Plant Bulbs Now for Spring Blooms

With some of us already experiencing brisk autumn breezes it is often easier to curl up on the couch with our catalogs, than to actually be out working in our gardens, but now is a prime time for planting and bulbs will yield tremendous spring and summer color even though they are planted in the Fall. If you plan it right, a little bit of time spent now, can result in effortless beauty next year!

There are several varieties of bulbs that can be planted in the fall. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Early Spring Bloomers include crocus, snowdrops, and winter aconite.
• Other Spring Bloomers to consider are daffodils, tulips, iris varieties and anemones.
• Summer brings blooms from alliums, other iris varieties, and ranunculas.

Choose a couple varieties that appeal to you, and think about selecting plants with varying bloom times. For example, one of my favorite combinations is early blooming snowdrops, daffodils, tulips that bloom mid-spring and then alliums that will bloom all summer long. Plant them all in the same area, a technique called layering, to achieve a dramatic effect. About the time the snowdrops begin to fade the daffodils will pop up and put on a show. Soon after the tulips will appear helping draw the eye away from the fading daffodil foliage. One more wave of color can be achieved with Iris or Alliums varieties for easy color that lasts throughout the season.

If you want even more carefree color be sure to plant varieties known to spread themselves, called naturalizing. There are several varieties of narcissus (daffodils), crocuses and bluebells that are especially good at spreading each year. You can often find mail order companies that will offer discounts on bulk purchases for this purpose. Imagine early spring waking up one morning to find your lawn covered in glowing, cheerful crocus blossoms!

Try to select healthy bulbs to make sure you get the best blooms in the spring. Bulbs that are soft, smell rotten or show signs of excessive mold and slime should be discarded. Also keep in mind, larger bulbs mean more energy for the plant to draw from and can often mean larger or earlier blooms.

Another trick with bulbs is to make sure you let the foliage die back naturally. Once the blooms are over the bulbs regain energy through the leaves. If you cut them back too soon you’ll find your bulbs may bloom poorly, or not at all, the following year.

Remember that bulbs usually look best when planted in patches, several of the same kind together, rather than spread out singly. If you just plant one or two sprinkled randomly about the yard they will look rather sad and lonely when they come up. For foolproof beauty plant several of the same variety near each other to get the most effect.

Once you plant a few patches of layered bulbs, and tuck your favorite variety in a broad sweep across your yard or garden, you will see how easy it is to enjoy beautiful, care-free color. It just takes a little bit of patience and the willingness to pre-plan in the Fall.