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Planting flower bulbs in fall is a fast and easy way to have beautiful flowers pop up in the spring. Just imagine: a little work now means that you’ll wake up one spring morning to a flower-filled garden! Bulbs are a favorite of both beginner and experienced gardeners because they are easy to plant and most require very little maintenance. Here are a few quick tips for planting bulbs:
Read the label and keep it with the bulbs up until the moment you plant. It’s the only way you can keep track of what you have so that when you start designing your spring garden, you can keep track of which plants and colors you are putting where.
Don’t plant bulbs in an area where water collects because they don’t like to sit in extremely wet places and they can rot under those conditions.
Make sure they get enough sun—bulbs like full sunshine.
Plant bulbs with the pointy end up and if you can’t discern the pointy end, check to see if there are any flattened or shriveled roots on one end, which would be the end that needs to point downwards.
Mix compost in the hole with the bulbs because like any plant, they enjoy well-drained and nutrient-rich soil.
Water bulbs well after you plant them to encourage them to send their roots out into the soil and start growing.
Selection of Spring Bulbs
When it comes to designing your spring garden, plant bulbs in clusters for the greatest impact, it gives a concentration of color that is impossible to miss! For a natural-looking drift effect, toss a handful of bulbs in the air and plant them wherever they land. Another fun technique to try is to do a “double-decker” effect where you plant small bulbs in a layer on top of larger bulbs. As long as they all flower at the same time, this will create a beautiful mixing of two flowers. You could also use this method with bulbs that will bloom at different times to ensure that you keep color in the garden bed as long as possible.
If you are interested in learning about planting bulbs this fall, don’t miss our class: Fall Bulbs for Spring Blooms on Thursday, September 25th, from 6pm - 7pm. Our experts will help you learn fall bulb planting so that you have a masterpiece garden come spring!