{"id":291,"date":"2012-07-12T16:43:43","date_gmt":"2012-07-12T16:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=291"},"modified":"2012-07-17T15:50:21","modified_gmt":"2012-07-17T15:50:21","slug":"divide-and-plant-spring-bulbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=291","title":{"rendered":"Divide and Plant Spring Bulbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>Are you thinking about dividing or planting bulbs now, in preparation for next spring?<\/p>\n

I must insert the obligatory reminder that we often use the term \u201cbulbs\u201d to refer to true bulbs, as well as corms, rhizomes and root tubers, i.e., all plants with underground storage organs. Collectively, such plants are correctly called geophytes.<\/p>\n

This is the season for dividing and planting spring-blooming geophytes. Dividing can be done annually, but is done most efficiently on a three-year cycle because in that time they can become too crowded to bloom well.<\/p>\n

Daffodils are among the first of the geophytes to finish their cycle: their leaves have dried and dropped by July. If the leaves are still on the ground, the location of the bulbs will be evident. Otherwise, digital snapshots taken when the leaves are still green will provide useful clues of their locations. Plant daffodil and other bulbs about three times as deep as the bulbs\u2019 diameter.<\/p>\n

Irises should be divided and planted during the period from July through September. This year, the Monterey Bay Iris Society\u2019s annual rhizome sales will be on August 4th<\/sup> at Deer Park Center and August 11th<\/sup> at the Aptos Farmer\u2019s Market. For details, visit http:\/\/www.montereybayiris.org<\/a>. Plant iris rhizomes shallowly, with their top surfaces exposed to light and air.<\/p>\n

The tall bearded iris is the most popular variety of iris, but there are several other interesting species in the genus Iris, and many hundreds more in the iris family.<\/p>\n

Another popular geophyte, the Gladiolus, should be divided in the fall, after the leaves have turned brown. Watch for gladiolus rust, a fungal plant disease of quarantine significance that first appeared in northern California in 2010. This disease is associated with the Gladiolus, but it also affects other genera in the iris family (Iridaceae): Tritonia, Crocosmia and Watsonia.<\/p>\n

The fungus\u2019s botanical name, Uromyces transversalis, provides a clue to its identification: pustules on both sides of the leaves tend to run across the width of the leaf, i.e., transversely.<\/p>\n

If you spot these symptoms in your garden, seal the entire plant, corms, stems and leaves, in a plastic bag and discard it in the green waste (not in your compost bin). If gladiolus rust doesn\u2019t appear in your garden, consider yourself fortunate.<\/p>\n

Commercial growers can use systemic fungicides to control gladiolus rust, or to salvage the corms of infected plants, but these are toxic chemicals not suitable for use in residential gardens.<\/p>\n

When dividing and replanting your healthy \u201cglads\u201d plant the larger corms six-to-eight inches deep, to reduce or eliminate the need to stake the plants.<\/p>\n

Preparations at this time of the year will yield a delightful display in the spring.<\/p>\n

Enjoy your garden.<\/p>\n

More<\/p>\n

Here is an example of gladiolus rust, showing the pustules arrayed across the leaf’s surface. This pattern is not always this clear. For other examples, search Google Images for “gladiolus rust.”<\/p>\n

\"Gladiolus<\/a><\/p>\n

This fungal infestation deserves some concern, but it might not appear in your garden. Unless and until it does, the need to divide your geophytes when they get crowded, or to add new plants to your garden, is a higher priority.<\/p>\n

When dividing geophytes, a garden fork is easier to use and less likely to damage the plant, compared to a garden spade. The task also is easiest when the soil is fairly dry and will fall away readily from the bulbs, corms or rhizomes.<\/p>\n

Separating bulbs and corms is relatively obvious, but separating iris rhizomes is more involved. With each season, the original rhizome produces new rhizomes, which grow out like a new generation. After three years (when dividing is needed), there will be a cluster of rhizomes, which each new generation growing out of the previous generation. Snap the rhizomes apart and discard the older generations. The youngest generation of rhizomes will produce new plants.<\/p>\n

\"Digging<\/a>

1. Dig the entire clump gently out of the ground with a spading fork or shovel.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Dividing<\/a>

3. Cut off the outer rhizomes. Discard old center portion without leaves. Cut out any signs of rot and dust with fungicide as a precaution.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Planting<\/a>

4. Plant each division as shown by pressing the rhizome into a mound in the planting hole, with the top of the rhizome almost at soil level. Fill in and firm the soil.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you thinking about dividing or planting bulbs now, in preparation for next spring? I must insert the obligatory reminder that we often use the term \u201cbulbs\u201d to refer to true bulbs, as well as corms, rhizomes and root tubers, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essays2012","category-summer-quarter","tag-cultivation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2WCVL-4H","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=291"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":405,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions\/405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}