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Planting Spring Bulbs

Filed under: — salemgurl @ 12:36 am


Planting Spring blooming bulbs

Fall is the ideal time to plant spring blooming bulbs. They can be planted as late as November-December before the ground freezes. Temperatures above 45 degrees for 8-12 weeks will give them time to develop as good root system.

Here is a quick reference for what you should do:

-When buying bulbs, check for quality. Be sure they are firm without soft spots or white mold.

-Bulbs need a light, well-drained soil or they will rot. For heavy, clay soil, incorporate organic materials such as peat moss or compost to improve drainage.

-They do not require fertilizer but will perform better when fed. Work up the soil and add bulb booster or a 5-10-10 fertilizer for vigorous future growth. The bulb should have no contact with the fertilizer, as it will burn developing roots. You can put bone meal in the bottom of the hole. Once planted, sprinkle bulb fertilizer on top of the backfilled soil in the fall or spring. Mulch planted bulbs after the ground freezes to protect from freezing/thawing cycle and remove in the spring.

daffodils

-Planting depth: A general rule for tulips and daffodils is 3 times the diameter of the bulb. Cover small bulbs such as scillas, grape hyacinths, snowdrops with 2 inches of soil and large bulbs 6-8 inches. Other bulbs may vary a bit. Check package directions. In warmer climates bulbs can be planted 2 inches shallower.

-Plant pointed tip up, if not sure plant the bulb on its side, it will find its way up.

-If you have rabbits, squirrels or chipmunksdigging up your bulbs, here’s what you can do. When planting cover the bulbs with half the soil, then cover place chicken wire and fill in with the remaining soil (at least 1 inch). The chicken wire will keep the critters from digging up the bulbs. You can also plant less desireable bulbs such as allium, camassia,chionodoxa forbesii ‘Pink Giant’, colchicum ‘Waterlily’, eranthis (winter aconite), fritilaria, galanthus nivalis(snowdrops) muscari (grape hyacinths) and scilla siberica, which aren’t as tasty.

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17 Comments on Planting Spring Bulbs»

  1. A fascinating site. I have a question. Is there such a thing as a Christmas bulb, i.e., a bulb planted at Christmas or earlier that will either sprout or produce a bloom by Christmas.

    Amaryllis is the first that comes to mind. When you buy a fresh bulb in the fall, you will need to time it 3-8 weeks prior to blooming time. Timing is the difficult part. But it can be done. They were available at stores in bloom at Christmastime but I haven’t seen too many this year. See the article on amaryllis, it will give you more info. The bulbs, such as paperwhites(narcissus), tulips and daffodils can also be forced to bloom provided they get long enough of a cooling period (at least 8 wks or more)

    Comment by Ike — 2/24/2005 @ 1:24 pm

  2. I live in a zone 4 and I just purchased some potted bulbs -tulips and dafodils, they are just starting to sprout is it safe to plant them outside yet ?

    Yes, even with a slight frost they will be fine.

    Comment by Vera — 4/14/2005 @ 4:45 pm

  3. I’m a new bulb person and I live in zone 5. my question is do I plant bulbs even after their blooming time or do I have to store them

    If you are talking about tulips (cold weather) bulbs, you can plant them in the ground but you have to mark where they are and you risk rotting from too much watering or rain. Fall is the better time.

    Comment by Rhikki — 5/16/2005 @ 7:07 am

  4. I’m a little confused about sun preference on plants. full sun I get but partial shade, and partial sun have me a little confused. If the sun peeks through most of the day on a spot but never really is sunny is that partial shade, or partial sun. Please explain, and thank you for this sight

    Full sun is all day or six or more hours of sun each day. Partial sun - 3-5 hrs of sun. Part shade - no more than a few hrs of dappled sun. Full shade - no direct sunlight, plants must still receive some filtered light to grow. I would say your situation is part shade.

    Comment by Rhikki — 5/16/2005 @ 7:45 am

  5. I just bought a lot of bulbs at Home Depot. They say to plant between Sept. and Dec. Even though it is Sept 12, it is still 90degrees in Zone 7. Should I wait until it’s cooler? Thanks.

    The bulbs need a cooler temperature to develop roots, that’s why there is a 4 month span for planting.You can plant bulbs as long as the ground can be worked. I would wait till its cooler . It’s easier working outdoors in cooler weather.

    Comment by Kathleen Neve — 9/12/2005 @ 11:04 am

  6. My daughter is getting married the end of May. She wants tulips for her wedding. When is the best time to plant the bulbs in order to get tulips to come up around that time?

    Tulips should be planted in the fall. They need a cold period to develop roots before the winter. It’s too late to plant them outdoors especially if the ground is frozen. You best bet is to buy them.

    Comment by Nancy Chodrick — 1/17/2006 @ 12:16 pm

  7. My daughter bought a beautiful potted daffodil, hoping to keep it in her room. Within days, all the flowers died and the plant generally looks terrible. She tried finding info on the web, so I told her I would ask you and see what we could do for this poor plant!

    Hi Barbara,
    Potted daffodils will last about 14 days depending on the variety and temperature. They keep longer in a cool room no higher than 65F during the day and 45F-55F at night. You should buy them in their “pencil” stage when buds are still green or just starting to open for maximum longevity. If the plant is finished blooming I would suggest you let the foliage die back (if it is a daffodil) and replant it outdoors for next years blooming.

