Squirrels and Other Spring Bulb Myths

Myths about spring bulbs; when to plant, stop squirrels, why tulips don't come back, planting depth, planting in shade and 7 other myths.
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Squirrels and Other Myths About Spring Bulbs
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[@trevordickson8617]

Always great advice & info Robert. I could spend all day listening to a knowledgeable person talking about plants anyhow. I just reverse your seasonal advice for my garden in Australia. 👍

[@steph3118]

I love your common sense style! Thanks for debunking all the crazy myths.🙏 A lot of the gardening advice is just designed to get you to spend more money.

[@orionishi6737]

It does seem that way the more I learn .... Why everything gotta be a scam

[@jbhh79]

Plain, straight forward info. Thanks Robert. I'm a bid fan!

[@reneedevry4361]

I love Daffodils too but Fritillaria Imperialis are my favorite. I used to get preschoolers planting Daffodils then sing a little song "Grow grow grow" while dancing on the place where they planted. Then we would gather leaves with lots of whispers to hide them from the squirrels. Most years as soon as they went home, I would dig everything back up and plant correctly but I, like you, found on those years when I was too busy to do that, they bloomed just fine.❤ Older children (and their parents🤭) can often be lured into planting bulbs with a drill, bulb auger and face sheild. 😂😂😂

[@pancrazioaquilina7029]

Greetings from malta everything you said about bulbs makes sense thanks for your advice

[@darlenecarman7644]

Learning ,loads from you, sadly I just planted my bulbs with some bone meal :( tossing that bag away..

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

I'm struggling so much with this, I have a native plant garden so for me, my bulbs are both tiny, expensive and a lot of them are edible. I need to learn how to grow them from seed so I don't go broke 😭, maybe I should see if you have a bulbs from seed video! Thanks, this is really helpful.

[@Angie-ci1lp]

I totally agree with you! Deer destroyed my tulips now I will plant daffodils …no more using bone meal🤦🏽‍♀️

[@kathygericke8367]

What a great informative video!!! I love my tulips. 💞

[@lorrainedurgee1761]

Thanks I planted all my bulbs just like u said ..

[@sschul5886]

Thank you.

[@judymckerrow6720]

Thank you Mr. P. 🎃🍁💚🙃

[@stephenmckelvie2032]

I wish you had made this video earlier. I have a circle with a newly planted Philadelphus in it. I just planted three hundred crocus around it. Every day I find more holes, by spring, there won't be much left. Thank you for your info.

[@paulineanderson3985]

sprinkle bloodmeal on the soil, squirrels don't like it - find it at canadian tire, CIL about $10/bag.

[@sueob1392]

Chicken wire works well for me in protecting tulips. I think last year I made the mistake of securing the wire on the surface of the soil...the tulips grew through it but were scraped as they did so. This year I will bury the wire and see if this works any better.

[@ron623tt]

I plant Amaryllis Belladonna bulbs in rows 8 inches apart. The bulb leaves cover the soil during most of winter and spring to prevent almost all weed growth. The leaves shrivel up in May leaving the ground bare. The deer won't touch them and they require almost no maintence. They can be used to reduce the risk during fire season. No mulching or rototelling required. The bulbs multiply over the years. Some of my bulbs are decades old. Not sure why more people don't do this to reduce pulling weeds.

[@kimberleybarker5487]

About a month ago planted some bulbs in a big pot i was planting up with some baby shrubs- the idea being they would come up around the shrubs in spring- well, one or two have apparently decided it's Spring already! It was 1C this morning though so i don't fancy their tiny little chances 😢

[@AndrewOudin]

I try to mulch with rocks as much as I can, in large part because it stops my squirrels from digging in my beds. I also discovered that fox squirrels are attracted to ammonia in soil, and denatonium aka stop-chewing bitter spray will stop them digging with no apparent harm to plants.

[@AndrewOudin]

I also find that many plants seem to establish and grow better when their roots grow around and under rocks. Gravel is okay but I'm mostly talking about 3"+ rocks and small boulders. I have forest gardens, cactus beds, perennial beds, and a meadow garden. Rocks seem very beneficial in all except the prairie/meadow, where rocks are neutral.

[@zhangruyi3153]

Do you have to feed daffodils or any other bulbs? AND when do you feed the bulbs?

