Spring bulbs sprout up
In the beginning of October I planted a lot of new spring bulbs. Among them were the Muscari, Allium and Dutch Irises which sprouted up now. (please, see the pics). I have been told that for Muscari this is a normal behavior, they usually overwinter with foliage. But how about the Dutch Irises and Alliums. Should I panic?
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Nothing you can do Luba, but they will slow right down as soon as temperatures fall then will take off again in spring.
Thanks, but still wasn't any frost this autumn and who knows when it going to happens.
Alliums often start coming through at this time of year. Those bits will start to die back before the flower bearing shoots are in full flow. They actually look quite tatty by the time the heads flower so I usually remove them at that point.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Mine are doing exactly the same thing
how will you protect them is case of severe frost?
They're hardy, they don't need protection. They start growing when the weather is right, slow down if it gets cold and flower when they're ready. No problem
In the sticks near Peterborough
Excellent. Thanks to everyone.
nutcutlet those were exactly my thoughts. If they are meant to sprout in snow and/or frost, they should survive. The current torrential downpour would be a bigger problem
Luba, I had this problem last year. I planted bulbs except tulips in September and they were sprouting by early October. That prompted my first post here:
http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/problem-solving/spring-bulbs-growing-now/538455.html
They went on growing for quite some time after that, and I was really panicky despite the reassurances here (sorry!) and everything was OK except that all my Spring crocuses came up and instantly flopped over, just like every autumn crocus did.
So far this autumn, I've only noticed the iris reticulata have started to shoot, but this week it's rained almost constantly plus I've had a really bad cold so have hardly been out of the door. Last year, I was planting into essentially a bare raised bed, but this year I had a lot of annuals and perennials, so probably shading last year's bulbs.
But it's been a funny year: Calla Lily, Astrantia and Sunflower, for example, didn't even start to flower til the end of September, and were still flowering on Tuesday; a Gladiolus is just coming into flower, as the other three have gone over, and the campanula which was all over our rockery from May to early Dec last year was only noticed for the first time on Tuesday (may have been out for a few days before that when we were away).
It's fun being a gardener - you never know what's going to happen. I planned my holiday for mid-late March last year, and before I went away the weeds were enough to be annoying and some of the bulbs were flowering already (in Scotland), so I've planned next year's trip for late Feb-early March, so expect a late Spring!
Yes indeed - if we knew exactly what was going to happen it'd be less fun! Next year, please can you arrange a summer of mild sunshine and light to moderate breezes, as I want to go sailing!