Eight fall bulb planting tips
August 17, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Fall, Gardening
Planting bulbs in autumn seems magical come spring when your new tulips, daffodils or hyacinth flowers pop up, but it’s not all magic, you will actually have to plan for successful fall bulb planting.
- First of all, plan for your location. Many bulb planting tips (such as the ones below) will apply as a general rule, but you can’t beat local know-how. A local nursery can help you plan for the best bulb planting adventure or check out the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center/ North America to learn about planting bulbs in your region.
- Plant in the fall anytime before the first deep frost comes – i.e. a frost that actually hardens the ground.
- Plant bulbs at a depth of three times their height. Cooler climates should plant a bit deeper than the typical three times.
- Plant tear-shaped bulbs pointy end up. My grandma always said if you can’t tell which end is pointier (it can be hard to tell) lay the bulb on it’s side when you plant it. Not sure how technical that tip is, but her bulbs always seemed to come up.
- Mark your bulbs. If you don’t mark bulbs you my accidentally dig them up when trying to plant new ones.
- Some bulbs may develop top growth in the fall (normal) and in fact you can use these sorts of bulbs as good bulb markers (see tip six).
- To boost bulbs’ health and growth use a slow release fertilizer in the fall and then apply more come springtime (as soon as you see shoots sprouting).
- To get rid of, or at least detour underground munchers who like your bulbs as a snack sprinkle a little bit of sharp gravel pieces into your soil around the bulb.
[image via stock.xchng]
