Garden Gossip with Lori Bowling- Planting Bulbs for Spring Blooming

Planting Bulbs for Spring Blooming

By Lori Bowling

(retired) University of Kentucky Extension Agent

Now is the time to be ordering those spring flowering bulbs.  Many garden centers will have a good selection of common spring bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinth and crocus, etc.  If you are looking for something unusual or a specific color of bloom your best option would be to order from a mail order garden center such as Breck’s, Holland Bulb Farms, or K. van Bourgondien.

Fall planting of flower bulbs is best done early enough in the fall so they can establish roots before the ground freezes.  In this growing zone (zone 6) the best time for planting is the second or third week of October.  You can plant before that but you definitely want to have them plant no later than this time frame.  Spring flowering bulbs benefit from the cold winter temperatures and then gradual warming period needed to start growing in the spring.

The planting location and soil preparation is important.  Choose a site that has good soil drainage and gets lots of morning sun with little afternoon sun.  If the area has a tendency to have spots of standing water, it is best to avoid this area unless you can level it so that it drains better after a rain event or watering.  Once you have chosen your planting area you should work the soil up with a rototiller about 12-18 inches deep and incorporate organic matter into the soil. After tilling in the organic matter, mix in a 5-10-5 or 10-10-10 fertilizer in the soil and them smooth the area out and tamp it down slightly to get it ready for planting.

When planting spring bulbs you can refer to the tag or label that comes on the package at the time of purchase.  However, many gardeners will share their spring bulbs and of course there is not planting guide with these.  The rule of thumb is to plant bulbs two to three times as deep as the bulb is tall.  Most tulips and daffodils will be planted at a six-inch depth and smaller bulbs will be planted at a three to four inch depth.  When measuring the depth of you planting hole you should start at the surface level of the soil and end at the shoulder area of the bulb.  The planting distance between bulbs is measured from center of one bulb to the center of the next bulb.

There are 2 common ways most bulbs are planted.  One is to dig individual holes for each bulb or the second is to dig a trench or large bed area if you are planting several bulbs in one spot.  When digging individual holes, you can use a garden trowel or a bulb planter.  If you are planting a larger area, you will find it best to just dig up the whole planting area with a spade or shovel.  Remember that bulbs planted in masses will make a bigger showing in your landscape than just a few scattered bulbs.  Once you have placed the bulbs in the planting holes cover them up and gently tamp down the soil (do not pack it down so that it becomes compacted) to get any air pockets out so that water will not collect in those areas.

To determine which end is up to plant your bulbs you will want to look for a pointed end such as on the tulip or daffodil and plant with the pointed end up.  For smaller ones such as corms (crocus) you will notice they will have sprouts on one end or buds, and this will be the end you plant up.  For smaller bulbs such as anemones that look almost like a pea, you can plant these in any direction because their shoots will find their way to the sun.

After you have completed the planting of your bulbs you should give them a nice soaking of water to settle the soil and get them started to rooting before cold weather.  Remember not to over water as this will cause the bulbs to rot.  After watering you should put down a two-inch layer of mulch to help retain moisture but more importantly to help keep the soil from freezing and thawing through the winter months causing the bulbs to be moved up in the soil.  The mulch helps the soil to retain moisture, prevent weeds and insulate the bulbs or plant roots from the cold winter temperatures.

Once the bulbs start to grow in the spring you should give them one more fertilizer application when the leaves start to emerge.  Usually there is sufficient rainfall in the spring that watering is not necessary but if it is an unusually dry spring then you will want to water starting at the time the bloom buds start to appear.  Water at least once a week making sure that it is a slow, deep watering so that the bulbs at the six-inch depth will receive water.  The normal rule of thumb for watering is one inch of rainfall or water per week.