A difficult daffodil decision

Q. The city installed a new storm drain two years ago. Now, the soil seems to have settled. I had planted daffodil bulbs in the spot. I want to put a bag or two of topsoil in the area to try to level it. Should I dig up the daffodils or just cover them up?

A. It sometimes surprises people that daffodils benefit from deep planting, about 8 inches in the soil, provided, of course, it is not soggy.

However, I bet yours aren’t planted that deep, so you can safely raise the level a bit without digging and replanting the bulbs. But not more than 2 inches or so. If possible, wait a few more weeks until the daffodil foliage has turned yellow so you are not burying green leaves that are helping build new buds in the bulb for next spring’s blooms.

If the depression you are trying to make level is more than that, you should dig up the bulbs and reset them after you get the ground as level as you wish and give the added topsoil time to settle as well.

Yes, Zucchini Certainly Sprawl

Q. We have created a vegetable garden with green peppers, jalapeno peppers and tomatoes but want to add zucchini squash. I heard that squash can be invasive. Can you get it to grow upward on a cage?

A. Many kinds of summer squash and zucchini sprawl. Zucchini is hard to stake. Many varieties make very big plants.

The better option is to choose bush-type zucchini squashes bred for smaller space gardens like yours and tend to grow upright.

These modern types bear such names as Fordhook, Slender Gem and Zebra Zuke Hybrid. They will take more space than peppers, but you should be able to work in one or two plants.

Warmer weather means it’s time to set out zucchini plants or sow seeds. It will take about 45 to 50 days for seeds to grow into plants that bear fruit.

How to Plant Amaryllis Bulbs

Q. Can you tell me how deep to plant amaryllis bulbs? Mine are in pots now and blooming beautifully, but I want to plant them in the ground this fall when they die back. Will I need to mulch to keep them from freezing?

A. Amaryllis bulbs grow splendidly in the South when planted outdoors in a sunny spot in the garden. This tends to surprise people. The surprise comes when they bloom outside in late spring. The amaryllis that looked Christmas red in December suddenly looks very summery in May or June.

After your bulbs finish blooming, snip off the spent flowers. Then take the plants out of the pot and set it in the flowerbed so that the top of the neck, where the leaves first show, is at or just below ground level.

Keep them watered so the leaves flourish through the summer. This is really important. Fertilize the plants regularly through the summer with water soluble fertilizer to help build new buds for bloom in the future. The leaves will start to wither away in autumn. Put on a thin layer of leaf mulch or pine needles through the winter. When we had colder winters, it was deemed important to plant the bulbs close to the house for some protection from deep freezes. But that’s not essential any longer, and a light mulch should be all that’s needed.

Work on Your Shade Garden

Lots of hostas and hardy ferns are in garden centers. Their colors, ranging light to darkest green, will bring much variety to dark corners in the shade of trees. The texture of ferns, ranging from plain to frothy, makes a interesting contrast to the hostas. Yet, amid all this contrast, the calming effect of green remains the dominant trait of a shade garden.

Both hostas and ferns benefit from planting in soil improved with lots of compost. If a bed of hostas and ferns is too green for you, add a frill of impatiens.