How To: About Bulbs: Overview

Most bulbs are perennial bulbs and many of them can even be used for naturalizing. They have a period of growth and flowering. This is followed by a period of dormancy where they die back to ground level at the end of each growing season. For spring-flowering bulbs, the end of the growing season is in late spring or early summer. Spring-flowering bulbs start to grow again in the fall and flower the following growing season.

Flowering bulbs are an important addition to any landscape or garden, provide a good investment for money spent and supply years of color in your yard. The great variety of bloom color, flowering time, plant height and shape are all good reasons to add bulbs to your landscape. Fall is the prime time for planting of hardy spring-flowering bulbs and most bulbs can be planted until the ground is frozen.

There are some general rules to follow when planting bulbs. Don't plant your bulbs under aggressive ground covers or dense turf-grass. Make sure you are planting in a sunny location -- at least half a day's exposure. With early and mid-spring flowering bulbs, the trees are not yet in full leaf, so you may plant these bulbs under trees. For all other bulbs, the best way to confirm that the flower will receive enough light is to choose a site after nearby trees are in full leaf. As a rule of thumb, plant bulbs when the soil temperature is about 60 F at a depth of 6 inches. The cool soil stimulates root growth.

If you are planting an entire bulb bed, you can spade the whole bed area and then dig out the top 6-8" of soil. Place your bulbs atop the remaining loosened soil. After you have set them in place, you may want to add a bit of Van Bourgondien 100% Natural Bulb Food. Then, cover the bulbs with the removed soil and water thoroughly. For planting smaller groups or individual bulbs, you can use a simple garden trowel. Dig a hole a bit larger than the bulb and be sure to loosen the soil at the bottom of the hole and treat it like a miniature bed (as described above). You may prefer to use a bulb auger which digs uniform holes. Treat each hole as described above for planting with a trowel. Whichever way you choose to plant your bulbs, remember to always follow the specific instructions that come with your bulbs.

One of your first considerations when planning a garden should be bloom time. Think about what time of year you'd like to see the most flowers All throughout the year bulbs can be used in the garden: in spring, summer and in autumn. The possibilities for your garden are endless - explore all of our flowering bulbs to turn your garden into a year-round showcase of blooms!

Back to Index

Next About Bulbs Article next arrow