Fertilize your tulips, daffodils now for best results

Q: My tulips and daffodils are coming up. When is the best time to fertilize them?

A: Right now is the perfect time. Most people wait until the end of flowering, but just as they are coming up out of the ground is better.

A bulb wants to produce flowers and seeds right now, and then it must store carbohydrates in the bulb for next year. We want the flowers, but we don't want the seeds to develop, so when the flowers are done, cut off the flower stalk to prevent any seeds from growing.

Don't cut off any leaves until they have turned yellow, and never tie them together in ugly little bunches. Fertilize using a fertilizer with a high middle number, such as a 15-30-15 or a 10-20-10. By fertilizing when the leaves are coming up, you give the plant the most time to grow and store food for next year. If you wait until after it is done blooming, there is much less time for the leaves to produce carbohydrates for next year's food supply.

Q: I have tried to grow oregano and sage for the past couple of summers. They both die within a few weeks. They seem to melt away. I don't see any bugs or slugs, and I try to keep them watered. I want to try more herbs, but with so little success on my two favorites, I am not sure I want to spend the time and money. Do you have any growing tips for herbs?

A: Herbs are usually low maintenance. They do require certain growing conditions to grow well. Both of the herbs you mention, as well as fennel, lavender, rosemary, sweet marjoram and thyme, are known as perennial Mediterranean herbs.

They grow well in a climate like the one you would find around the Mediterranean Sea.

In the U.S., that is the climate around the San Francisco area. That doesn't mean that is the only area they can grow in, just that we need to mimic it in our garden.

Since you mention that the plants seem to melt away, I think they are getting way too much water.

The roots are drowning, and the plants wither and die. The more they wither, the more water you give them and, therefore, you hasten the death. Mediterranean plants are very droughttolerant and like dry soil that drains fast after a rain.

If you are trying to plant an herb garden in one specific area, you can raise the bed to allow for quick drainage.

Depending on the garden decor, you can use timbers, stones or a steep slope to get the drainage. Fill the bed with a sandy soil. The plants listed are all perennials, so make the herb garden out of sturdy materials, since it will be there a while. All of these plants will also grow in large containers that have good drainage holes.

These plants all need lots of sunlight and warm conditions in the summer.

They do best in mild winter areas, but with some protection from bitter cold, they will do fine anywhere in the country.

You can tell that these plants do well in full sun and dry conditions by looking at them. Plants that have very thin or silver leaves have adaptations that reflect sunlight or don't require a lot of water to stay cool.

Other non-Mediterranean perennial herbs can be planted in your other garden beds. Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com.