Please help Potting mix for bulb

[niyothi]

Hi all

I would Like to know what would be ideal potting mix for bulbs.I understand gladiolus, agapanthus and amaryllis thrive in any kind of soil they are not choosy . whereas other bulbs like freesia, Ixia, sparaxis are more choosy on the potting mix as per my experience . I would like to know what would be the ideal mix which rich and draining . My freesia ixia and sparaxis bulbs produced only leaves and then died and to my surprise even the bulb was not there . what could be the reason . this experience is making me hesitant to plant the rest of tubers and bulbs I have . I really cannot bear to see the same thing happened . kindly help me. My last disastrous potting mix was coco peat and soil .

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[Izhar]

Bulbs love to be in fast draining mixes like sand mixed with coco chunks, your region has high moisture in air... what was the time you planted your freesia, ixia and sparaxis??

I plant these bulbs in a mixture of garden soil with manure or compost in 3:1 ratio... they dont need fertilizers much..

Cocopeat retains moisture readily, if you plant bulbs in it then you dont have to water your plants 5-7 days after watering...

[niyothi]

I planted them in September izhar and still some of them left are turning yellow no much growth . is it that there's too much moisture that's causing rot? Also I did repot them once due to space constraints. could that be the cause for failure and rot?

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[niyothi]

Today I received these oriental lily bulbs today they are from Holland .Costed rs 50 per bulb all whites. Is the price reasonable ? Some have sprouts so I'm wondering if I need to refrigerate or plant directly?

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[niyothi]

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[Izhar]

Yes this is the moisture which is rotting them... use plain fast draining soil with few coconut chunks for bulbs... I see that Mangalore remains warm throughout the year.. only June-July are milder... do the plant nurseries carry the flowering plants of lilies or other bulbs??

[niyothi]

No here they don't have any lilies or any bulbs very rarely Asiatics come in Oct. But ppl here do not have any knowledge on bulbs . they only grow their hiibiscus, marigolds, gazania, bougainvillea, mussanda, Jasmine,roses etc . all boring stuff I have been seeing for years now

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[niyothi]

Yes it's hot as well as humid here throughout the year . so easy to grow tropicals n orchids they only grow stronger by the day. I have just done a mix of sand, compost , soil and just a 5mm layer of peat . will this be a better mix izhar

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[niyothi]

Also some suggestion on the lily bulbs please . I'm in a dilemma to pot or refrigerate

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[Izhar]

what is the ratio of these things??