The weather thread has reached the end of its natural life at 40 pages here . Maybe, now that the Spring seems to have sprung and the grass is riz, it's the right time for a new beginnings.

Anyone else out there getting high on the sounds of the dawn chorus of late?

The problem wih the daffs, it could be the use of fertiliser that is the problem, too much nitrogen and there'll be leaves but poor, or no, flowering. They shouldn't need to be divided, certainly not so soon, I've never had the problem anyway...

No general fertiliser used there, toxic. I don't quite get it myself.

Hmmmm.

The land here is quite heavy - this site was once a part of a big paddock so it would have been fertilised in the past for grass but not since we moved in five ish years ago.

this is from http://daffodilusa.org/daffodils/blooming.html

Quote :

Unfortunately, there are numerous
reasons why daffodils might not bloom!
Here's a check list for you to look at. Check and see if anything fits your situation:

1. Bulbs have not been 'fed' in a couple of years (a broadcast of 5-10-10 granules at
planting, when leaves emerge, and again at bloom is a reasonable feeding schedule.)

2. Feeding has been with a high-nitrogen fertilizer. (This encourages production of
leaves, but seems to quell the plant's need for flowers.)

3. Bulbs are planted in a shady area. (Daffodils need an half-day of sun at least to
produce flowers. If planted in partial sun, longer.)

4. Bulbs are in competition for food with other plants. (Planting under evergreen trees or
with other fast-growing plants limits the food they can get. Result: weak plants and no
flowers.)

5. Bulbs are planted in an area with poor drainage. (Daffodils love water but must have
good drainage. They do not do well where the water puddles. There, they are weakened
by "basal rot" fungus or other evils and die out. Plants infected with
basal rot have green color loss on the leaves, malformed leaves, stems, and flowers - or
all. Basal rot is incurable - dig and discard the bulbs.)

6. Plant leaves were cut too soon or tied off the previous year. (Daffodils replenish
their bulb for about six weeks after they bloom. The bulbs should be watered for about
this long after blooming. The leaves should not be cut off or blocked from sun until they
start to lose their green and turn yellow. This signifies the completion of the bulb
rebuilding process.)

7. Bulbs may be stressed from transplanting. (Some varieties seem to skip a year of
blooming if dug and replanted in a different environment. Some varieties bought from a
grower in one climate may have a difficult period of adjustment to a vastly different
climate. They may bloom the first year off the previous year's bulb, but then be unable to
adequately build a flower for the following year.)

8. Some naturalized varieties growing well in one region do not grow well in regions with
different climate. (The wild jonquils proliferating and blooming in the Southeastern USA
do not flower if moved to the north.)

9. The bulbs may be virused. (Many plant viruses attack daffodils. Over time, an infected
plant loses its vigor, puts up smaller, weakened leaves and stems, stops blooming, and
finally dies. The most common viruses are "yellow stripe" and
"mosaic". Yellow stripe shows as fine streaks of yellow the length of the
leaves. It appears as the leaves emerge. The plant is weakened by the second year. Mosaic
only appears as white blotches on the yellow flowers where the petals lose their color.
Plant vigor seems unaffected. Both these diseases are contagious to other daffodils and
incurable. Dig and throw away the bulbs.)

10. Growing conditions the previous Spring may have been inhospitable - the reformation of
the bulb was affected. (An early heat wave may have shut down bulb rebuilding before it
was complete. The bulbs may have be grown in a smallish pot without adequate feeding or
protection from heat and cold.)

11. Bulbs may be diseased or stressed from shipping the Summer before. (retail bulbs
typically remain in closed crates for a lengthy period of time during shipping. These
humid conditions are near-perfect for the proliferation of fungus diseases such as
"basal rot" (fusarium). Some bulbs are infected at the time you receive them.
Never buy or plant a "soft" bulb. Cut any observed rotting spots on a solid bulb
back to clean tissue and soak the bulb in a systemic fungicide such as Clearys 3336 before
planting. Look at the ADS bulb sources for reputable
retailers.)

12. Bulbs may have been growing in the same spot for many years and
need dividing. (Daffodil bulbs normally divide every year or two. This can result in
clumps of bulbs that are competing for food and space. Commonly bulbs in compacted
clumps cease blooming. Dig the bulbs when the foliage has yellowed. Separate them
into individual bulbs and replant them about 6" apart and about 6" deep.
You may replant immediately after lifting, or you may dry the bulbs in the shade, store
them in mesh bags, and replant the bulbs in the Fall. If you replant immediately -
do not water them until the Fall.)

