These photos were taken way back in December. Both the grape hyacinth and blue dutch iris bulbs were left in the ground after last year's blooming for the first time. 
Now, just as winter begins in December, they are undergoing a spurt of growth - poking their heads out of their beds. Not just sneeking a peek, - but judge for yourself! Will these plants survive the winter after the massive bust of green growth at this time of year? Will they even bloom when spring comes along? They were not fertilized in the fall, so what gives? Is this normal?
I haven't had much luck with Dutch iris, but grape hyacinth puts out lots of leaves every fall and blooms and increases every spring. Sometimes the foliage looks worse for the wear, but it survives.
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog this morning - nice to meet you!
My grape hyacinths also develop new foliage in the fall, just before frost, and survive a zone 3 winter with no problems. You wouldn't think that this is a good strategy for surviving a cold climate, but they are very hardy. I love their pretty blue blooms in the spring.
ReplyDeleteHi! The problem with reading blogs in the "pick" mode is that I don't normally do the extra click to read a blog in a separate tab in order to see other posts. I'm glad I picked a post of yours, then you sent me a message, and I came back to remember what post it was, and found other posts.
ReplyDeleteI love your pics here, and I leave my seed heads up over the winter, too. Liatris is one of my favorite plants.
Oh, and my grape hyacinths frequently send up leaves in the fall, too.
Thank you for your comments and reassurance about the hyacinths. I look at them every day to see if there are any small buds coming.
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