Worth noting is that the easterpet Easter
Morn was still in full, glorious bloom at the
beginning of October 2002 when it froze hard enough
to turn flowers and leaves to mush. I fully expected
them NOT to emerge this spring due to this fact, but
they came beautifully and even showed signs of increasing
at the base of many stems. Now I intend to plant a very
large stand of easterpets near my new veranda so I can
enjoy the heavenly fragrance of these beauties every
evening when they are in bloom, without fear of losing
them to harsh winters!
In spring 2002 I had also planted about 50 Star
Gazer bulbs at the base of a spruce tree in
a relatively open spot to the north wind. They were
planted 12 inches deep and watered when necessary through
their first summer. They emerged from the ground rather
late and were blooming by late September 2002. Spring
of 2003 saw the majority of these bulbs sprout up and
bloom by late August, despite the fact that they once
again emerged very late (my fault, I didn't remove the
mulch till end of May). Now to see if they will actually
thrive and maybe even multiply in future years!
Truth be told, it is highly recommended to remove mulches
in early spring, prior to stems sprouting so that they
emerge on schedule (mulched ground unthaws slower than
unmulched areas) and then you don't risk them freezing
in fall before they get the chance to bloom. Because
of my heavy work schedule in spring, it's near impossible
for me to find the time to remove mulch from the gardens.
We had a few late frosts this past spring, and damage
was evident on flowers in every area except the mulched
areas, which escaped damage as they sprouted up a full
2 weeks after the lilies in unmulched areas did. Despite
late emergence, the orienpets, easterpets and asiapets
planted in the ground all bloomed on schedule. Further
trials will show whether they too can not only survive,
but thrive here in our zone 3 gardens.
Another worthy point is in regards to size of
planted bulbs and the relevance of size to hardiness.
Now I know for sure that with many perennials, trees
and shrubs that are borderline hardy in our area, better
success is gained by planting smaller, immature specimens
and allowing them to grow into their location, rather
than plopping a fully or almost mature plant in the
ground and expecting it to adapt without trouble. I
am now wondering if the same might apply to lilies,
as I planted a row of Northern
Star bulblets (most no bigger than 1/4 inch
across) in one garden, without any mulch applied. This
particular spot is at the high end of a sloped north
garden edge, thus it is usually quite exposed in winter
as the snow is blown away. To my delight, every one
of the bulblets sprouted and grew this spring! You can
be sure I will be experimenting with this further in
the future.
This fall (2003) a number of Dick
Bazett's registered and unregistered orienpets,
as well as his registered trumpet/asiatic cross Golden
Surprise, was planted for evaluation (and subsequent
propagation if hardiness trials prove successful). Despite
my advice to only plant these varieties in spring on
the prairies, I planted these in fall as this was the
time Mr. Bazett had
them available. They were planted deep (8-12 inches,
depending on bulb size), and immediate snow after planting
ensured a warm, 6 inch blanket of protection. I'll be
sure to let you know how things
turned out in spring 2004!
