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Fall’s Planting Time for Spring Bulbs
Positioning and Fertilizing Bulbs
Beds and borders of outdoor spring-flowering bulbs use several popular planting methods to create a beautiful display in a home or yard landscape.
You’ll find everything you need to know about each of the most popular planting methods to use in nearly every garden setting.
Following a layout plan is the best way to ensure good results. Divide your bed, border, or island into planting areas using string.
Set out the bulbs according to your plan, filling each area and spacing them as recommended. Only after all the bulbs in a bed are set out, begin to plant.
For best results, positioning bulbs in their planting holes is important. Most true bulbs, corms, and rhizomes grow best with their pointed tops are up and their basal plates are down [see: Bulb Basics].
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- Plant bulbs and corms with their platelike bases down, and pointed ends up. Roots will develop from the base, and shoots will extend from the growth point.
- Rhizomes usually are elongated and tubelike in form; place them horizontally in the planting hole at the recommended depth for the specific bulb. They will sprout from the latent buds.
- Tubers and tuberous roots have multiple growing points and will develop roots and shoots in the proper locations regardless of their orientation at planting time.
If a bulb gives few clues to its orientation and the location of its basal plate, plant it on its side. Its roots and stems will develop properly, bending as necessary to sprout into the sunlight and extend its roots downward.
Is Fertilizer Necessary?
Most bulbs have stored nutrients before they went dormant after their last bloom. Still, fertile soil helps the bulbs off to a good start and will produce larger bulbs with more divisions as their blooming season ends.
Fertilize when planting, as follows:
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- Dig each planting hole, trench, or bed 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) deeper than the depth you plan to place the bulbs [see: Bulb Planting Depths].
- Cultivate the soil and adding 4–10–10 fertilizer or enriched compost to the soil in the planting hole.
- Backfill over the fertilized soil with unamended soil until the planting hole is at the proper planting depth for the species.
Fertilizing under the bulbs while leaving soil between them and the fertilizer helps prevent fungal disease. It provides phosphorus and potassium in soil that will hold their developing roots.
Low-nitrogen fertilizer avoids fast and tall foliage development when the bulbs sprout, keeping their stalks thick and avoiding damage from heavy flower heads.
Soil Preparation
When planting large areas, it’s best to cultivate and amend all the bed’s soil before planting [see: Preparing Soil for Bulbs].
Better yet, fertilize, amend, cultivate, water and settle the soil a week or so before you plan to plant. This resting time permits fertilizer to dissolve and spread into the cultivated soil beneath your bulbs.
Site, Planting Plan, and Tools
Despite their name, spring-bloom bulbs are mostly planted in autumn except in mild-winter climates where late-winter plantings are required to avoid premature growth and flowering.
Spring-Blooming bulbs rest in garden beds under layered mulch after planting. Spring’s thaws, longer days, and soil warming stir root development.
All at once, in what seems like a matter of days, they poke through the soil or snow with emerging flower spikes that soon open to bright, colorful blooms.
Unlike other landscape plants, it takes a bit of imagination to envision the finished product of autumn bulb plantings. After all, a newly planted landscape bed of bulbs has no sign of life, compared to a recently installed bed of shrubs or perennial flowers.
The keys to success are these three decisions:
- Choosing the right site.
- Planning a design and layout with several bulb species.
- Preparing the bed for planting.
Plant spring bulbs along paths, fences, and borders, or in island beds and under the branches of deciduous trees.
Moist, shady areas provide the right environment for water-loving Louisiana iris, jack-in-the-pulpit, lily-of-the-valley, and trillium. More traditional tulip, narcissus, daffodil, and spring crocus prefer sunny locations with damp rather than wet soil.
Try to buy or order bulbs four to six weeks before you plant to plant. Fresh shipments of new bulb hybrids arrive in garden stores in early autumn. They offer the best selection when bulb displays first appear. Recent arrivals are also fresh and healthy [see: Choosing Healthy Bulbs].
Unusual, rare, and uncommon spring bulbs also are available directly from specialty growers.
Order enough bulbs to make your vision come true. It’s better to plant a small bed densely with bulbs than to spread too few bulbs out over a large area.
Once your bulbs are in hand and autumn is in full swing, prepare the soil for planting [see: Preparing Soil for Bulbs]. Then, follow the steps shown in the planting demonstrations for each type of bulb and planting style [see: 7 Ways to Plant Bulbs].
Bulb-Planting Tools and Materials
Bulbs require fewer specialized tools for planting and care than do many other landscape plants, because they grow in a wide range of soils and need only average fertility.
Consider obtaining these specialty items as you prepare to plant and care for bulbs:
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- Adjustable rake. Variable tine-width settings allow you to spread or narrow the prongs when raking between rows of plants.
- Bedding fork. Square-tined forks penetrate deeply and lift bulbs from beneath.
- Bulb planter. Hollow metal tool for cutting and removing turf and soil for bulb planting.
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- Combination hoe. With a pointed blade on one side, tined fork on the other, cultivates soil around bulbs.
- Dibber. Pointed, solid metal tool for poking planting holes for bulbs. May compact dense soils.
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- Gloves. Leather or reinforced canvas protects hands from abrasion when planting and lifting.
- Grub knife. Multipurpose knife with one serrated and one smooth edge used to divide roots.
- Planting fertilizer. Organic or synthetic fertilizer of 0–10–10 formulation used beneath bulb plantings.
- Shovel. Square or round points facilitate penetration and turnover when loosening soil in garden beds.
> Next: Planting Summer and Autumn Bulbs