Freeze-thaw periods causing bulbs to be pushed up

Q: While out inspecting the bed where I planted lots of tulips and several daffodils, I noticed a lot of the bulbs were poking up out of the ground. The soil looks sort of cracked around the bulbs, too. What is going on? — N.B, Albuquerque

A: The phenomenon that you’ve described is known to me as heaving.

What happens is the bulbs are subjected to several freeze-thaw periods and the bulbs are pushed up by the movement in the soil as it freezes and in turn thaws. This past December was too delightfully temperate, and then we swung into some bitter cold in January, that could be the reason the bulbs are being pushed up out of the soil.

You should be able to gently push the bulbs back down so they get reburied — as long as the soil is well worked. Now, if you can’t do that or they resist, at least cover the bed with a stout 2-to-3-inch layer of finely milled compost.

Since you know where the bulbs are, consider impaling popsicle sticks near the bulbs so you can keep an eye out for them before spreading the compost. The compost will offer protection from the weather. It’ll also help the soil maintain an evenness of moisture, especially since you’ll be offering water to keep the area moist. No, not boggy or drowned soil, but for sure not dry in the least.

It could be that the soil you have planted in contains quite a bit of caliche that tends to dry out and doesn’t drain well once it’s offered water. That could be the reason you’re seeing that cracked look. The solution for that would be working a lot of soil amendments into the area. Milled compost, heat treated manure and even clean sand would be helpful to get a caliche-based bed into better shape. Working the amendments into the area now with the bulbs in the way could be tricky, so I’d wait until after they’ve flowered, dig them up, work the amendments in the bed, and then replant as you see fit.

One more reason the bulbs are working their way up could be they weren’t planted deep enough when you planted originally. Remember the rule of thumb is to plant most bulbs three times as deep as they are tall. For now, try pushing them down enough to get them covered by the garden soil or liberally spread a blanket of mulch to offer the protection they need.

Q: I have an older Christmas cactus that has never bloomed for me. I moved it during the holiday season to get it out of the way, so to speak, and sort of ignored it. Two weeks ago I moved it back to where it usually lives and wow, all of a sudden it’s growing several wee flower buds. Did I trigger it like I’ve heard you define getting Christmas cactus to come into bloom when I moved it, or is this a one-off occasion? — S.T., Albuquerque

A: How exciting for you! I’m gonna bet that it was the move that triggered the Christmas cactus into wanting to bloom for you.

Since it wasn’t as tended as it usually was before the move and perhaps the space it was moved into was darker each night, you did everything correctly without planning on it.

Now that it’s back into population, so to speak, you will want to water the cactus so it won’t be tempted to drop the buds. If you’ve ever grown succulents, then you should be familiar with the watering — often just not soaked to dripping wet soggy. In other words, you will not allow it to dry out while in flower.

Enjoy this unplanned happenstance and keep on Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Diggin’ In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.