Chris: I have bought some Mirabilis bulbs for my front garden. Do I plant them with the pointed end down? The pointed end has what looks like a tail sticking out of it. Google is not a lot of help. Taa.
- posted
9 years ago
Chris: I have bought some Mirabilis bulbs for my front garden. Do I plant them with the pointed end down? The pointed end has what looks like a tail sticking out of it. Google is not a lot of help. Taa.
Pointed end down, like a carrot or parsnip. See
If ever you're in any doubt as to which way up to plant a tuber or bulb, plant it on it's side. It will know which way to grow.
PS: It's Hogg with two g's BTW!
Ahhh, thanks. I did plant some spring flowering bulbs on their side a while ago. A million apologies for spelling your name wrong :-)
Up I'd say. Brian
Not sure about that bit.
I did this with some Daffodils when i was a young un, and only one came up. Brian
Seems its down. I also once planted daffodil bulbs with the pointed end down; nothing happened. I won't mention the watering of weeds. Mr Hogg is The Man!
I don't think they are bulb - but some form of tuber. We have had some grow fine when planted "sideways" and, I suspect, some were upside down.
Yes, they are tuber. My mistake. There is only 3 of these bulbs er, tubers in a packet. Do they propagate? I think that means spread out or something.
To some extent, yes. And they can grow from modest size we buy to a kilogram or more.
The tuber gets bigger over the years and extra tubers grow from the original, a bit like a dahlia, assuming it survives winter frosts (they're not totally hardy). Some recommend lifting it in the autumn and storing in a frost-free place, again rather like a dahlia tuber. Propagation is most easily done by sowing seed. Older plants can be lifted in the Spring and the tubers divided up. See
I have some other sort of bulbs dug up from last year in long plastic troughs in my garage. These troughs are gonna be put in the garden when it gets warmer. You said that this was okay a few months ago. There seem to be little toadstools growing in the troughs. Do I just leave them be?
The toadstools are the fruiting bodies of a fungus growing in the soil. In themselves they will do no harm, but you can pick them off and throw them away if you like. Wash your hands after, just to be on the safe side.
Taa, I may as well just leave them alone. I put a little water on the soil this morning. The soil seemed to be damp but I've not watered it for ages.
Sounds good. Alliums, IIRC. Just very slightly damp is what's needed to keep them from drying out but not so damp they rot.
10/10 for remembering the names. I was too lazy to go out to the garage to check the old bulb packets.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.