Bulb Time

By Jos Van Hage

A sure sign in the garden center that fall is just around the corner is the arrival of the spring flowering bulbs.

Fall bulbs are those bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, crocus etc. that are planted in the fall to bloom the following spring. They are planted over the next few weeks; the earlier the better because you want the bulb to get a good root system established before winter sets in (this is especially for narcissus).

The great thing about planting bulbs is that they are easy to grow and do not need a lot of maintenance. They are tolerant of most soil types provided they are well drained. Bulbs will rot if they are kept too wet, so avoid those areas in the yard where the spring water tends to sit. If your soil is not good draining soil, you can help it along by adding sandy loam.

When planting bulbs it always best to mix some bone meal with the soil at the bottom of the hole to help get the roots growing on the bulb. When planting a bulb always plant the bulb with the pointed end up and the flat bottom end down. The planting depth of the bulb depends on the type of bulb you are planting, but a general rule is plant the bulb twice the height of the bulb.

Tulips, narcissus, and hyacinths are planted at a depth of 6-8 inches and the smaller bulbs such as snowdrops and crocus are planted at a depth of 4 inches. You want to space your larger bulbs 5-6 inches apart and the smaller bulbs 2-3 inches apart so that the bulb has room to grow. After you have placed your bulbs in the hole cover them with the soil, sprinkle some 4-14-8 bulb fertilizer over them and water them in well. If the weather becomes dry you want to make sure that the newly planted bulbs are given water so that they are able to grow.                                                                      

For the best affect always plant bulbs in groups of a minimum of 7-8 bulbs of the same variety in a group. It is also important to have some information on height of flowers, color and time of when they were bloom so that you can plan and plant accordingly. Planting the higher varieties in the back and shorter in the front and by choosing different varieties with varying bloom times you can have color in your spring landscape for weeks.

Also when planting bulbs you have to keep in mind that after the bulb has finished blooming you remove the finished flower but the stem and leaves have to die back naturally. This is when the bulb is producing next years flower inside the bulb. As this can look untidy, you may want to plant bulbs around perennials and deciduous shrubs that can hide the dying foliage.

When buying your bulbs you should buy the biggest bulbs possible for the best show. The bigger the bulb the bigger the flower because the flower is already stored in the bulb. Bulb prices are dictated by the size of the bulb so the bigger bulbs tend to cost more because they have been grown longer to reach a larger size. Some of the small sized bulbs may not even produce a flower in the first season after it has been planted.

Bulbs are an investment in the landscape as they come back year after year so they are well worth the money and time spent. They do not require a lot of maintenance, only to be dug up, separated, given a rest, and re-planted every 3-4 years when you see the flowers are becoming smaller.  

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns three Art Knapp Garden Centres in Prince George:

-Highway 16 west

-Highway 97 north

-currently liquidating highway 97 south store at the old Cariboo highway.

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