Bulb Information, Growing Daffodils

Canaliculatus

by  •  • 4 Comments

Friends,
If you’ve ever grown Canaliculatus, you know it’s notorious (at least for me) for not blooming after the first year.  I think it was Kathy Welsh who told me to dig the bulbs, lay them out on the driveway in full sun, all summer, and they’d bloom again.  Well, I followed that advice; replanted the bulbs last fall, and this year there are 4 bloom stems.  Guess I’ll try that again this year.
Mary Lou

4 comments for “Canaliculatus”

  1. Hi Mary Lou,
    The advice from Kathy was absolutely correct. Canaliculatus could also be planted in the driveway and have the car run over it daily then it will flower for you. I have shown photos on daffnet of a clump of Canaliculatus which thrives on neglect.
    This leads to another unscientific theory according to Adams:-
    Bulbocodiums and tazettas, such and Canaliculatus, multiply by bulb prolifically. In order for the species to survive they do not need to flower. Under stress the bulb thinks* ‘Goodness I’m going to become extinct.’ and sends up a flower in order to make seed and ensure the survival of the species. Hence these species and cultivars need dry baking, aka stress, through summer in order to make them flower. Sometimes humans become beautiful people after a time of stress which makes them less self reliant.
    I learnt this from cyclamen. It is tradition in New Zealand to give flowering cyclamen for Mother’s Day. Because the plant has been given with such love the mother wants to ensure that the plant does not die. She waters it and tends it with loving care. She kills it. The best way to ensure that potted cyclamen survive is to dry them after flowering and not to water again until late summer. It may well be that we have other plants in our garden that do not flower because we look after them too well.
    * Who said plants can’t think? You talk to them don’t you.
    David Adams

  2. I have a clump of Canaliculatus that I planted in 1988 under the edge (only slightly) of the magnolia and next to some azaleas.  It blooms every year — sometimes a lot and sometimes only one or two flower stems but always without fail every spring.  I hve never dug it and just ignore it.  Works for me.

    —-

  3. Hello David and All,

     

    Very good theory David. However what y’all are doing is an endeavour to replicate the conditions that the species grew in originally.  Phil Phillips used to place his sack of canaliculatus on his garage roof during summer – the bulbs got a real baking and flowered prolifically in the spring. 

     

    And, yes, we should talk to our flowers.  When I’m selecting blooms for show I often deadhead those that are not up to standard, leaving only show worthy flowers or those required for pollination. As I do this task I say to the unopened buds “you better be good or this will happen to you!!”  I think psychologists call this aversive stimuli or something like that.  It probably doesn’t work but it makes me feel better and it also means that the bulb gets the full benefit of the stem.

     

    Another lovely day here – we have started planting and sitting here looking out the window is not getting the hard work done.

     

    All the best to everyone,

     

    Cheers,

     

    Peter

     

     

     


    =2 width=”100%” align=center tabindex=-1>


Comments are closed.