Tuber Rose Bulb

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

And this is the practice kept by our expert from long.

And this is a sentence I am allergic to.

We have no experts in this country We are LAKIR KAY FAKIR. What are the achievements of these so called experts (including the PHDs in Agriculture).
When I give an opinion it basically means this is how I do it, which again is related to my specific environment and requirement.

My inter action with international experts taught me that; when you ask a question, a pseudo-expert will give you an exact answer while a real expert will say, there are many schools of thought but personally I tend to agree with so and so.

When Allah created us He gave us batter brain, let us not put a lock on it.
Arif

[Muhammad Bilal]

And this is the practice kept by our expert from long.

And this is a sentence I am allergic to.

We have no experts in this country We are LAKIR KAY FAKIR. What are the achievements of these so called experts (including the PHDs in Agriculture).
When I give an opinion it basically means this is how I do it, which again is related to my specific environment and requirement.

My inter action with international experts taught me that; when you ask a question, a pseudo-expert will give you an exact answer while a real expert will say, there are many schools of thought but personally I tend to agree with so and so.

When Allah created us He gave us batter brain, let us not put a lock on it.
Arif

Ok Arif Khan Sahib I will be careful the next time
Really sorry this disheart u. I got from here, personal practical experience in gardening is more reliable than the taught in institutions. Also the cultural practices are adopted, the same time, may be different for the different climatic zones. I m still a learner and wish to make me well experience in this field as because this field is my profession and I love and feel satisfaction to help others, to deliver my knowledge to others. Hope I will learn a lot from ur practical experience. Needs ur guidance and correction to learn, Plz.
Thanks Arif Sahib.

[Farhan Ahmed]

@ M. Bilal.....You are doing a great job, of tending to queries and problem, something which we the moderators are failing, at the moment. Thanks and...also for a very humble attitude.

Way of tradition does have some wisdom in it, Generations have done it that way for a purpose, "because it was derived keeping in view all the available knowledge of the time and space". We would always curse our mali..without thinking what has he got to learn, except word of mouth.

[mikhurram]

I concur.

M. Bilal you are doing a great job that you are willing to spare time out of your schedule to help others which is commendable. Keep up the good work.

You have mentioned that Gladiolus are being planted in Quetta in April which is equivalent to March in Islamabad and these Gladiolus would most probably yield within 90-100 days meaning harvest around 1st week of July in Quetta when temperature are likely to hit 38'C which is likely to impact the quality of the blooms.

Likewise the Gladiolus planted in Quetta in June would be harvested around 1st week of September when temperature would be less hotter and the bloom quality likely to be better versus the yields attained in July.

Currently here in Lahore the temperature yesterday was 43''C and is already impacting the quality of the flowers like Lillium currently in bloom. All plants require watering on a daily basis. When the temperature is likely to hit 48'C at end of May here in the plains, some of the plants would requiring watering twice on a daily basis.

[Hamad]

by Hamad » April 30th, 2014, 12:18 am

And for glads this is not the right time to plant, recommend time is fall somewhere around December but if you have planted them then its all right as this is the only way to secure them for following season, I have also planted few in March just to complete their life cycle.
Now regarding fertiliser and all those difficult stuff , you dont need to worry about it coz these plants are very easy going and don't require any fuss,just leep your gardening simple except if something really require or if someone recommend something for special reason for a specific plant, for general purpose you may use bhall with organic fertilizer means manure and even if bhall is not available I use garden soil with some sand and manure or if compost is easily available then thats a bonus.
Hamad

Yes this is not the right time to Glads to which i agree but December is not only the ideal time as it can also be plant sequentially from Sept till February here in Punjab. I am also a bit mystified by your statement that
"it's all right if they have been planted now and and this is the only away to secure the for the following season."

Kindly elucidate as i feel the weather is too hot to plant them now and planting them now when they will be undergoing dormancy would not be ideal and is not the only way to secure them for the following season. Even if they are planted now the bulbs would probably survive and not all of them would bloom in winter or spring.

I was away for a while and when I came back I found this healthy discussion , Imran sb we know that bulbous plants have a life cycle to compete and as per text and my experience if you skip their cycle and try to keep them for longer, then there are more than 50% chances that your bulbs will not be viable for following season in some cases this could not be the cases but I m talking in general practice, so if you have skipped their growing time and try to keep them dormant for longer they wont survive and may not sprout in the following season, so the best way to keep them for the following season is late plantation and in this manner they will break their dormancy for a short time, may not perform and went into dormancy again, and you could enjoy them next season, this practice could be quite helpful coz a lot of bulbs are imported and the time they are available in EU market in our countries its late to plant them, again not in all cases and this practice is advocated by international Bulb Society.
and for due reason I planted my glads last month to secure them for the next season and once I planted my glads in August and they sprouted and survived but if I would not then they will get rotted or would not be viable for the next time.

M Bilal you are right, your practice is a bit different from us just coz of climate difference.
we all learn something every day and you are doing fantastic job keep it up .
Hamad

[mikhurram]

You are raising a different question as what to do with a pre-chilled imported bulb that arrives in a country where their planting season has passed and your view is that planting the bulb is the only way to ensure it’s survival in coming season.

