2nd year --weak plants

by Marilyn
(Nashville, TN)

Beautiful last spring, leggy, no flowers this spring. What should I do? Leaves were left till dead, blooms were not picked. Should I dig up and separate? Can they be salvaged, and should I do something now? April 2009, Central TN, zone 7. Thanx

Doug says that digging and dividing isnt' the issue. Something in your cultural care is the problem here. Not enough sunlight. Not enough cold weather to form bud, too much water during summer because you had annuals or perennials and you watered them, ???? Could be any number of things. But one thing is for sure - you stressed the bulb and they didn't form buds.

Now the trick is to figure out what's wrong from that list (and maybe a few other conditions) and fix that.

Good luck and welcome to the funky world of gardening with bulbs.