LADYBUG SAYS... WHEN TO CUT FOLIAGE OF SPRING FLOWERING BULBS

Here comes the annual question for the spring of the year;

"When may I cut the foliage of the spring flowering bulbs?" The Daffodil Mart of Gloucester, VA, says, "You may cut the foliage when it begins to turn yellow and fall over. Cutting it earlier will rob the bulb of proper nutrients that aid flower production."

Also, they say, "Please don't strangle your bulbs by tying up the foliage when the blooms die. Let them breathe!"

Robert J. Dingwall, editor of The Horticultural News Service, published in St. Louis, says, "Feed all spring flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, hyacinths, tulips and others immediately with a balanced fertilizer in granular form, or liquid fertilizer, to encourage the bulbs to build up strong healthy bulbs one month after flowering if they have been properly fed as outlined. It is not necessary to wait until the foliage turns yellow. Tying the foliage down has no benefit as far as the plants are concerned."

There you have two versions. Take your choice. Just do not do as a friend did one year. She wanted to overplant annuals, so she whacked her jonquils all off at ground level. The next year the foliage came up, but there was not one bloom.

Years ago I used to bend them over and secure them tightly with rubber bands, then leave them until they turned yellow and would sluf off at ground level. In later years, the foliage was braided together and then secured with rubber bands. We do not do either method today.

It was interesting to try to teach some Teen Challenge helpers to prepare the foliage this way to keep it from flopping over. "You, just braid the foliage as you would a young school girl's hair in pig tails", I said as I was demonstrating the braiding process.

"Mam, we haven't braided many little girl's hair," one of the fellows replied. But they learned.

A good spring feeding for bulbs is beneficial. Any balanced fertilizer, such as 12-12-12, will give them a good nutritious meal. If tulips come up with just one leaf left, you might as well dig them out with a trowel and discard the bulb because they are "spent."

Another question that is sure to come along with spring "Are they daffodils or jonquils?"

Basically, they are all narcissus, the Latin (or botanical) word for all of them. The narcissus genus is a member of the amaryllis family, which also includes onions, snowflakes, snowdrops, Kafie (clivia) lily and others. Daffodil is the common name. Jonquil belongs to one of the 11 distinct divisions of the narcissus, with each group being based upon different flower or foliage characteristics.

There are possibly 5,000 varieties of narcissus, or daffodils, if you prefer their common name. New catalogs are arriving with their alluring new introductions. This Ladybug cannot resist ordering some new ones.

The narcissus originally came from Spain, Portugal and the Mediterranean region. They come in such a wide range of colors tones of yellow, orange, white pink and green. Among the new introductions is one with snow white petals and ruffled, fluffy cups; another is St. Patrick's Day which has soft yellow cups surrounded by green foliage and numerous spectacular doubles.

When Vision 2000 committee member and coordinator, Barbara Rust, chose daffodils to be planted throughout entry ways to Cape Girardeau, she made a wise choice because in spite of our "on again off again" spring, the 15,000 daffodils have been spectacular. So have those in St. Louis that line Interstate 55 at the approach to the city. There must be thousands and thousands of yellow daffodils planted there, and since they are farther north, they were in full bloom this week.

A friend has provided old, broken wooden golf tees to mark places where more spring flowering bulbs need to be planted. Tees will allow overplanting and when used in the lawn the lawnmower can go over them.

By choosing early, mid-season and late varieties, daffodils will bloom over a six-week period.

As previously stated here, (for many, many years) an investment in spring flowering daffodils is the best that can be made in the garden because they have no enemies. Squirrels and moles will eat tulips, and they will rot if not in well drained spots. Also if they are overplanted and the area is watered during our dry spells, they will rot, but this does not happen to daffodils.

Because of the innumerable short spells of winters with their damage to plants, this will not go down as the most beautiful spring on record.

Once again, the Council of Garden Clubs of Cape Girardeau is holding an annual plant sale for the benefit of the Rose Display Garden in Capaha Park. The sale will be held Saturday, April 11, in the Conservation Building of Arena Park, from 8 a.m. until noon.

A spokesman for the council said there would be many new plants, herbs, bedding plants, hanging baskets, azaleas, and many other outstanding plants, delivered that morning from local suppliers.

Support the Display Garden by helping through this project.