i Display Garden Ablaze
j; (Continued from Pago B 2)
needed in the operation so they
now hybridize on the 10 acres
they have left. The name has
changed from the Daffodil
Mfert to Brent and Becky
Heath's Display Garden.
' Now they do a lot of educa
tional things such as Brent's
travels to 40 different cities last
year speaking to groups about
tjie flower'and publishing a
Ijook, "Daffodils for American
Gardens,” written by Becky with
photographs by Brent. They are
currently working on a book
about tulips. Their fields also
abound in a blade of tulip colors.
■ "We're trialing bulbs here,
aew varieties all the time, and
Ire breed new varieties," Brent
aid.
\ They provide the following
tjips on planting daffodil bulbs:
1 •The best time to plant is in
the fall when the ground tem
perature is at or below 60
degrees F, usually around the
date of the first frost or when
trees begin to lose their leaves.
•To measure the soil temper
ature, dig a hole 8 inches deep in
your garden area, insert a soil
thermometer or a standard room
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thermometer upright in the
earth and wait five minutes.
•Plant the bulbs at a depth of
6 to 8 inches.
•If it's February or March
and you still haven't planted
your bulbs, plant them as soon
as possible provided that the
bulbs are still firm. Flowers
from late-planted bulbs, if they
don't abort, will bloom later
than normal and will have
shorter stems, although the bulb
will catch up in a year or two.
•Don't expect to store your
old bulbs to keep until the fol
lowing fall. No bulb is engi
neered to stay out of the ground
that long. They will dry out.
Where to plant:
•In the wild, many species
Narcissus prefer the sloping
habitats of hillsides or moun
tains, where natural drainage is
excellent, because daffodil
hybrids include an inheritance
of characteristics from species
Narcissus, bulbs perform better
when planted in elevated areas.
If you don't have an elevated
area, create berms or raised
beds.
•When choosing your garden
site, keep in mind that most daf-
■HUME
fodils prefer full sun, but most
will tolerate half shade, whether
as filtered light all day long or as
hours of shade before or after
hours of sunshine. If your gar
den will be near a shade tree,
notice how much sunlight filters
through the leaves. There
should be at least half a day of
sunshine available for your flow
ers.
•If you have limited time or
funds, you can begin a bulb gar
den as just a small border or
edge planting. Expand your bor
der a little more every year.
•The moisture needs of daf
fodil bulbs are heavy and critical
during the spring growing sea
son, virtually nonexistent dur
ing summer dormancy, light and
steady during fall root initiation,
and light throughout the winter.
•The simplest and best bulb
fertilizer is good soil rich in
humus and other organic mat
ter. Supplemental minerals and
nutritional elements, applied
periodically, can help keep
clumps of bulbs blooming indefi
nitely.
This year tours were held at
the Heath's farm from March 17
to April 15, but by the first week
' mm -m '
m Bniiion m
i-mummim mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmm •
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T BRS RO-CROP CULTIVATORS "1
4-6-8 ROWS
The Bullion "S" tine cultivator (model BRS) with four
way tooth movement is designed for high speed
cultivation, especially in conjunction with chemical
weed control. The "S" tines also mulch the soil and
level the ground for easier harvesting
r FLAT FOLD CULTIVATORS
6-8-12 ROWS
BSFF or BHFF flat fold cultivators. Base machine
includes s”x7”xl/4 folding tool bar on 640 or 830 sizes
and 3/8” on center sections on 840 and 1230 sizes with
Jiitch for capacity II or 111.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 25, 1998-B3
in April, the daffodils were well
over their peak. Brent said El
Nino had accounted for the flow
ers reaching top performance
gi jgt ->ecky has written “Daffodil* for American
Gardens,” which includes photographs by Brent Together
they are working on a book about tulips and both are hi
demand as lecturers. In addition to flower photography,
Brent has a weekly gardening television program.
two weeks ahead of schedule.
Tb check on the 1999 tour
schedule or to set up a private
tour contact Becky or Brent at 1-
804-693-3966.
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Lehigh Ag Equipment
BECHTELSVILLE
Miller Equip. Co.
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Gutshatls Inc.
CENTRE HALL
Dunkle & Grieb, Inc.
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Hines Equipment, Inc.
DOVER
George N. Gross, Inc.
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Geo. V. Seiple
ELIZABETHTOWN
Messick Farm Equipment Co.
INTERCOURSE
C.B. Hoober & Son
GREENCASTLE
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Guts hall’s, Inc.
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Peoples Sales & Service
OLEY
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Deerfield Ag & Turf Center, Inc.
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