Summer Bulbs Planting ?

I thought I would move this section from another post, see below , to it's own. We are just after a bit of advice on planting summer bulbs , when and how ?
TIA

@silu , my Galtonia bulbs have arrived . I have never planted a summer bulb ! When do I plant them - anyone ?
TIA

Morning @HarryS . Mine are on their way according to V&M. As I have a greenhouse (unless it's been blown away overnight) I'm going to plant mine in a big pot about 6 ins deep. Once the weather gets better, at this rate probably June! I'll plant them out. I'm no expert on Galtonia so maybe someone else will be able to assist.

 

I would go with Silu's advice for this one Harry. Galtonia are fairly hardy but they hate wet. Planting out too early would lead to rot I think. How large are the bulbs?

 

Morning @longk .My bulbs arrived yesterday in amongst the drama of having lost an enormous tree which was blocking our road. Funnily enough I was far too busy with a chainsaw to do anything with the Galtonia bulbs. I opened the pack this morning and they are about 3/4 the size of your average Hyacinth bulb. We now have snow post gale force winds so sure the bulbs won't like that. I'll plant them deep in pots in well draining compost mixed with some leaf mould and keep in my greenhouse. Is leaf mould a good idea? I could also add some grit/sand if you think this a good idea. I plan to plant the bulbs on a slight slope . Near the spot is a massive Silver Birch which makes this area pretty dry altho the bed is covered with membrane and bark chip. Roscoe grow happily here so do you think Galtonia will accept what I have to offer? If you think it best to keep them in pots then that's not a huge deal, altho I'd rather they were in the garden. I grow Agapanthus but haven't dared plant them out in the garden yet! Going to plant out The Headbourne Hybrid variety this Spring (think they are the hardiest variety of the ones I have )and keep fingers crossed they can cope. My Nerines do except some of the bulbs do rot off occasionally, I presume they and Agapanthus/Galtonia like similar growing conditions? With the incredibly wet winter we've had I am expecting quite a few deaths unfortunately. I think I prefer it quite a bit colder and drier which is the norm for here. Certainly nearly 100 mile an hour winds that we had yesterday are NOT the norm thank god!

 

usually when you select summer blooming bulbs the instructions are there for when to plant by.

 

Thank you but often instructions are pretty vague. I have learnt that you are much better getting information from the likes of GC members than rely on the companies which sell plants/bulbs. They aren't particularly interested in success only orders! I wouldn't have bothered and neither would HarryS to ask other extremely knowledgeable gardeners if we were confident of the advice included with these Galtonia bulbs. The instruction on this occasion are not Galtonia specific,only for Summer flowering bulbs. The instructions sent with these bulbs also cover the likes of Dahlias which I've grown for nearly 40 years. if the information the company gives is all there was to growing them successfully, I doubt that my corms would have lasted in some instances nearly 25 years, but then that's not in the company's interest, the more failures=repeat orders the better it is for them.

 

Hi Redstar , normally the instructions you get on a packet of bulbs are very clear . But these we received from Van Meuwen were very general just about covering everything they sell. So really they are next to useless.

@longk , the bulbs are 2" by 2" and look like hyacinth bulbs . I think I'll follow Silus advice and plant them in the green house mid -February (?) , and plant out.. whenish ?

 

As they'll be in growth wait until late May onwards. When potting up take into consideration that the bulbs want to be 10 to 15cm deep in the garden. Silu's spot sounds ideal as long as they're in full sun. Moisture retentive but free draining soil.

 

Many thanks @longk I hoped you'd be able to assist us and sure enough

 

@silu , planted my Galtonia in a cold GH . It's been 6 weeks nothing showing yet ? Any idea approx how long they should take ?

 

I cheated @HarryS! After not being exactly impressed with other stuff I got from Van M, I had a wee dig in the pots where my Galtonia are planted to see if any sign of life and yes of the ones I had a decko at I've got some roots and the beginnings of shoots. I've done what was advised on the net and planted mine really deep (about a good 6 ins) as where I live ain't the warmest. They have quite a way to go before reaching the surface of the pots tho, maybe about another month but that's a guess. Perhaps that's just as well as if they were planted in the garden (intend doing that with 1 pot and keep the other in the greenhouse over next winter, hedging my bets!) they could well be damaged by frosts if they were up too early. If you decide to have a look see do be careful not to damage any emerging shoots...done that more time than I care not mention, not that I'm impatient or anything

 

@silu , I think I'll leave mine alone and not go meddling . I'll make sure to plant them deep when I put hem in the flower bed .

 

Oh Van M, never again, used them once and the bulbs I got were really poor, gave them another chance with some plug plants and what they sent me was laughable.

I do use Jparkers, while I havent found their plants to be great, the bulbs are normally decent.

 

I like to see what I'm buying with regards to bulbs. With a lot of them I reckon they send you one or two year old seedlings or divisions/offshoots. They then show you these wonderful photos but don't tell you that what they've sent won't reach maturity fir another two or three years.

However, as @NCFCcrazy says, Parkers are the best. I've recently had some Lilium Martagon off them and I was in shock when I opened them, they were 8" round and must have weighed a pound each.

 

Has anyone ever used Anglia Bulbs? I placed an order with them a couple of days go, should arrive today/tomorrow.

 

Hymenocallis festalis is a classic example of this happening.

Two times and been very happy!