DENVER — You bet I’m already thinking about spring! As long as the soil is workable (not frozen) you have time to plant your spring blooming bulbs.
Not surprisingly I went a little bonkers at the garden center in my bulb buying so I’m going to plant my bulbs two different ways.
I reworked a few perennial beds this year and want to add a sea of spring color with tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth. These bulbs should be planted bouquet-style. Dig a good-sized hole to the depth recommended on the package and plant 5 bulbs in each hole. This will produce a much more captivating display. Whatever you do don’t plant one bulb at a time with those blasted, carpel-tunnel inducing bulb planters. Don’t line your bulbs up like soldiers, they bloom all by themselves and look lonely. Add bulb food and water everything thoroughly. Don’t forget to water through the fall/winter just as you would your trees, shrubs, and perennials.
If you’re planting minor bulbs like grape hyacinth, crocus, or snowdrop. Simply use a dandelion digger or garden knife, work it into the soil to make a hole about 3” deep and pop the bulb in.
Another way to plant your bulbs is in plastic pots. My friend Carmen and I are going to use this method to increase our private cutting gardens, and this is also a perfect method to use so you have spring color to add to your patio pots.
Fill each pot halfway with potting soil, place the bulbs close together, fill up the pot with more soil, label, and water them thoroughly.
Now, where will the pots spend the winter? You can’t leave the pots outside exposed to freezing and thawing. Rob fills the root cellar in his basement with pots of bulbs, but you can also use your garage, or shed. You can also bury the pots in a trough or, what I do, bury them in my raised beds. When their green noses start to emerge, it will be time to move them into a warmer location to enjoy for the spring.
This method is a great project to do with kids. In the spring they can have their own pot of bulbs.
More Proctor's Garden:
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