Potted Daffodils

Doesn't work that way with bulbs. After they bloom they go dormant, nothing new until next year.

There's about a dozen and a half of the daffs I planted in the beginning of December blooming like crazy in my garden.

I think I may not have planted them deeply enough.

We had a slight warm spell, and up they came. Now, were're only getting highs of 40's, and cold at night.
They don't seem to care.

Some tuplip leaves have sprouted up, but then stopped and are waiting around to see what happens.

Not complaining though....the bright yellow is so cheery on a grey day.


Gala....your bulbs are going to need to go through a cold time. If you plan to keep them in a pot each year, you'll have to dig them out next Fall, and either plant them outside, or keep them in your veg crisper in the refrigerator.

Am I right gw?

Whew doggie-- so can I trim them back or is it futility? They're in a pot, and I don't plan on repotting them unless I can dig the bulbs up. The fridge, ay? I may mistake them for shallots and cook them.

I also have some Hyacinth's that are in full bloom in a container at my desk-- do I trim these back or do I watch them wither and die?

Your answer was here.


Trimming them does nothing to effect the plant.

once the bloom is over they 'die'

oh.. i see your questions

Hyacinth is a bulb as well.
Trimming wont help it either.


sorry. I misunderstood

So, (please pardon my thick skull), the Daffodils in the pot on my desk have some new shoots-- is it okay to cut off the flowers that are dying, or will this have an effect on the new shoots?

I'm going to use this thread to ask a potted plant question.
We received a beautiful white poinsettia for Christmas. It's a day away from dying. Our friends, who received the exact same plant, from the same place, say theirs is alive and well. What am I doing wrong?

I'm going to use this thread to ask a potted plant question.
We received a beautiful white poinsettia for Christmas. It's a day away from dying. Our friends, who received the exact same plant, from the same place, say theirs is alive and well. What am I doing wrong?

naw....it won't effect new shoots that are growing...you're just tidying up the dead stuff.

When all the leaves are on the way out, snip the plant right down to the surface of the soil.....If they were outside, the entire plant would just stay there until next Spring.

In a pot?
I would snip the plant down as above when the leaves are dying, and just put the pot, soil bulb and all aside somewhere outside....you can plant some annual flowers around the bulbs, so you'll have something to tend during the Summer.

They'll get cold in the pot during the Fall/Winter, and bloom again next Spring.

Thanks Chai, I just trimmed the dying flowers and it looks much better. I'll keep this post as a reference so when the time comes for action I'll know what to do.

Alex, why don't you ask the people with the alive plant what they are doing? They could be fibbing.

I know people keep Pointsettias long after the season, but they start to look very sorry by about February-- they're still alive, but they only have a few leaves, which are green, but it's pretty pathetic.

A poinsettia is not meant to be a potted plant.

Those are large bushes.

If it isnot doing well, it could be a few things.

My very first guess would be that it came from a store that gave it alot of chemicals . ( miracle grow, root stimulant etc..) and that the plant grew faster and larger then its soil would allow it to. Now that those horrid chemicals are not there, it has nothing to feed on.

My second guess could be a combination of too much water and not enough root space.

If you want it to survive try re potting it in a pot that is about 2 to 3 times larger then the one it is in.
Make sure it has ample drainage capabilities.
If I remember correctly, the poinsettia does not like wet roots.


If nothing else. Let it go and find one from a natural gardner place that wont rely so heavily on chemicals..

Thank you gala, and shewolf.
One more question.
I have a jade plant. I believe they classify it as a succulent. Anyway, the plant has these little bugs that fly. The battle between the bugs and me, has been going on for about five years. Seriously. I've tried everything, sprays, pepper and chemicals, soapy water, repotting, new soils, new locations. I can't get rid of them. I've lost three of four jades. Any suggestions?

Like shewolf says, don't over water a poinsettia, but when you do water it, use cold coffee -- they seem to like it. This was a trick of my Mom's who never brewed coffee especially for them, just used her forgotten coffee (milk and all).

Have you tried diluting some Murphy's oil soap and spraying it?

No kidding? I'll be darned. Just Pointettias or can you use coffee on other hearty sort of plants?

Well, my mom's got the green thumb, not me, so I don't know about other plants. I suspect it has something to do with the acidity of the coffee, so any plant that preferred acidic soil might like coffee.

(A bit of a digression -- my husband spent some time traveling in Mexico as a young man and worked on a farm in Oaxaca for room and board. The farmer grew coffee and poinsettias together so maybe there's something to it.)

poinsettias are perennials (live for 1 year or more) in warmer climates, most people are likely to see them used as a decorative houseplant over the winter holidays. You can extract the red pigment from deeply colored poinsettias and use it to make your own pH paper strips to test whether a liquid is an acid or a base.
* poinsettia 'flowers'
* beaker or cup
* hot plate or boiling water
* scissors or a blender
* filter paper or coffee filters
* 0.1 M HCl
* vinegar (dilute acetic acid)
* baking soda solution (2 g / 200 mL water)
* 0.1 M NaOH

Procedure

1. Cut flower petals into strips or chop them in a blender. Place the cut pieces into a beaker or cup.
2. Add just enough water to cover the plant material. Simmer until the color is removed from the plant. (Personally, I would just microwave the chopped bracts with a little water for about a minute and allow the mixture to steep, like a tea.)
3. Filter the liquid into another container, such as a petri dish. Discard the plant matter.
4. Saturate clean filter paper with the poinsettia solution. Allow the filter paper to dry. You can cut the colored paper with scissors to make pH test strips.
5. Use a dropper or toothpick to apply a little liquid to a test strip. The color range for acids and bases will depend on the particular plant. If you like, you can construct a chart of pH and colors using liquids with a known pH so that you can then test unknowns. Examples of acids include hydrochloric acid (HCl), vinegar, and lemon juice. Examples of bases include sodium or potassium hydroxide (NaOH or KOH) and baking soda solution.
6. Another way to use your pH paper is as a color-change paper. You can draw on pH paper using a toothpick or cotton swab that has been dipped in an acid or base.

All about poinsettia

Daffodills
Is it all right to finally cut off that ugly daffodil foliage? The short answer is "probably not." It depends where you live and when your daffodils bloomed. You have to put up with it for at least six weeks after the daffodils have bloomed. So, the foliage on the earliest ones is probably turning yellow. You can pull that off. But if the foliage is still green, then let it on the plant; it's making next year's flower. even marginally green foliage is contributing to bulb growth and storage of energy to make next years flowers. Its ok to cut the flowers after they die away unless you are into crossing your daffodils and want to collect the seed.

Take care with daffodils in the home and garden when small children are around.
All parts of the plant are poisonous the toxins being found mainly in the bulb, but even the flowers are mildly toxic. An extract of the bulb, when applied to open wounds, has caused staggering, numbness of the whole nervous system and paralysis of the heart
medicinal uses of narcissis

Paralysis of the heart....I don't think that's very good.