13. Bulbs may be out to get you! (The case when you give them away in frustration
and they bloom wildly for the new recipients.

Thanks toxic. If I don't find the answer in there, it's not to be found, I guess!!

There were beautiful bulbs there. There's a place outside Tullamore called Beechill Bulbs which specialises in daffodils and gorgeous varieties, double-headed, fragrant, white ones, have-them-from-February-to-June bulbs and I bought lots of them there in the autumn before we moved in here. In spring, when we were painting and everything looked a mess, we had the pleasure of the colour and springiness they brought to a pretty desolate site.

All will be well.

Is it too late to prune a tree?

Auditor #9 wrote:

Is it too late to prune a tree?

Not at all, you're grand for a while yet.

Well, a productive day: 3 rhubarb plants, 2 hazel bushes and 3 raspberry canes and one blackberry bush planted. The garlic (full moon planted) is growing well. Chased the chickens off the crocuses about six times - any suggestions anyone?

Also, sold first half dozen eggs. The money is going to pay the mortgage on the hen house.

cactus flower wrote:

Well, a productive day: 3 rhubarb plants, 2 hazel bushes and 3 raspberry canes and one blackberry bush planted. The garlic (full moon planted) is growing well. Chased the chickens off the crocuses about six times - any suggestions anyone?

Also, sold first half dozen eggs. The money is going to pay the mortgage on the hen house.

You could try putting cat droppings around the crocuses...

toxic avenger wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Well, a productive day: 3 rhubarb plants, 2 hazel bushes and 3 raspberry canes and one blackberry bush planted. The garlic (full moon planted) is growing well. Chased the chickens off the crocuses about six times - any suggestions anyone?

Also, sold first half dozen eggs. The money is going to pay the mortgage on the hen house.

You could try putting cat droppings around the crocuses...

I think I'll leave that job to the cat...

I also had a wonderfully productive day - and the pleasure of being out in very warm and pleasant weather, listening to the rams grumbling and the birds twittering a little inanely. It seems they had a lot to catch up on.

Three rhubarb and three raspberry canes went into the ground here too - I bought them spectacularly cheaply at my local (very good) garden centre where they were being potted. Buying them bare-root made them really good value so I've a few more Autumn raspberries in a bucket to plant when I get the ground ready.

I found the daffodils - it's very strange. They're no taller than four or five inches and the buds are bursting on many of them. Normally I can see them very clearly but only when I went out to investigate this afternoon did I find the midgets. Also found some more damage to fruit trees done by the bull when he and his lady friends broke in the summer. I didn't see the damage so clearly then when there was so much growth and greenery. One cherry tree is in a bad way and will probably have to be moved to a more discrete site and an apple tree that has provided lashings of fruit over the last couple of years has been badly battered.

Apparently we have a cat - I didn't know but the fat feline I've been complaining about and who I think has been piddling on my artichokes and rotting them, has adopted us. I'll be sending her back to the orphanage when I catch her... I haven't been in the garden for a long time and there are many surprises. Everything (apart from the unfortunate artichokes) is in bud.

I also did some scavenging on the farmyard and picked up a few nice things to use later on in the year - a pile of mesh that will support sweetpea beside the oiltank, an old tin bath that might make a nice water feature near the garden door and a four foot chunk of railway sleeper that will find a spot for itself near the pond. Husband is doing a huge clear out of things that have been in lofts and sheds and behind sheds for years and there is much to be resourceful with when he's looking the other way...

I did very little. I did spend yesterday planting two rose bushes and a potentilla fruticosa, plus deadheading the primroses and cyclamen. My major issue to sort now is to try and deal with the montbretia/crocosmia that the previous owners planted in the front garden, the stuff is the most invasive pain in the backside, there are millions of the little corms everywhere in the soil. Word of advice to everyone. Do not, under any circumstances, plant crocosmia x crocosmiflora in your garden, unless you are very sure that it can be completely contained by barriers. They might look great in flower, but I hate the little baxtards...

Did the weather thread split? A fiddlesticks. It's annoying the way that forumakers limit threads to 40 pages in length. It's discrimination I tells ya!

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Did the weather thread split? A fiddlesticks. It's annoying the way that forumakers limit threads to 40 pages in length. It's discrimination I tells ya!

