I bought a pair of them from Lowe's the other week and one isn't doing so hot. They've been getting full sun and I've been bringing them inside at night as its been getting into the low 30s after dark. Its weird though. They are both in the same soil getting the same light and the same amount of water. But one seems to be thriving while the other not so much. I planned on putting them out back once it is warmer out. I'd think they are plenty car apart in the planter. A good 18 inches. And I'd think it it were too narrow then both plants would look poor.
Nothing wrong with them, they are early spring bloomers, the blooms don't live very long and then the bulb goes dormant until late next Winter/early Spring. To have longer blooms next year, buy the bulbs when they show up in the garden centers in late fall and plant them then. The ones that are already blooming in the garden centers don't last as long as those in the ground. When the blooms completely fade out you can cut them off but leave the leaves until they turn yellow/brown, like all bulbs they store the suns energy in the bulb through the leaves to produce next years blooms. Go ahead and leave them outside in the cold, they grow and thrive on cold weather...warm weather kills them.
Ah. Makes sense. I was hoping they would stick around for a while. They smell wonderful. My nose is attacked by the aroma every morning when I come home from work and put them outside. Well. Time to put them in the ground I guess. Is that why the flowers are so thick and waxy, to handle the cold?
