs] What promotes blooming?
Jane McGary
janemcgary at earthlink.net
Thu Oct 11 13:18:18 EDT 2007
I think there's something in the idea that atmospheric precipitation
affects plants differently from irrigation with water from other sources,
but almost all my bulbs are grown under cover and watering them with well
water from a hose doesn't seem to affect their growth and flowering
adversely. However, those in the open often flower a little ahead of those
in the frame.
It seems that some kinds of bulbs respond more to moisture, and some kinds
more to temperature. Many fall-blooming bulbs will flower right in the
paper bags in which they're stored if they're not planted soon enough;
presumably this is innate timing of some kind, since they will do this
without any temperature drop. I have seen this in Colchicum, Crocus,
Leucojum, and Sternbergia.
One trick that's sometimes recommended to get recalcitrant seeds to
germinate is to pile snow on the pots. Somebody told me more oxygen gets
into the soil as the snow melts, but I don't know if that could be true.
I've tried it and haven't noticed any clear effect. My seed pots are
normally watered with well water, but some rain does blow in on them, since
I keep them on the edge of a roofed deck.
Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA
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