Friday, January 11, 2013

The Right Way to Plant Bulbs

October and November are the perfect time to plant your spring blooming bulbs. You want to plant now rather then later. If you wait until December or even later then that, usually your bulbs will sprout but they will bloom in late spring and if we have an early warm up, the flowers will last for only a very short time, that is if they bloom at all. I usually start mid-October. First I prep my ground by adding organic mix and plenty of blood and bone meal. This is organic fertilizer and works great. This will allow for your bulbs to develop a strong root-system and thick lush growth and therefore blooms. There are other bulb fertilizers on the market. The choice is yours....
Remember to buy fresh bulbs and not bulbs that have been in the stores since July. I noticed some big box stores had them so early this year, to early. Look for bulbs that have no bruises and no signs of rot or dryness. Plant with the narrow point side up and plant about 6 inches deep. Some bulbs like crocuses need to be planted only 3 inches deep. Read the directions on the package.
Remember that bulbs such as tulips bloom great the first season, but because of our hot weather, usually decrease in size each year there after. I treat tulips as annuals but there are several perennial varieties available.







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