This is my first year planting dwarf daffodils. I planted them in 2 - 20" round ceramic pots and they "bloomed beautifully" and I really enjoyed them. The flowers are now beginning to fade and turn brown and crispy but the leaves and stems are still nice and green. I know that I am suppose to leave the leaves alone and let them brown naturally, then take out the bulbs and store them for next year. I don't want to be looking at browning stems in my container, so can I plant something else in the pot while leaving the bulbs in? Can I take the bulbs out? or should I wait before planting anything at all. If I do plant something else in there, how will I get my bulbs out of the pot without disturbing the new plants? I hope this makes sense?
well, first, you can cut the dried flower stalks off - leave the green leaves though as they will provide food for the blooms next year. second, yes! you can certainly put something else in there to hide the leaves as they go from green to brown. your choice as to what - you can do a mid-spring blooming annual and when it's done, pull the bulbs to store and then replant with another annual that will provide greenery and/or blooms for the rest of the season. you could even do something that is perennial and leave it even when you pull the bulbs up - and then replant the bulbs for blooming next year (and the perennial will start growing just as the bulbs are done flowering, so you'll have continuous color in the planter). unless you want to have a variety of items throughout the growing season, putting something perennial in would be the easist thing to do (less planting & pulling up).
Hi joclyn, thankyou for your help on this. Oh okay, I just came back inside from removing all the spent yellow flowers but I didn't cut the stalk. I just snipped it's head off between my fingers. Should I go back and take the entire stem off? Yes, I will leave the leaves there. But how will I get all the bulbs out if I plant something else in there, won't the new plant be in my way of getting the bulbs out? Sorry, just confused about that part. I like the idea of the perennial. I like 'easy' lol. I get about 4 or 5 hours of sun on that side of my house (east side). Do you know of any perennials that would be some choices for me? thanks again for your help, as I really appreciate it.
taking just the flower head off is fine, lily! you can leave the bloom stalk on until it's completely dry and has browned up - should only take a few days - and then you can take the rest of the stalk off. the leaves should stay green for about a month (give or take a week). you could actually leave the bulbs in the planter - here we leave them in the ground year-round. i'm in zone 6. do you know what zone you're in? i'm not familiar with zones up north there :) in my zone, if you have things in planters, depending on size of the planter (and how much soil there is to protect what's planted) you can either take the planter and put it somewhere protected (unheated garage, basement, etc) or even dig a big hole and sink the whole thing until spring. the sinking works well for the smaller set-ups. depending on what the zone is, you may even be able to leave the planter out on the porch all winter - i'd still put something around it to protect from extreme cold though (and wind, that can do a lot of damage even if the air temps aren't all that bad). as for what else to plant, i need your zone before i can make a suggestion. lol, i agree, planting something else while the bulbs are there does present a bit of a problem...
Hi joclyn, Thanks very much for all the tips, suggestions and encouragement. I'm in zone 8a, Vancouver area. I can leave my planters out and cover them or put them in my garden shed for the winter. Thanks again.
oh, well!! that makes it much easier!! just leave the daff's in there then! you've a few options as to what else to put in there too...more so than i have here since you're in a warmer zone :) you could do iris bulbs in there (siberian type) as they're a later bloomer than the daff's and then also some sedum - that will grow through the season and then bloom in late summer/early fall. or some shasta daisy or black-eyed susan. the daisy is perennial, the bes will re-seed. both of those will re-bloom when you dead-head, so you'll have flowers for the rest of the season. could even still do a sedum for fall flowers. sweet william is another nice plant. you could also do something viney - vinca would be nice - early bloomer that sometimes reblooms. the leaves are nice just by themselves though. both are perennial. moss rose aka portulaca is an annual that would be really nice too - low growing and kind of viney. flowers throughout the season and seeds are EASY to get for the next growing season. take a look around the neighborhood and in the stores for things you like - what you see around you is what will do well in your area.
Thank you very much for taking the time to help me with this Joclyn. I've printed this out and am going to spend some time looking some of these plants up via Google, so I can see what they look like. These planters will be placed at my front entrance to my house so I need them to be really showy. My house is a cream color so I am looking for colors that are bold. Can any of these plants you suggested be planted together in the same pot?
you're quite welcome!!! i'm very happy to help another with their gardening addiction ;) i've got all of these plants together and they do very well. granted, mine are in beds in the ground and not in containers. that doesn't make too much difference as they've all got the same basic needs for sun and watering - which is what you need to consider when planting in containers. the only difference is i have bearded iris rather than siberian. i suggested the siberian because they do not get as big as the bearded type. on second thought, though, i think most siberian types need more moisture than a planter would be able to sustain. might want to knock that one off the list! the red sweet william is bold/bright and the plant is a bit tall, so the blooms really stand out! the sedum, depending on which variety, can be either low growing or a bit taller. the type i have doesn't get taller than about 10 inches and that's with the bloom stalk on it. you can do whatever flower color combination you like. i prefer purples - i do have some pink and white things mixed in to offset and i also have the orange daylily too, just for a little something different :) the orange really looks good next to the purple coneflower! with that neutral house color you are not limited as to what colors you can do as anything will look good against the cream. you're right in thinking that bold is the way to go as you wouldn't want anything to blend in (and some things actually would - they'd still look nice, would just be a bit boring). i just thought of something! coleus!! this is an annual plant here - might be hardy in your zone (or it might be 9 that it's hardy in). this is a fantastic plant! it's got variegated leaves and the combo's of colors that are available are just about endless! just that with some type of white flower to offset it would be a good combo. the flowers on coleus aren't too much - it's grown more for the leaf variations than the blooms.
Okay, this is wonderful help. Joclyn. I love coleus. Yes, that's a perfect choice. Now I need to find a nice white flowered perennial of some kind. So, just go ahead and stick them in the same pot as the daffodils? Leave the bulbs in the pot? Once I get them planted, I will show you a pic okay? Probably in a couple of weeks.
yep, put them right in the planter - the bulbs will be just fine!! shasta daisy, columbine, anemone, false aster, bellflower, white coneflower, phlox, campenula - most of these are on the tall side and i don't think any have scent. still they are all nice choices and will offset a coleus perfectly. campenula and anemone have varieties that stay short. snowdrop anemone blooms in may and again in sept. all the rest have varying bloom times. wall rock cress 'arabis caucasica snow cap' stays low (about 6 inches) and has a nice scent.
Hi joclyn, Thanks very much. Okay, I will leave the bulbs in the planter. Can they just stay there over the winter too? Boy, I sure have a lot to learn. You've given me a whole bunch of flowers I can choose from so this will be the fun part for me. Now to go and google them all and see what they look like. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I will be in touch to let you know what I have done. Much appreciated.
check out whiteflowerfarm perennial for pics. you can leave the bulbs in over the winter. you'll need to put the planter in a protected spot though - like the garage - for the coldest months, though. i can't wait to see what you do with it!!!
Thanks for the link to the whiteflowerfarm. I enjoyed looking at all those gorgeous flowers. Okay, the bulbs will stay in the containers. I'll show you in a few weeks after I get them planted. Again, I really appreciate you expertise and you've been very helpful to me. All my best.