In my view planting a pre-chilled spring season bulb when their season has passed should be avoided unless it's planted in a cold place like Murree or Chitral where the weather will be ideal for them especially if the summer season has started in the plains.

Reasoning being when these Pre-chilled bulbs are planted in a warm soil that starts getting hotter day by day would off-sett the chilling process and stress the bulbs as they will start sprouting before their intended time in an un-favourable environment (warm scorching weather with 50’C couple with high humidity especially during June, July & August) which would lead to rotting/fungal diseases. By the time the bulb has bloomed it’s energy has been depleted or consumed in formation of leaves and often the stems are too short with blooms too close to the ground. Also water logging becomes an annoying factor in the monsoon season.

Thus it’s better to wait for a few months and better to keep them chilled or keep them in a cool dry place and it’s important that the bulbs should not be kept in a refrigerator where apples or other fruits/ vegetables are also kept which emit ethylene gas that damages or kills the flower inside the bulbs.

Again the decision to chill or not to chill would vary from bulb e.g bulb like Louisiana Iris can be planted even if their season has passed. Some people and websites often argue that bulbs should left in the ground in their natural state as nature would have intended but these people fail to take into account our extreme climatic variations e.g winter temperature dropping to 0’C in December/January and shooting upto 50’C in the summers.

Even Zahrah Nasir got it wrong when she suggested once in one of her articles that Freesia’s should be left in the ground after their flowering period and they would naturalize but having tried this on two and three occasions I found that the mortality % rate was higher and merely 25% of the Freesia used to bounce back in the coming spring if left undisturbed even in a raised bed ground having good drainage.

Chances are greater that your gladiolus will manage to survive but not all of them would flower properly in coming spring as they have been subjected to stress. Thus i would suggest that you should experiment and deduce your conclusions based on those trials rather than ascribing to the views of so called experts in websites. With the passage of time you will able to gain more knowledge from your experiences and i can safely say that there is no substitute for experience.

The Untrapped Mind
The ''untrapped mind'' is open enough to see many possibilities,
humble enough to learn from anyone and anything,
forbearing enough to forgive all,
perceptive enough to see things as they really are,
and reasonable enough to judge their true value."

by Konosuke Matsushita (founder of Panasonic).

[Hamad]

Well I have explained and shared my veryvery first hand experience, and most of the bulbs frm EU dont require chilling as their climate is chill enough.
And not only me but few of our members those who participated in group purchase and tried to keep the bulbs dormant for few months and planned to plant them next season, all of them failed very badly to keep all types of bulbs, I have concluded after having many experiences.
Happy gardening
Hamad

[Muhammad Bilal]

Thanks to all but neither I think nor I m agree with Muhammad Arif Sahib personal statement "We have no experts in this country We are LAKIR KAY FAKIR". This statement is absolutely not true. we have our well skilled expert in every field of life. What we need to provide them a opportunity to work freely. "Lakir kay fakir" is a wrong thinking.

[Newgardener]

Dear All,AOA
After going through this interesting debate,I concluded that it was not the right time to plant glads in Isb but it might be ok in Quetta.Its my fault,I should have gone through this forum for the guidance instead of just hearing to shop keeper as they are only interested in selling their bulb.

Actually it is my first gardening season which was started about 15.02.2014 so a lot of wrong decision was made by me in excitement.(excitement without experience)

Thank you very much mikhurram Sb for your lovely advise
The ''untrapped mind'' is open enough to see many possibilities,
humble enough to learn from anyone and anything,
forbearing enough to forgive all,
perceptive enough to see things as they really are,
and reasonable enough to judge their true value."

by Konosuke Matsushita (founder of Panasonic).

Best Regards

[mikhurram]

by Muhammad Bilal » May 7th, 2014, 10:30 pm
Thanks to all but neither I think nor I m agree with Muhammad Arif Sahib personal statement "We have no experts in this country We are LAKIR KAY FAKIR". This statement is absolutely not true. we have our well skilled expert in every field of life. What we need to provide them a opportunity to work freely. "Lakir kay fakir" is a wrong thinking.

Bilal one may choose to agree or disagree with a statement but one shoudn't express it so vocally especially if a statement has been made by a elder figure in his 80's who is about the age of your grandfather. (I am assuming that you are in your early or late 20's). The correct approach is to reason and choosing the right words make a significant difference e.g you could have started your statement by saying that
"Sir with all due respect i beg to differ slightly with your statement reason being that we have well skilled expert in every field of life and what need is to provide them an opportunity to work freely."

What i gauged from Brig Sahib's statement was that our course of action should not be constrained or hindered by a mode of action simply because so called expert believes it so.

The last line which i have highlighted in bold was uncalled for and i wish you had omitted it and lastly i see a hint of satire in your new signature statement "Our experts are Lakir kay fakir" which previously had different wording like "Muhammad Bilal likes to learn."

I remember reading a statement given at the end of a book quite some time ago which made an impact. That statement was "There's nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so."