I'm working on doing a complete revamp of my yard, and amid a bunch of weeds I found some very pretty white and purple crocuses. The bed they are in right now is completely overgrown, and I was planning on tilling the whole thing up and starting fresh, but I'd love to save the crocuses. I'm hoping that I can dig them up and replant them, but I'm not sure how to go about this. How big is the root base, how far should I dig away from the flowers, and how deep should I go? Also, how much space should they have if I planted them in-between either my tulips or my tiger lilies? And which do you think would look better? Below are pictures of my tulip and tiger lily beds for comparison.
Tulips, just starting to come up, a bit hard to see.
[img]https://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee136/jfinner1/Garden/P1013855.jpg[/img]
Tiger lilies.
[img]https://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee136/jfinner1/Garden/P1013884.jpg[/img]
Also, the tulips and tiger lilies have become unevenly spaced. I'm guessing that some of them died, others spread, etc. To be honest, I almost feel like digging everything up and starting from scratch, but again, I don't know how to do this. What would be my best course or action?
I wouldn't disturb any of the bulbs right now. Allow them to bloom, then wait until the leaves die back. You have to wait for the leaves to die, because they make food, which gets stored in the bulb, to enable it to bloom the following year.
After the leaves die back, you can dig up the bulbs and replant them. If you prefer, you can clean them off and store them temporarily in a cool, dry place, then replant them in the fall.
Personally, I would keep the tulips and crocuses well away from any tiger lilies. The tiger lilies that I'm familiar with are daylilies, and they spread like crazy. They'll quickly overrun any bulbs planted near them.
However, there is an actual hybrid lily that is a cross between the species tigrinum or lancifolium and an asiatic hybrid. If that's what you have, then you can plant your other bulbs near them without worry. You can tell the difference by the leaves. Daylilies produce a clump of leaves from a fleshy root system resembling a rhizome, whereas true lilies grow from bulbs and produce leaves along a central stem.
After the leaves die back, you can dig up the bulbs and replant them. If you prefer, you can clean them off and store them temporarily in a cool, dry place, then replant them in the fall.
Personally, I would keep the tulips and crocuses well away from any tiger lilies. The tiger lilies that I'm familiar with are daylilies, and they spread like crazy. They'll quickly overrun any bulbs planted near them.
However, there is an actual hybrid lily that is a cross between the species tigrinum or lancifolium and an asiatic hybrid. If that's what you have, then you can plant your other bulbs near them without worry. You can tell the difference by the leaves. Daylilies produce a clump of leaves from a fleshy root system resembling a rhizome, whereas true lilies grow from bulbs and produce leaves along a central stem.
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
The crocuses have very narrow roots, basically just the bulb. So you don't have to dig very far out from them, but you have to dig pretty deep.
Kisal is right that you should wait until the stems/leaves are withering away before you move them. But that makes them hard to find. So you should mark all the crocus clumps now, so that once they have disappeared, you will know where to dig.
As you can see the crocuses are very small, so they are good for the front edge of a bed with bigger stuff behind them.
Kisal is right that you should wait until the stems/leaves are withering away before you move them. But that makes them hard to find. So you should mark all the crocus clumps now, so that once they have disappeared, you will know where to dig.
As you can see the crocuses are very small, so they are good for the front edge of a bed with bigger stuff behind them.