Ask John Negus
John has been answering reader queries for 50 years
How do I plant and care for these bulbs?
Q I recently bought some bulbs and I’m wondering how to grow them, what time of the year I should be planting them and what their aftercare is as the Internet says different things? The bulbs are as follows: Polianthes tuberosa ‘Pearl’, Ismene festalis, Bessera elegans, Scadoxis multiflorus, Amarcrinum howardii, Chasmanthe duckittii, Crinum powelli alba, Proiphys amboinicum.
Christine Feltham, via email
A What a wonderful choice of bulbs! Here is my advice:
Polianthes tuberosa: Plant bulbs in March, to three times their depth, in John Innes No2. Grow them in a warm greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. Start watering when leaves appear. Interestingly, enthusiasts who are passionate about this plant recommend buying fresh bulbs each year.
Ismene festalis (Hymenocallis festalis): Plant in March, setting one bulb in a 5in (13cm) pot of compost. Blooms are borne on 18in (45cm) stems and each flower can be 4-6in (10-15cm) across. Grow in a warm, sunny room or greenhouse. Stop watering when leaves wither in autumn, re-pot in spring.
Set the corms to three times their depth in well-drained soil in spring in a sheltered part of the garden, close to a south or west-facing wall,
