In the garden

Saturday, June 22, 2013

QI bought 200 tulip and hyacinth bulbs last year while in Amsterdam. They were beautiful this year, but I get conflictinginformation about whether they bloom more than once. One family member says hers have blooms many years in a row. Others say they don’t. After seeing your recent Q and A, it sounds like they “may” bloom again, but maybe not and they won’t be as beautiful asthis year. Can you clear this up for me?

AYour hyacinth bulbs should be fine, but do remember to fertilize each year, or the flower head will begin to get smaller. Tulip varieties vary in how well they come back in consecutive years.

Unfortunately, mosttulip blooms are smaller in subsequent years. This has to do with several factors. First, tulips are one of the latest-blooming spring bulbs,and the temperatures often increase during their six weeks of “green” growth following bloom. This can cause them to go dormant too quickly and thus result in smaller flowers. Secondly, we often don’t plant our bulbs deep enough. Since tulipsdon’t replenish the mother bulb, but instead set new ones, shallow planting encouragesthe production of multiple small bulbs instead of one large one, again resulting in fewer or smaller blooms.

You bought and planted them; they are in the ground now; so just be patient and wait and see what happens next year. Then you can decide if you need to buy more bulbs for the next spring.

QI have a concern about some older established mulberry trees in my parents’ yard. They are not the kind that makes berries.

My parents always prune them in the spring as they did this year. Sadly, this year they look like large broccoli stalks, and the bunch of leaves close to the top of the tree are all curled up. They look so strange. What is wrong with them? Coincidentally, I live about a half mile from them, and the two mulberry trees in my yard are OK.

AHas anyone sprayed any herbicides nearby? It sounds likethat could be the culprit.

I would continue to water and see whether the plants recover. You can also take a sample along with pictures into your county’s office of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

QI have a beautiful gardenia bush that is loaded with flowers.

With all the rain and cool weather we have had, the bush has nearly doubled in size. It’s taking over my sidewalk. Can I trim it and when is the right time?

AGardenias can be pruned, but you need to do so as soon as the main flush of blooms is gone. Gardenias bloom in early summer but set flower buds in the fall, along with azaleas and dogwoods. They are loaded with flowers this year and smell heavenly, and if you want a repeat of blooms, you need to prune as soon as the flowers are gone.

Even though many gardenias often have another set of flowers later in the season, you should forgo thoseif pruning is needed. Try not to remove more than one third of the plant when pruning.

QThis is the second year that my peonies haven’t bloomed. They make nice bushes but no blooms, and they have always bloomed so beautifully in the past. Any suggestions?

AHave you moved or divided them, or are they getting more shade?

They also do not like competition from other plants.

Typically these conditions can limit flowering. Peonies can be finicky and if planted too deep won’t bloom.

If you transplant or divide peonies, they may take a couple of years off before beginning to bloom again.

Plant them in full sun, shallowly; water and fertilize, and they should reward you with flowers every year.

Janet Carson is a horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Write to her at 2301 S. University Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72204 or e-mail her at

[email protected]

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