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CARE
AND PLANTING
OF
SPRING FLOWERING BULBS |
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BY
BRUCE ZIMMERMAN |
Spring
flowering bulbs are truly the
Harbingers
of Spring.
They bring us the hope of Spring after too long a
winter. Winter Aconite will often be the first
spring flowering bulb to peak out through the snow with
it's bright yellow butter cup like flowers.
They are closely followed by the Snowdrops (Galanthus).
My favourite Snowdrop is the double flowering
variety. Windflowers (Anemones) are the next to show
up with their blue and white daisy like flowers.
After this there is a riot of colour provided by a wide
array of spring flowering bulbs. |
To
obtain a good consistent and continuous display of colour
requires some fore thought. First location,
location, location. Spring flowering bulbs come from
a wide variety of backgrounds hence choosing the right
spot is the first step of this successful journey.
Most Spring flowering bulbs require high organic, well
drained, slightly acidic (pH 6-7) soil in a sunny
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location.
This means 6 to 8 hours of sunlight. To improve a
soil whether it is too sandy or too heavy you must add
organic material. Heavy soils usually require more
organic soil amendments than the lighter ones. Heavy
soils should receive 4 to 5 cubic feet of organic material
per 100 square feet to a depth of 8 inches. If well
aged composted manure is used then it should not be
greater than 2 cubic feet per 100 square feet of the total
amount of soil amendments. The addition of the soil
amendments will help raise the soil surface and increase
the all important drainage.
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This
is a must for your Botanical or species Tulips
and Narcissi as they require perfect drainage. Never
choose a low wet spot for Spring flowering bulbs unless
you are planting Camassia. When planting Spring
flowering bulbs under trees and I know you will, remember
that the tree is a big bully who wants all the food, water
and light. |
| The
result is plant where there is adequate light. This
may require you to trim up or thin out the tree's
branches. The roots must be kept clear of the Spring
flowering bulbs because they will always win the battle
for food, water and space. Under Evergreen Trees the
pH will be slightly acidic and this acceptable to the
Spring flowering bulbs. The best Spring flowering
bulbs to plant under deciduous trees are those that flower
and mature quickly before the trees leaves block out the
sunlight. Good examples of these are Crocus, |
| Winter
Aconite, Snowdrops, and Scilla sibirica. If you wish
to plant Spring flowering bulbs under turf grass then use
Crocus. You can not cut the turf grass until
the foliage has died down. This is very effective
when they are planted in very large drifts. This
naturalizing of small Spring flowering bulbs whether in
the turf grass in the garden or under trees should be at a
rate of 20 minor Spring flowering bulbs |
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| per
square foot. Naturalizing the small or minor Spring
flowering bulbs in the garden you can use Grape Hyacinths,
Scilla sibirica, Chionodoxas, Snowdrops and early species
Crocus. Naturalizing never occurs with the large
Tulips because they naturally deteriorate and should be
replaced every few years. On the other hand Narcissuses
are long lasting with most being excellent for
naturalizing. Good examples are Narcissuses Carlton,
Mount Hood and King Alfred. |
|
COLOUR |
Colour
is a very personal matter. Just look at the colours
your friends are wearing. So I will deal with this
area briefly. First always pick the colour(s) you
like. Remember to take into consideration the
colours of the structures, surrounding plants, and if they
going to bloom later in the season those of your annuals
so as to avoid clashes. Also strong contrasts can be
very effective but also over whelming. |
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| Here
are some combinations I like. Tulips Queen of the Night -
White Triumphator, Golden Artist- Black
Parrot, Red Emperor - Yellow Emperor, Red
Emperor- King Alfred Daffodils, Golden Appledorn -
Appledorn Elite, Prince Charles - Queen of the
Night. The list could go on and on but I feel this
should be suitable enough to start some heated
debates. |
| PLANTING |
|
| STOP!