    Comment by Barb — 3/29/2006 @ 2:54 am

  8. Bought lots of bulbs from a catalog.BIG mistake. They came with lots of fuzzy green mold. I dusted them with fungizide but then the snows came and it was too late to put them in the ground. HELP. Lots of bulbs and the snow has ceased. Should I plant them and see what happens? Varieties are tulips, lilies and mostly springlike. Will they come up next spring? Thanks for your help.

    You should contact your Catalog supplier and complain about the green mold. Demand a refund. If the bulbs a firm, with no soft spots plant them and see what happens next year. The cold weather bulbs require 8-12 wks of a cooling period to develop roots, that’s why they are planted in the fall to give them enough time.

    Comment by Linda — 4/14/2006 @ 10:20 am

  9. I live in zone 5. Can I plant bulbs that are to bloom next season now, or in the fall?

    Fall is the preferred time to plant. You can plant them now if you must. When planting tulips etc. be sure that they are not planted with seasonal plants that like a lot of moisture, too much water can rot the bulbs over the summer. Also if you plant them now, you will disturb any annuals/ perennials that are currently growing.

    Comment by Allison — 6/1/2006 @ 6:31 am

  10. My husband and I came a across a flower garden while cleaning up brush on our piece of property. Right now all we saw were daffodils that are blooming and looks like Irises coming up and maybe a few tulips?.however?. once we removed the brush from around the daffodils, the next day they started to fall over and turn yellow. What would cause this? Since the other daffodils that have been coming up for a long time in my yard and seem to be blooming just fine.
    Kim

    When daffodils come up without sun exposure they do not have the opportunity to toughen up. They were protected under the brush and because of lack of sun developed little chlorophylland causing the leaves to become whitish -yellow and weak. It is like growing a bulb in a closet. I would leave them and see what happens. They may still green up and rebuild the bulb for next years blooming

    Comment by Kris — 9/19/2006 @ 6:08 am

  11. I’ve just received 100 planting bulbs, it’s still 80-90 degrees in early October when should I plant them?

    Spring bulbs can be planted before the ground freezes as late as early December(depending on where you live). This gives them enough time to develop a root system before winter. Eventhough its hot you can still plant them in the ground.

    Comment by gladys alford — 10/3/2006 @ 9:14 pm

  12. I discovered a bag of tulips I had misplaced, also a bag of daffodils, a couple of allium and one lily. I live in zone 2B, it is mid November, and the ground is now frozen to a depth of at least 6 inches. Is there any way I can keep these bulbs over and plant them later? Thanks

    Bulbs need a cool period (35-48 degrees)for 12-14 weeks in order to develop roots. If the ground is frozen there is nothing you can do. In order to reduce your loss, your best bet is to plant them in containers and force them to bloom indoors. For forcing instructions see www.extension.umn.edu. They have step by step directions.

    Comment by Faye — 11/12/2006 @ 10:08 am

  13. I live in zone 5 and planted my bulbs mid November. I noticed early this week they are starting to pop up through the ground! We’ve had mild weather so far this winter. What will happen to my plants? What will happen in the spring when they are to bloom?

    The warm weather will encourage premature growth and there is little you can do to stop it. Try mulching with evergreen branches or straw and hope for cooler weather. Since the leaves are first to emerge, you may get some yellowing and browning on the foliage but the flower should be alright provided it doesn’t bloom.

    Comment by Erica Boon — 12/29/2006 @ 10:58 am

  14. hey , I’m writing from the Poconos, PA , I just built a flower bed for my wife and planted some daffs , tulips and other stuff. And now they are all dying because of the end of the season am I supposed to take the flower head off and leave them so they will come back next year? And also can I put anything else there so it looks pretty for her the rest of the summer?I appriciate it.thanks, Frank

    Cut off the flower heads and let the foliage die back so that they can replenish the bulb. You can plant any other annual or perennial to fill in the bare spots until the bulb leaves disappear.

    Comment by Frank Marshen — 3/28/2007 @ 6:17 am

  15. Can I pull up the tulip and buttercup bulbs and save them? If so, how do I need to store them for fall planting? Thanks.

    You don’t need to dig up your tulips and buttercups. They can remain in the soil. If for some reason you need to dig them up; do so after the leaves have died back (turned yellow) dry them and store in a cool, well ventilated dark place @ 50 degrees.

    Comment by Carla Kimrey — 4/16/2007 @ 5:14 am

  16. We have inherited extensive bulb plantings from the previous homeowner. One species of yellow daffodil has seemed to mutate over the years, producing very bizarre looking flowers, sort of like a double daffodil with no trumpet. We dug up the bulbs - they looked normal - separated them and replanted them - that didn’t help, even more of them seem to be turning into this bizarre phenotype. Any ideas? Is the soil chemistry wrong? Do they just get old and weird (not unlike us humans….)?

    There is nothing wrong with your daffodils or soil. You have a specialt variety of double daffodils-some have extra petals or two trumpets, some look like carnations instead of the trumpet center daffodils. They also have a fragrance. Enjoy their uniqueness.

    Comment by Margaret — 4/20/2007 @ 7:24 am

  17. What can I do with the small bulbs that grow off the mother bulbs of tulips?

    You can separate and replant the bulbils. They will not produce flowers until they reach maturity which may be 2-3 years.

    Comment by linda — 9/13/2007 @ 8:39 am

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