What did I do Wrong?

[Irondog]

I was so excited about my new garden plots that we put down back in September.... I know NOTHING about gardening at all. I bought some special Garden mix and planted some tulips and daffodils and some lilies in September. I buried them 4-6 inches per the packaging...

I hear neighbours and friends saying their tulips are coming up and I have NOTHING... someone metioned mice might have eaten the bulbs... so I dug around a little in one spot... and I can see my bulbs did nothing. Not even a little sprout. I planted one batch on the sunny side of the yard, and the other side is somewhat shadier.

I am really bummed. I was so excited to have some verdure in our yard... what do I do now? Do I dig up the bulbs and throw them away.

I will say it again... I am really bummed.

Can someone suggest something foolproof that a total idiot could plant in Calgary??

[dlb]

They might be a bit deep. I usually go down about 4 inches measuring from the bottom. And you might have got some bum bulbs. But give them time. My bulbs are just starting. People with tulips planted beside sidewalks usually are ahead of me. If you don't get anything, don't bother to dig them up. They'll make good compost.

As for 'fool proof' plants, there are none. Tulips usually do well here for example. Not to make gardening sound more difficult than it is, but there are a number of things that can go wrong with any plant. But you want to look for plants hardy to zone 3a, and tolerant of alkaline soil. Take a look at some of the independent greenhouses around town, as well as the box stores. Box stores are good for price, but not necessarily for selection.

The Calgary Horticultural Society (calhort.org) has a book which you can order from their website called The Calgary Gardener. It has a lot of basic information about gardening in Calgary and plant lists for the Calgary climate. If you become a member of CHS, there's a plant trade on the weekend after the long weekend.
Dora

[packrat79]

I don't think you did anything wrong..... perhaps it was simply too cold for these bulbs.
I planted some bulbs in two locations last fall: a small garden beside the house, and a planting pot on a veranda. Early in the winter, a heavy rain filled the pot with water and then it froze solid - and didn't melt for another four months. Not one bulb in that pot came up. The ones in the garden however did fine, but there might have been another factor involved; we have a wood stove at the end of the basement, and the garden is directly outside that wall.
Perhaps your soil was too wet??

[butterfly]

I don't think you did anything wrong..... perhaps it was simply too cold for these bulbs.
I planted some bulbs in two locations last fall: a small garden beside the house, and a planting pot on a veranda. Early in the winter, a heavy rain filled the pot with water and then it froze solid - and didn't melt for another four months. Not one bulb in that pot came up. The ones in the garden however did fine, but there might have been another factor involved; we have a wood stove at the end of the basement, and the garden is directly outside that wall.
Perhaps your soil was too wet??

Bulbs don't do well in pots

They would need a lot of insulation around the pots to survive' don't do well in pots in our climate for the very reason you mentioned.

You could wrap them well in insulating foam but even then there is no guarantees

You are in zone 3, I am 5b, you are much colder than I am and they still will not survive in pots in zone 5B not without insulating very well

The do best even in you climate in the garden

Squirrels and deer love tulip bulbs, the very reason I won't plant them

[butterfly]

I was so excited about my new garden plots that we put down back in September.... I know NOTHING about gardening at all. I bought some special Garden mix and planted some tulips and daffodils and some lilies in September. I buried them 4-6 inches per the packaging...

I hear neighbours and friends saying their tulips are coming up and I have NOTHING... someone metioned mice might have eaten the bulbs... so I dug around a little in one spot... and I can see my bulbs did nothing. Not even a little sprout. I planted one batch on the sunny side of the yard, and the other side is somewhat shadier.

I am really bummed. I was so excited to have some verdure in our yard... what do I do now? Do I dig up the bulbs and throw them away.

I will say it again... I am really bummed.

Can someone suggest something foolproof that a total idiot could plant in Calgary??

I don;t think you did anything wrong

Squirrels will dig them up, they love them to eat.t

Did you plan them with the right end up

I plant lillie and tulip bulbs at least 6 inches in zone 5b or they won't survive for me

But I gave up on tulips because of Squirrels.

I have a few left out of a 100 planted 10 years ago and most of them went missing in the 1st and 2n year.

[dlb]

Here's a thought - the benefit of a leisurely walk home followed by a cold beer on the first warm day of the year - do you suppose you planted late season bulbs? Not that I've noticed that much of a difference between early and late season bulbs.

Anyway, I didn't name any plants that grow here. Excluding special treatment and first year plants in my garden and in no particular order, I have hostas (shade), pulmonaria, arctic and bearded irises, delphiniums, daylilies, hybrid oriental lilies, bleeding heart, tarragon, morden chrsanthemum, sedums, bachelor buttons, columbines, calendula, rhubarb, hepatica, clematis, echinacia (coneflower), lupins, munstead lavender, tarragon, hollyhocks, crocuses, bee balm, trollius, Jacob's ladder, peony, woodruff and raspberries. (EDIT: plus strawberries and oriental poppies)

Annuals (usually grown from seed or potted up from the garden centre) are a good alternative for the beginning gardener because they involve very little long term committment and help you develop your preferences.
A few pots of pansies sprinkled around can do wonders.

Dora

[Sheikea]

I totally agree perhaps they are late ones and I do know that when planted to deep they take longer to get going especially if the ground is still al ittle cooler.I planted 150 tulips one year in my front garden bed.Full sun and out of all 150 i got three..The rest rotted..Needless to say I did not do that again.Wanted to surprise the hubby as he is from Holland.Oh well no biggie.On with the gardening..Hugs

[Hushypuppy]

hmmm...slice one of your bulbs open....does it look rotten? You might have planted them a tad deep ( I plant mine about 4 inches I am zone 5 b), or upside down or they might be later blooming. Did you plant them is a raised bed, or in the garden. If in a raised bed they might have frozen? Or you could have got stale bulbs, where did you buy em?
At any rate do not give up! Spring is arround the corner. Get yourself some spring bulbs and get ready to plant those up. Tulips are temporary, perenials and summer bulbs flower all summer! In the fall you can try the tulips again. Gardening is a true challenge. Not everything you try is going to work. It is only my fourth summer with a garden of my own, not everything works for me either. I can reffer you to some previous threads that demonstrate that LOL. If you hang out here a little you will find that even experienced (And I mean EXPERIENCED) gardners have issues or challenges. So my advise would be move on, try again, and hang out arround here so you can benefit from the collective wisdom and occasional therapy...

Kris

[butterfly]

My daffies haven't bloomed yet

They are always late. Middle of May before they bloom

don't know why

[murphy]

go to a garden center and buy a bunch of potted bulbs that are just buds and not blooming yet...plant them in and enjoy them for this year...I have done that many times when a squirrel has made off with my much anticipated tulips and I am left with a big bunch of nothing. It is a bit of a cheat..but why not....you will enjoy them and that is what counts.