Planting Flower Bulbs

Most flower bulbs that can be found on shelves of home improvement centers and garden nurseries were gathered during the early days of summer and stored before shipping. If the flower bulbs are still firm and plump they are good for planting. The important thing to remember about spring blooming bulbs is to get them into the ground as soon as you can; in order to break their dormancy they will need approximately twelve to fourteen weeks of temperatures that get below 45 degrees F.

It has been known that you can still plant those spring flower bulbs if you can still get your shovel in the ground. Those bulbs are better planted in frosty soil instead of just sitting in your basement or garage; some have even sprouted roots in the ground soil that is barely above the freezing mark. If you do not get around to planting those bulbs until late, plant them a couple inches deeper than normal for more insulation. Once the ground does freeze hard you can mulch the bulbs with straw or leaves. Keep in mind, since you planted them deeper in the ground it may take a little longer for them to sprout through the surface of the soil, but do not worry, they will get there.

After the ground has frozen solid and you can no longer dig into it but you have not planted those bulbs yet, you might think that you can store them in a dark area until next year. But those spring blooming bulbs will not make it being stored away for winter. They need to grow a few roots and have the experience of a chilling off period in order to sprout; they have just enough stored energy to only get them through one season of dormancy. They actually need to grow and bloom in order to restore energy for the following year. So it is best for these spring flower bulbs to somehow get into some type of soil.

You can plant them in containers with a good potting mix or soil. You want to make sure the bulbs are away from the sides of the container, where they might freeze. For insulation place plenty of soil between the bulbs and the sides of the container. Now the container can be stored in a porch, a garage that is unheated, or a window well of your basement. They need to get cold but not exposed to extreme temperatures. Water these bulbs once a month or as the soil dries out; you do not want the soil to stay wet. In the middle of spring you can move the containers outside and let them bloom in the container or once they have begun to sprout you can transplant them in the garden. When you transplant them into the garden they will become more established and stronger. If your soil is still too hard to dig into, just spread the bulbs out on the top and place approximately 6 to 8 inches of potting mix on top of them. If you place hardware cloth or chicken wire around the area of the bulbs it will keep the soil in place and help keep rodents out.

Most of the summer blooming bulbs such as dahlias, calla lilies, gladioli, and tuberous begonias enjoy the warm soil and a heated summer sun. If you live in a mild climate zone you can plant summer flower bulbs in your garden early in the spring and have flowers by summer. If you live in a colder climate zone, you probably will not be able to plant them early in the spring. You may have to plant in late spring or early summer, or you can start summer bulbs earlier indoors where it is warm and you can care for them until it is possible to plant them outdoors.  

Have you ever noticed that spring bulbs get a lot of attention and other flower bulbs seem to be forgotten? Some very pretty flowers come from fall blooming bulbs and are just as easy to grow. Once the regular flower garden starts to fade away it is a beautiful sight to see fall flower bulbs begin to bloom. The Guernsey lily, saffron crocus, a species of snowdrops, winter daffodil and the autumn crocus are part of this group of fall bulbs. The fall blooming bulbs also have a dormant time and that time is during the summer. The best time to plant them is in late summer because this is the time that they will be waking up. During the second season of life the autumn crocus will sprout up leaves in the spring and when it blooms in the fall will have no leaves.

You can plant flower bulbs just about every season of the year and enjoy their blooms during spring, summer or fall. Just because most of us plant spring blooming bulbs in the fall, there are so many others that can be planted later to enjoy during summer or fall and give us a beautiful, colorful garden of flower bulbs most of the year.