Crocus + Snow drop -Can I plant the bulbs in Feb?

JKAPoole

Hi All, 
We have snowdrops and Crocuses in our front lawn which are just starting to bloom and look beautiful.... I have seen some shops still selling these varieties as bulbs. If I purchased some and got them straight in the ground (Feb 2021) what would happen. I'd like to fill some gaps, the ground is soft and we are not due and frosts here in Manchester over the next week. I'm not fussed if they don't come up this year, however would they survive in the ground until next year? Or are they likely to catch the next frost and just come up late as so many other bulbs do.

Also the same question for daffodils as there are gaps in the community gardens that I tend. Can I add a few now for next year?

Thanks for any advice. 

James

Dovefromabove

Far better to buy some pots of snowdrops that are growing and plant them, or order some snowdrops  ‘in the green’ (still growing with leaves on) ... they’ll probably be delivered in March. 

Snowdrop bulbs don’t like being dried out ... if you can get them to grow at all they often sulk and won’t flower for several years. 

I wouldn’t buy crocus or daffodil bulbs now either ... buy fresh and plant in Sept/Oct.  You’ll get better results. If you want to fill in gaps you can mark the spots with a stone or label where you plan to plant them. 

😊 

JKAPoole

Thanks. will hang out then. Kind regards, 
James

Silver surfer

Agree with Dove, order snowdrops now in the green.
When we moved here 2013, we ordered 1,000 single snowdrop..Galanthus nivalis...from Euro bulbs.They cost us then £70.00 a 1,000.
Now they will cost £85.00 a 1,000.

https://eurobulbs.co.uk/shop/all-bulbs-and-plants/featured/single-snowdrops-galanthus/

They arrived freshly dug up from the fields in Norfolk....full of  healthy long green leaves, still in flowers.
Amazingly quick to plant in small clumps of  3/5/7 bulbs. Randomly dotted around in no order...as nature would do.
To plant them in the solid glacial stone/boulder ground under the grass my other half had to use a chisel.

I also wanted dwarf Daffs..Tete a tete...lots of them.
I didn't want to wait until the autumn, to buy dry bulbs.Life is too short.
I wanted flowers NOW.
So bought pots in flower from local Tesco....most reduced to 99p.
Again planted completely random pattern.
Not in perfect  growing conditions they have both survived and continue now to bring me pleasure.

In old garden we ordered 1,000's dry bulbs from Peter Nyssen...excellent quality.
These were planted in the autumn in small groups of 5/7 bulbs.
They grew well.
Below are these Daffodils after several years.inc February Gold, Lobularis and Tete a tete.
(So much cheaper that 20 bulbs per packet from a garden centre, for lots of money.)

Trantion

I agree, it's odd that they would even have bulbs to sell now because they should be in flower. Also I've heard that snowdrops and other small bulbs are usually more successful planted in the green because the bare bulb can easily dry out in the open air. So buying them in a pot is probably best now. You can either plant them now or leave them in the pots until the leaves start to die off and plant them then. Don't worry about getting the leaves straight when you put the soil over the top, they'll come back fine next year.

Pianoplayer

@Silver surfer thank you for those wonderfully inspiring photos. I love daffodils, they give me hope - and goodness knows, I need some at the moment!

Silver surfer

Trantion said:

I agree, it's odd that they would even have bulbs to sell now because they should be in flower. Also I've heard that snowdrops and other small bulbs are usually more successful planted in the green because the bare bulb can easily dry out in the open air. So buying them in a pot is probably best now. 

Buying snowdrops now, in the green from the likes of Eurobulb, usually means that they are dug up fresh from the field or garden...delivered by post to your door. They will have a  few fresh green leaves, maybe flowers, a bulb and roots. Ready to be popped straight into the ground.Where they will quickly grow new roots and reappear again every spring.
It is possible to get  named snowdrops growing in pots but that is hard just now with lock down. Alpine or Rock garden groups are not having shows just now.Garden centre may sell a few snowdrops in pots at inflated prices.

Ruthmshaw

I bought some snowdrops in the green from euro bulbs a couple of weeks ago. They arrived in bud and I plunged them in a bucket of water for an hour then planted them. The next day they looked like they had always been there! Instant gardening, what’s not to like! And so much cheaper than buying in a garden centre!

Silver surfer

By the way.....snowdrops and daffs in the wild do not grow in nice straight lines./or rows.
If you are planting daff bulbs in the autumn experts recommend just throwing them over your shoulder and where ever they land plant them.This is what we did.
Some will be isolated, others may land close to others bulbs.
Over time they will develop clumps as mine have done in the pics above.
These can be lifted and divided to form new colonies.

Poly-anthus

Silver surfer those daffs are gorgeous.  What a lovely cheerful sight in these difficult days.  Thanks so much for sharing.

JKAPoole

As others have said, the above pics are rather beautiful. 

I think that the best thing for me would be to carefully mark out a temporary grid in the lawn using the paving stones either sides as marker points for the grid. Take a few photos. Then next year reconstruct the grid and fill in the gaps. That way I won't be stabbing half of the bulbs already in place and I get to add additional random clumps to fill the gaps.

Please can anyone recommend any other bulbs that have competed there growth cycle and replenished the bulb before the time of the first lawn cut? I currently have snow drops and crocus, but was thinking of adding some height. 

Thanks.