Ranunculus question

I bought some bulbs and planted them in one of my boxes...followed the instructions carefully.

I've had a ton of leaves, but not one single bud or flower...for months on end. Now it looks like the leaves are dying down, and it's the end of the season, as it were.

What's going on? I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to this stuff.

 

Hi Gioia,

It usually means you have planted the bulbs/tubers too deep. By the time they reach the sun they have knacker ed themselves out and are too tired to flower. Plant the bulbs no deeper than 5-7 cms and they should be fine next yr.

It is irrelevant what it says on the packaging-its usually some generalised blurb, no more than 3 times it height, deep

 

Okle dokes, that's great...thanks for that.

Loving having window boxes, but would really love to have a garden!

 

Hi Gioia,

You have a unique opportunity really. When you have a garden it is easy to make mistakes-you can just hide them or not look at them. With window boxes, it`s a great challenge. They may seem small-they are, but there is no reason to think small. You can even plant a tree in one-bonsai! You can have a greenhouse in them-a cloche! A lawn, flower beds everything. It would be very interesting to see some pics if you would like to post them.


You do have a garden.

 

Ooh, Claire...that all sounds so exciting!

I'm still very much at the very, very beginner level. I started a couple of years ago with planting a couple of trays of marigolds, verbena, begonia and lobelia I bought from Woolies on my way home from work.

This was them at the beginning of the season:





I was really excited by how well they seemed to grow, and how easy it was. This is them a couple of months later:





I haven't been so diligent in taking photos, but this is them the year after:





And that's it! Didn't take any pictures this year, which is a shame, as I had a ton of marigolds (which dried up a lot while we were away on holiday for a week and it was actually hot and sunny here!).

Hope you like them!

 

Oh, and any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

Hi Gioia,


I have had a few gardens/spaces ranging from a large drip tray from a terracotta pot as a kid, to the good sized plot I have now, and the secret is scale not size.


I most certainly do like photos-they are the best threads and posts for me. I can help as much as you want, but I`m no Geoff Hamilton myself either.LOL


I have seen a website somewhere that has loads of pictures of miniature gardens, and will see if I can find it again for you and give you the link.

I hope your ranunculus repay you next year-they are lovely flowers.