Summer bloomers: Forcing bulbs and tubers forward

By wikinus 25 Aug, 2020 Post a Comment

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Dahlias, Calla and Co. are very popular with ornamental gardeners because of their magnificent flowers. So that the summer-flowering bulb flowers and tuber plants come faster to the bloom, it is worthwhile itself to drive it forward already in March. You should take this into account.

Ornamental gardeners who want to equip their garden with particularly attractive and unusual plants will find it difficult to avoid summer-flowering bulbs and tubers such as the dahlia (Dahlia), calla (Zantedeschia) or the Indian cane (Canna Indica).

However, plants originating from the (sub)tropics have some starting difficulties at

the temperatures prevailing in Central Europe and some of them - such as the Canna or the Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum) - would not produce their flowers until autumn if they were not promoted in March.

Dahlias and gladioli, on the other hand, can be brought forward by a few weeks and the flowering time can be extended.

Propel bulbous flowers and tuber plants correctly

First of all, it is important to take a look at the onions and tubers.

Whether freshly bought or wintered from the previous year, the tubers/onions are dried out and shrivelled,

they should spend a few hours in a water bath and take up liquid before proceeding further.

Afterwards the tubers/onions are put into pots. First provide them with a drainage layer of sand, expanded clay or gravel,

because many of the (sub)tropical plants cannot tolerate stagnant moisture.

This is followed by a layer of potting soil, then the tubers/onions and further soil until they are covered with soil for about five centimeters.

Dahlias, Calla and Co. are very popular with ornamental gardeners because of their magnificent flowers.

MSG/Bodo Butz

Insert the dahlia tubers so deep that the root neck is covered with soil about five centimeters

A warm and very bright location is still decisive for success.

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If the plants get too little light, they will go wild and form only long thin stems, which will bend easily under the later weight of the flowers.

An optimal location is for example a place in a greenhouse. Then water the plants very sparingly until the first shoots appear.

Then the plants can be placed in a cooler place so that they sprout more compactly.

From the middle of May, when temperatures are in the double-digit plus range, even at night,

the plants can then be planted in their intended location in the garden.

The advantages of driving at a glance
>They can sort out dried out tubers and bulbs before planting, so there are no unsightly gaps in the bed in summer.
>The summer blooming bulb and tuber plants open their blooms already some week before the actual bloom time and bloom partially also longer.
>The plants already have a certain size when they are planted out after the ice saints and are therefore more robust.