What to do with Easter flowers?

If you're like me, you can't bear to throw a plant away if it could possibly survive in the garden. 

I love having hyacinths in the house because their perfume is so amazing.  But these will be better off in the compost bin than the garden. 

The bare bulbs you can purchase for planting are borderline hardy in Calgary, but the plants often don't survive and if they do, they are so top-heavy that they need delicate staking - not exactly low maintenance. 

The bulbs you buy already planted and flowering have been fertilized and forced to the max, and they have expended so much energy they'll never flower again even if they do survive.

  Dafffodils also lift my spirits in spring, and most varieties can be planted in the garden once the ground is workable.  Again, store-bought daffodils have probably been fertilized to the max and they may not flower next year.  But daffodils naturalize (multiply) easily and they will come back year after year - and probably flower again in another year after they have recovered from being forced.  They're worth the effort to try, I think.

One problem with daffodils is that you have to wait for the leaves to die down after they finish flowering.  I hide their dying leaves by planting them around perennials that will grow quickly and cover them up as they wither away.

Easter lilies can also be planted in Calgary gardens once the soil has warmed.  They will come back reliably and flower most years.  Plant in a warm, sunny spot for best blooms.

Comments

[Amy]

I have three pots of forced tete a tete daffodils that I used for Easter centerpieces. I was reading the "how to care for this plant" label and just about fell off my chair when I read, "after blooming, pinch off the leaves and save the bulbs to plant in your garden." Anyone who follows that advice most definitely won't be seeing daffodils next year!

I've had mixed success with planting previously forced bulbs - now I finally understand why. I didn't realise they were treated so harshly. Thanks for the explantion :)