I got a little bit over-excited buying bulbs from the Northern Hemisphere (I'm based in the Southern Hemisphere). I am due to recieve some 245 bulbs/corms in December/January. Hopefully they survive the journey to the South Atlantic, but I've decided to take the risk since the local garden centre has stopped stocking any flower bulbs.
Now, my problem is that I live in a rental house, which has a sizeable garden, but it was never properly maintained by the previous owners or the landlords so it is overrun with dandelions and that horrible clumpy grass (maybe Tall Fescue). Naturally, I resent planting all of these beautiful bulbs for them to be left to benefit the landlords once we move out. Therefore, when ordering the bulbs I had two criteria:
- They are suitable for containers.
- They are sustainable i.e. perrenial and can naturalise so I'm not just throwing them away after a year.
Here is the list of what I am expecting and quantities:
Tulipa
- Purisimma - 15
- Ballerina - 15
- Little Beauty - 15
- Peppermintstick - 30
- Cairo - 15
- Havran - 10
Narcissus
- Sir Winston Churchill - 15
- Tete-a-Tete - 30
- Narcissus bulbocodium White Petticoat - 20
Crocus chrysanthus Advance - 25
Iris Purple Hill - 40
As far as my research has taken me, all of the above (apart from Tulipa Cairo & Havran) should fit my criteria.
Now onto my question:
The ones that naturalise, especially the tulips, does that mean I can leave them in the pots I initally plant them into year after year (mulching with fresh compost in autumn), or do I need to lift them every year when they die back and then pot them again in autumn?
