Autumn Is Bulb-Planting Time

Now is the time to plan for that Spring bulb garden to be sure of weeks of gorgeous color. There are hundreds of varieties and combinations awaiting your pleasure. Beginning with the so-called minor bulbs, such as crocus, scums and snowdrops, continuing with a wide range of daffodils and a selection of fragrant hyacinths, you can climax this flowering period with the versatile tulip.

The first consideration is estimating how many bulbs to plant. If you have taken up your last year’s bulbs, these should be carefully inspected and only the larger ones replanted in beds or borders. The smaller bulbs can be used in an out-of-the-way corner or in a cutting garden to provide blooms for the house.

When it comes to securing additional supplies, your local dealer can assist you in selection of varieties. However, one must be certain of a good quality product.

Early ordering is also essential to be certain of the best selection. In case your bulbs arrive before the date of planting, open the bags to allow for air circulation. In fact, it would be advisable to place them in open containers, provided the labels are not mixed. A garage or other cool place will offer suitable storage.

Another important consideration is where to plant in order to obtain those pictures of loveliness that one sees in the catalogs and gardening magazines. Bulbs feel at home in almost any well-drained soil, but their full value is often lost through improper arrangement.

The minor bulbs are at their best when naturalized under trees or planted in small groups where they can be left undisturbed from year to year. Daffodils are easily adaptable to the rock garden, the perennial border, the shrubbery border and the informal path garden; their special charm is revealed when they are broadcast in drifts in naturalized fashion. Hyacinths can be used formally in bed or border to carry out symmetrical designs and in small groups. Tulips are unsurpassed for balanced color arrangements in special gardens and for grouping in the mixed flower or shrubbery border, and in the case of those wonderful species types, they are ideal for the rock garden.

All of these bulbs are so easy to grow because the embryo flower has been pre-formed by the bulb grower, leaving nature to do the rest. Nevertheless, they do respond to treatment and care.

The smaller bulbs do not require as deep planting: snowdrops, crocus, Scilla sibirica and chionodoxas need three inches; ‘Scilla campanulata and grape hyacinths about four inches deep and the same distance apart.

Daffodils to be used for naturalizing may be scattered over the woodland area and planted five to seven inches deep where they fall. Usually wooded areas have a high humus content, and this will insure the proper amount of moisture to guarantee long life to the plantings. Daffodils for the rock garden, or as individual clumps in the foundation plantings, may be carefully placed out in pattern on the surface after the soil has been dug out to a depth of seven inches, then covered with the original topsoil. Daffodils do require ample supplies of water during the growing season.

The same procedure may be followed for hyacinths which also require a thoroughly drained soil. In colder regions it is wise to mulch after the soil has become frozen.

Species, or rock garden tulips, should be planted with the aid of a trowel. A dibble is not advisable as it may leave pockets below the base of the bulb. Other types of tulips can be planted with a trowel for small groups. In larger beds or borders, the top six to eight inches should be removed and set to one side. Bone-meal or other decayed manure can be sprinkled over the leveled surface. The bulbs should then be set in pattern from five to six inches apart and covered with the original topsoil. If tulips were grown in the same area a previous year it will be a precaution if fresh soil is used for covering.

Bulbs can be planted until frost hardens the ground. Too often gardeners delay until too late and thus lose the opportunity until another year. If you wish to add the extraordinary color that only bulbs can bring, plan to plant your garden pictures early in the Fall.

M Herbst

Related Articles Of Interest:

• How To Have Better Spring Bulbs
• A Quick Guide to Choosing and Planting Bulbs
• Time to Think of Tulips
• Brodiaea Blooming Season Longer Than Other Bulbs