The first mistake many people make is they plant their
Spring flowering bulbs where they want to
later to plant their Annuals. It is
important plant your Spring flowering bulbs so
that the Annuals you plant will grow up to cover the dying
foliage of the Spring flowering bulbs. The general
rule of planting bulbs is: |
 |
| the
planting depth is 2.5 to 3 times the diameter of the
bulb. Small or minor Spring flowering bulbs are
planted with their tops 2 to 3 inches below the soil
surface and 3 to 4 inches apart. The large Spring
flowering bulbs are planted 6 to 8 inches below the soil
surface and 8 inches apart. If you are running out
of space and what gardener isn't you can stack your Spring
flowering bulbs on top of each other. For example
Late tall Tulips planted 8 inches down, mid-season mid
height Tulips planted 6 inches down, Crocus 3 to 4 inches
down. Try this Late tall Daffodils planted 8
inches down, Gregii Tulips planted 6 inches down, Winter
Aconite 3 inches down. The soil should be worked up
on the bottom of the hole and a fertilizer
incorporated. The fertilizer could be a 5-10-5, or a
5-10-10 but my favourite is Holland Bulb Booster.
Always follow the label directions. The
fertilization of your Spring flowering bulbs at this time
will show up as bigger stronger plants with larger flowers
in the second season. The Spring flowering
bulbs can be planted in a large hole or individually at
the proper depth and spacing. |
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In
softer sandy soil a Dibber
can be used to punch a hole and then insert the bulb down
to the bottom of the hole. If Bushy Tailed Rats are
a problem
then plant your
Spring flowering bulbs inside a chicken wire cage.
Alternatively Ropellents can be added to your bulbs at planting
time. The alternative is to plant Narcissus because the wee
beastees will not eat them. |
| I
like to plant my Spring flowering bulbs in this order.
Narcissus (Daffodils), Hyacinths, Tulips, minor Spring
flowering bulbs. When planting Spring flowering
bulbs always plant in odd numbers. For example:
3,5,7,9,11. The closer you are to view the cluster
the smaller the number in the cluster. So a cluster
to be viewed at a great distance would most likely have 9
or 11 Spring flowering bulbs in it. |
| MAINTENANCE |
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| In
the Spring as your Spring flowers bulbs emerge from the
ground you should fertilize them with the afore mentioned
fertilizers at the recommended rates. It is up to
you but it is possible feed them again after you remove
the spent flowers. Always ensure you remove not just the
petals |
| but
the developing seed heads as well. This ensures that
all the plant's energy is put into storing food for next
years flowers. Do not remove any of the
leaves. They must remain until they are yellowed and
brown in order to make enough food to flower the following
year. |
| FAILURE
TO BLOOM |
Spring
flowering bulbs fail to bloom when the soil conditions are
to wet, over crowded, not dead headed, or the foliage has
been removed to soon or have received inadequate
fertilization. Poor blooming Narcissus can be caused
by any of the previous reasons as well as being planted to
shallow or in very heavy clay soils. You can dig up your
Spring flowering bulbs to correct some the problems. The
bulbs are |
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| generally
lifted and divided every 3 to 4 years to correct over
crowding. It is usually safe to lift Tulips after
June 25th and Narcissuses after July25th when the bulbs
have matured. The minor or Small Spring flowering
bulbs are done at various times after the their
foliage has died down. |
| THE
NUMBER 1 QUESTION |
|
The
question I am always asked is, " What do I do with the
Spring flowering bulbs that are shooting up to early?'
It
is only the leaf tips that are showing above the ground not the
flower buds so do absolutely nothing!
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In
the autumn we can also plant some hardy Fall blooming
bulbs. These Fall flowering bulbs will usually bloom the
next autumn after you plant them. These Fall flowering
bulbs have leaves |
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| from
April until July after which they die off. On the
other hand the Hardy Cyclamen growing in my garden gets
it's leaves in November and retains them until June and
then they die down. The Fall flowering bulbs will
usually bloom without any leaves in August, September or
October. A few good examples of these Fall flowering
bulbs are Crocus zonatus, Cyclamen neapolitanum and
Colchicum. |
| HAPPY
PLANTING! |
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