Can I delay the bloom time of spring bulbs?

[thistlebloom]

I just heard from an out of town client that has ordered spring bulbs for me to plant at their house. They (the people) don't arrive there until June and she wants the bulbs to be blooming when she's there.

Does anybody have any thoughts or experience with delaying the bloom time?
I have a few ideas, but it would be nice if I could do it right the first time.

I thought of holding them until April(?) to plant, or planting them now and then when the ground freezes, cover the planted areas with mulch so it doesn't warm as fast as the surrounding areas. Ack! I need some help!

I think she's sending daffodils but I'm not positive. They should be there real soon.

 

[Nyboy]

Good luck don't you love when a client wants you to perform magic. I once told a lady my wand is out for repairs, sorry ts not going to happen.

 

[Smart Red]

Perhaps a bulb distributor could give you more practical advice. My only suggestions would be to plant in boxes now and after they've had time to set roots to store them in a freezer until spring -- again a bulb dealer could tell you how much time they need to sprout and flower. Then tear off the boxes and plant them, frozen soil and all, into her garden.

 

[catjac1975]

I just heard from an out of town client that has ordered spring bulbs for me to plant at their house. They (the people) don't arrive there until June and she wants the bulbs to be blooming when she's there.

Does anybody have any thoughts or experience with delaying the bloom time?
I have a few ideas, but it would be nice if I could do it right the first time.

I thought of holding them until April(?) to plant, or planting them now and then when the ground freezes, cover the planted areas with mulch so it doesn't warm as fast as the surrounding areas. Ack! I need some help!

I think she's sending daffodils but I'm not positive. They should be there real soon.

You need to select the bulb by bloom time for any accuracy.If you want to delay. Perhaps heap a lot of leaves on the beds and remove them late.

 

[digitS']

Cheerfulness daffodils are later, @thistlebloom .

They may bloom in June. I don't know why they aren't very, very popular. They have a delightful fragrance.

I would expect that heavy mulch over frozen ground should really slow emerging.

Shade. Is there are a way to prop up some plywood or something ... that sounds weird but if they aren't home to see it ...

Shade from a house only delays my bulbs a short while. Probably, the warmth of the house offsets some of that cool shade.

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

I'll make a note of Cheerfulness Steve. Thanks.
I let her do the picking because she is a new owner in a landscape I've been taking care of for 4 years, and I don't quite understand her parameters for flower color. She's confused me already. On our initial interview ( I needed to see their references ) I asked her what colors I should avoid and she said she had an aversion to orange. Asked about red, she said that was okay. Later in the summer she pointed out a hosta with a pale yellow border on the leaf and said she didn't like it because of the yellow. Oh, I replied, I thought it was orange you were opposed to. It's in the orange family she said.

This after I planted some containers that really pleased me with yellow calibrachoa, and a russet colored coleus that had some reddish orange hues.

Good idea @Smart Red, but there won't be room in any freezer around here for 300+ bulbs. I never thought about talking to a bulb grower.I'll look into that.

I think the heavy mulch along with shade as @digitS suggested might be the most do-able. Hopefully she has chosen later blooming bulbs. Deer resistant would also be helpful.

 

[digitS']

Here's something I found!

Daffodils in the Landscape (cultivars & bloom times), 2 page pdf

If you know a variety name, you can plug it into "daffseek" and find bloom times. Look at the bottom of the page for the link: http://daffodilusa.org/

Steve

 

[so lucky]

Wouldn't planting them deeper than normal retard the growth and bloom time?

 

[thistlebloom]

Wouldn't planting them deeper than normal retard the growth and bloom time?

Hmmmm...that's an interesting question. Another thing to look into.

 

[thistlebloom]

Here's something I found!

Daffodils in the Landscape (cultivars & bloom times), 2 page pdf

If you know a variety name, you can plug it into "daffseek" and find bloom times. Look at the bottom of the page for the link: http://daffodilusa.org/

Steve

That's a good tool, thanks again Steve!
One name she mentioned was Delnashaugh, which is listed as a late bloomer. I may be okay with that one by just mulching heavy after the ground freezes.

Once the bulbs arrive I'll have names and can do a search. I sure do appreciate all your help and ideas.