Thanks, Jane. Your suggestions accord with my prejudice, but I've never bothered much with fertilizing the outdoor beds. I think I should probably start. I use a soluble fertilizer for everything, usually just plants inside a greenhouse. I use Jack's Professional Peat-Lite, 20-10-20 with micronutrients. The drip systems feed 100 ppm N at every watering. When I hand feed, the N is closer to 200 or even 300 ppm in the water. For the Spring feedings, I'll probably wait until well after the ground has thawed out below bulb depth. That would probably be mid- to late March around here. Jim Shields in sunny and mild Westfield, Indiana USA At 09:38 AM 11/13/2009 -0800, you wrote: >Jim SHields asked, > > >When should I feed my Crocus? Crocus nudiflorus has completely > >disappeared after blooming a few weeks ago, but C. cartwrightianus is still > >pushing up fresh flowers and has green leaves. > >I always give my winter-growing bulbs (those that have root growth >starting in fall) one feed in October, and then three at 3-week >intervals starting in early February. This, along with the nutrients >in the soil, seems to suit them. I use a soluble fertilizer applied >at about half the strength recommended for perennials. > >Jane McGary >Northwestern Oregon, USA > >_______________________________________________ >pbs mailing list >pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ ************************************************* Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA