I'm growing bulbs, for the first time, and was wondering - I know you plant in autumn, but are they meant to sprout then or in spring?

I just planted a whole bunch of stuff (I'm in New Zealand, it's mid-autumn now) and some have started sprouting leaves after about 10 days. Is this right, or did I plant too early/late?

Thanks!

- Annette

-- Annette (annette@peach.net.nz), April 08, 2000

Answers

I always have trouble remembering how our months and seasons correspond -- I would think it would be an okay time to plant bulbs where you are, depending on your climate. (Where I live, it's still really hot in early to mid-autumn, so it's best to plant bulbs in the late autumn or even early winter.) But yes, some of them sprout almost immediately, especially narcissus. It doesn't freeze in New Zealand, does it? I would think you'd be fine, although your bulbs may be off schedule for the first year. Maybe someone else has a different opinion.

-- Beth (beth@xeney.com), April 10, 2000.

All the local gardening magazines say plant bulbs in mid-March to mid- April, so I went with them. It's quite cold already - I'm not sure about temperatures, but I'm wearing a coat and a jumper every day. We get the odd ground frost, but other than that we don't freeze.

I just had this weird idea that nothing at all was supposed to happen until spring, and then while going out to talk sweet nothings to my square of dirt, found lots of little green shoots :)

-- Annette (annette@peach.net.nz), April 10, 2000.