Bulbs 101: Spring Flowering

Bulb gardening can be as easy as, dig, drop, done. Spring brings renewed spirits after a long cold winter, and one thing to look forward to is the beautiful blooms of the bulbs you planted last fall. Gertens has a selection of over 200 varieties of spring blooming bulbs to choose from. When planting bulbs a small mistake can lead to a garden full of duds.The experts at Gertens are always available to answer your questions. 

Choosing bulbs

• Your bulbs, rhizomes, and corms should be firm.
• A little surface mold is fine but there should be no soft areas.
• There should be no bad odor.

Healthy bulbs

Planting

• Plant bulbs in well-drained soil in the fall up until the ground freezes. Bulbs can rot in soggy, overly wet ground. 
• Before planting your bulbs, mix a slow-release, complete fertilizer into the soil in the bottom of the hole, then add a little more soil so that the bulb itself doesn’t come into direct contact with the fertilizer granules.
• Don’t use any strong commercial fertilizer or fresh manure when planting bulbs.
• Most bulbs should be planted at a depth equal to three times their diameter. For example, plant a 2-inch bulb 6 inches deep.
• Remnants of roots on the bottom of the bulb should tell you which side of the bulb points down.
• If you see no sign of root remnants, plant the bulb so that the most pointed narrow part points up.
• If you have heavy clay soil, try planting at one-half the recommended depth. The bulb won’t have to expend as much energy struggling through the dense clay.
• You can plant bulbs individually by using a hand trowel or bulb planter.
• If you are planting many bulbs, dig one big trench or hole and place the bulbs in the bottom.
• Water them thoroughly.

 Naturalizing refers to the ability of some bulbs to come back year after year. Some of the tulip species are good naturalizers, as are some crocus and many daffodils (and many other bulbs).

• In a naturalistic design, bulbs are planted to imitate a natural planting for a particular bulb type. Choose bulbs that go on to naturalize on their own, thereby making the planting look more natural year after year.

photo of naturalized bulbs

Formal designs are commonly seen in public gardens but are also possible in the home garden.

• In a formal planting a hundred or more of the same bulb may be required to fill the bed.
• After the flowers are done blooming you can compost the bulbs and plant summer bulbs or remove the fading bulbs to an out-of-the way spot where they can ripen.
• Those bulbs can then be replanted in the formal bed the following autumn after the summer flowers have finished their display.

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay 

REMEMBER: You can plant spring flowering bulbs up until the ground freezes in fall! It just depends on how cold your fingers get. 

Where are my blooms? A gardener can be pretty perplexed when the 200 bulbs they planted last fall make just a meager showing in the spring. The reason could be inferior bulb quality or improper planting depth, but a likely culprit could be an animal.

• Chipmunks
• Voles
• Mice
• Deer
• Woodchucks
• Squirrels and other animals forage for and feast on newly planted bulbs.

Critter control

• Use animal repellents
• Use bulb fertilizer or super phosphate instead of bone meal when planting.
• If burrowing animals are a problem, plant your bulbs in wire mesh bulb baskets.
• Most critters leave daffodils & snowdrops alone, which is why these plants naturalize so well.
• Use traps or barriers as deterrents

After bloom

• Cut as little foliage as possible when cutting flowers from your bulbous plants.
• The leaves and foliage are essential for storing food for next year's blooming.
• Let the foliage die back on its own in the garden before trimming it back or digging up the bulbs.
• Do not trim back healthy green foliage or the bulb will not perform well next year.
• Never dry bulbs in the sun, always in the shade in a well-ventilated area.
• Store bulbs in a dry, well-ventilated area to prevent mold or mildew.
• Don’t store them in an air-tight container.

The experts at Gertens are always available to answer your questions!