friend or foe??? please look at these bulbs!

can someone please tell me what bulbs these are? im finding lots on top of the soil nd buried a little way down

are they friends or foes???

and shall i plant them back where they were or throw them?


thank you


photo bucket

 

They look either like Crocosmia corms or Gladiolii corms.

 

a lot of themare like spirals. they mesure about half an inch accross and two inches lenngth

so p0lant them back then?

 

I'm not sure what they are either so stick 'em back in and give them a chance. Once they flower you'll know what they are and you can decide then if you like them or whether to rip them out.

 

If they are in spirals then they are almost definitely Crocosmia. Put them back and see which one they are. In some gardens Crocosmia have become real weeds.

 

If they are Crocosmia they spread quite rapidly as Palustris said.When we moved into our house ten years ago they were everywhere, we thought we had got them all out before laying a path, but they appeared in between the slabs They are very pretty if they are kept under control.

 

thanks guys! yes ive found then EVERYWHERE!!!!

im gonna collect them up and put em back in some corners which could do with some colour

thank you very much

 

If you have found them everywhere - and looking like that, I would say crocosmia.

I read recently in a book on bulbs that after flowering each year crocosmia creates a new corm on top of the old one, which implies that the number of corms vertically works like tree rings and tells you how long the plant has been there. In the past, I have dug up a column of 20 or more corms. I never thought anything about how they got there, but the explanation sounds logical.

However the same book said that as each new corm is produced, the one below it dies. They do not usually look dead. Any comments? Has anyone propagated Crocosmia from lower corms?

 

PeterS:

Never tried propagating Crocosmia that way. Normally you fight it :D

The only time I propagate is to split a piece off an existing clump (division) and it doesn't seem too fussy about when you do it. Some years it can be a prolific self seeder too.

 

I remember planting some many years ago and they will survive anything. I do like the 'leaves' but my plants seem to act as a shelter for small snails so a patrol is sometimes needed.

 

maybe not god to put mear the veg patch im creating or the sunflowers then??