[@fredhubbard7210]

Everything leaves daffodils alone? But for say Merodon equestris. for that, I avoid mid-season bulbs especially those cheap King Alfred. I love the Darwin tulips... but they also ran out of vigour. Is there another trick?

[@mortimersnead5821]

I ordered black tulips. At least they looked dark dark blue on the website. They were mauve irl.

[@franceshoward7112]

Really interesting. I have some large beds of mostly tulips but after their 6 weeks or so of blooming go dormant for the summer and then I am left with a big empty bed which I often sow with annuals, not very successfully. Have you any tips on how to deal with bulb beds for the summer? After flowering they are all dying foliage and the weeds creep in. I couldn't face digging them all up. It's a puzzle. Thanks.

[@kajsan760]

Maybe you can find some other perennial or self sowing plant that dies back in winter and comes up again when the tulips die back. My plan is to try that with red clover.

[@Bons_Eye]

Hmm....I'd try something like Sedum, Hostas, Lavender, Salvia, Echinacea. Go with plants that when mature become drought tolerant/need less watering. Make sure your soil drains well where the bulbs are so that they are not sitting in overly moist soil or they'll rot. Mulch will help reduce watering but keep in mind that when you put mulch down you have to water more than you think. Water has to soak through all the mulch before it reaches the soil. I've made it a habit to pull away an area of mulch after I've watered in order to check if the soil is wet.

[@robertknapp9545]

Last year I took in my Calla Lillie bulbs and then replanted them outdoors this spring. I had an amazing growth of foliage but only one blossom. Someone suggested that I did not plant the bulbs deep enough. Could that be the problem? Thanks I appreciate any input you can give me.

[@gferraro8353]

A Squirrel found a taste for my tomatoes. I would see him in a tree eating my ripe tomato. Every day more and more gone. Tried covering and somehow it still got them. Husband is going to build a cage with chicken wire. Did not get 1 tomato this year!!! Ughh

[@petersoos498]

Go to google images and look up 'fruit cage' for ideas. Mine is 9' x25'. keeps my veggies pretty safe. Happy Gardening.

[@deniecedonnafield5264]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@gferraro8353]

I tried to restore my mothers beds , after years of a nephew trying to kill everything in them ! Omg ! Weed killer ,tarps. My poor mother so many plants her and my dad planted. Many coming back. Found so many bulbs turning soil over every shovel full /separated and replanted. Brought some home to plant.

[@Alex_Plante]

I managed to grow daffodils under my 75-year old spruces.

[@CassTyson]

It’s not the squirrels in my garden, it’s the dang moles! They burrow underground and eat most of my bulbs before spring. Except daffodils, as you say, they multiply and must be thinned every few years. I thought it was just me and the moles making the tulips not come back a second year, it’s good to know it’s actually the inbreeding. Guess I’ll try again and lower my expectations for year two. Thanks for your channel and videos. Big fan!

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

The Garden Ecology lab at my local university was doing a study with a native bulb that grows here called camas. Gophers stole their *whole* crop. It's crazy. Actually native Americans used to raid gopher caches to collect bulbs (they're edible). We probably have moles too? Ugh man 😢

[@cassieoz1702]

Here, we dont have squirrels to damage the the bulbs BUT once theyre up and starting to flower, cockatoos bite them off at ground level and leave them lying there. I hate parrots

[@bluewolf4915]

Don't care much about the squirrels, What do I do about the feral cats using my garden as a giant litterbox? 😡🙀

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

I had to start mulching with dead blackberry canes to get them to stop pooping in my raised bed. It's a pain in the butt though because I end up getting poked a lot by the thorns myself.

[@JJLom777]

Oh! I hate that! Another person made an okay point. Chestnut hulls work even better. But, I found a less painful way of doing it. But some "fake turf." Get the cheap kind that is rather pokey. Cut it to fit your garden. The cats will get annoyed quickly and move on. Then, you can remove the carpet and save it, or use it elsewhere. Best, JJ

[@daizeedee1202]

Hi Gardening Myths..with such a broad based caption one would think you will include gardeners living in the tropics. Everything seems to be western temperate climate based. My bad. Off I go looking for expertise on growing tropical floral and fauna in tropical climates..not tweaking them for 'seasonal' cultivation...in temperate climates.