It was pruned.

Snow in the Sally Gap!

Coming in like a lion

- why is Spring called Spring ?




(from the Stargazers site)

Very wet in Dublin today. It was lashing around about 4 o'clock. We're in store for more over the next few days as well.

It's glorious in dun laoghaire where I'm sitting by the pier right beside where that pic in my avatar was taken. The water is sloshing against the rocks, it's breezy and cool - all the better for teddy's icecream. The sky is blue, the sun shining and the seagulls bobbing like rubber duckies on the calm waters.

I got an unexpected half day today and seized the wonderful moment to find the sea, the sea.

All is well in the world.

Lucky you Kate P. The sea is unbeatable.

Its beautiful here too.

Yesterday we had a fine dense hail shower that looked like white rain. Anyone else get that?

Kate P wrote:

It's glorious in dun laoghaire where I'm sitting by the pier right beside where that pic in my avatar was taken. The water is sloshing against the rocks, it's breezy and cool - all the better for teddy's icecream. The sky is blue, the sun shining and the seagulls bobbing like rubber duckies on the calm waters.

I got an unexpected half day today and seized the wonderful moment to find the sea, the sea.

All is well in the world.

There is something about the expanse of the sea, there's nothing quite like it for relieving tensions.

Glad to hear you are out in Dun Laoghaire having a nice day. No place in Dublin better on a nice day.

Wouldn't be a fan of my home facing the sea though, it is all well and good on nice days but it is dire when the weather is bad.

That said, I might not get a whole lot of choice if I stick with the girlfriend given that she wants to join the RNLI .

Driving sleet and no end to winter here. This place has understandably a lot of winter sports enthusiasts who seem to be a tad more oafish that other sports heads, littering trains with the oversized detritus of their hobby.

Roll on 14 degrees and steady drizzle. My kind of homesickness.

johnfás wrote:

Glad to hear you are out in Dun Laoghaire having a nice day. No place in Dublin better on a nice day.

Wouldn't be a fan of my home facing the sea though, it is all well and good on nice days but it is dire when the weather is bad.

That said, I might not get a whole lot of choice if I stick with the girlfriend given that she wants to join the RNLI .

Ah jaysus John between that and the cats maybe you need to rethink your situation. You're right about being beside the sea and bad weather. It's the rare day the wind doesn't make sitting out impossible when you live by the sea but then again the beauty and the walks make up for it. I love it.

Slim Buddha wrote:

Driving sleet and no end to winter here. This place has understandably a lot of winter sports enthusiasts who seem to be a tad more oafish that other sports heads, littering trains with the oversized detritus of their hobby.

Roll on 14 degrees and steady drizzle. My kind of homesickness.

We've had all the seasons in the last week - snow the day before yesterday, hot sun (in bursts) yesterday, peeling winter cold, autumnal moons and spring growth...

It's a bitterly cold night here, clear and beautiful as Yeats' embroidered cloths.

imokyrok wrote:

johnfás wrote:

Glad to hear you are out in Dun Laoghaire having a nice day. No place in Dublin better on a nice day.

Wouldn't be a fan of my home facing the sea though, it is all well and good on nice days but it is dire when the weather is bad.

That said, I might not get a whole lot of choice if I stick with the girlfriend given that she wants to join the RNLI .

Ah jaysus John between that and the cats maybe you need to rethink your situation. You're right about being beside the sea and bad weather. It's the rare day the wind doesn't make sitting out impossible when you live by the sea but then again the beauty and the walks make up for it. I love it.

Yup, she's a wild one...

johnfás wrote:

imokyrok wrote:

johnfás wrote:

Glad to hear you are out in Dun Laoghaire having a nice day. No place in Dublin better on a nice day.

Wouldn't be a fan of my home facing the sea though, it is all well and good on nice days but it is dire when the weather is bad.

That said, I might not get a whole lot of choice if I stick with the girlfriend given that she wants to join the RNLI .

Ah jaysus John between that and the cats maybe you need to rethink your situation. You're right about being beside the sea and bad weather. It's the rare day the wind doesn't make sitting out impossible when you live by the sea but then again the beauty and the walks make up for it. I love it.

Yup, she's a wild one...

RNLI? As in a hands-on role rather than, a la Donegal Catch, one of those office girls who say hello? I'd stick with her, she sounds exciting.