Spring-flowering bulbs you plant this fall burst into bloom next spring because food needed for flower development is contained in the bulbs at the time you plant them.
For flowers in the second and succeeding springs, you must see at planting time that the soil contains nutrients that the plants can use to replenish the food used in the first spring.
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are needed; organic forms of these elements are best because they become slowly available to the plants and remain in the soil for years.
Dehydrated manure, a good source of nitrogen, is easy to obtain. Use 10 pounds to 100 square feet.
Bone meal, found at all garden centers, supplies phosphorus and some nitrogen as well. Use about 5 pounds to 100 square feet.
Potassium is made from wood ashes, and an application of 15 pounds to 100 square feet is generally sufficient.
Because roots develop at the base of most bulbs, you must be sure that these materials are down in the root zone. Dig and mix them in the soil deeply.
Improve Soil Structure
Decayed compost and peat moss should also be worked into the soil before bulb planting to improve soil structure and its ability to hold these nutrients.
Spread a 3-inch layer over the planting area and mix it into a depth of at least one foot.
The manure, the bone meal, and the wood ashes may be worked in at the same time.
From 5 to 10 pounds of agricultural limestone to 100 square feet may also be incorporated into the soil to sweeten it and improve its structure.
For either a drift of twelve or a bed of 100 bulbs, good soil preparation is essential
But no matter how well you prepare the soil, if it is not well drained—if it remains wet for days after a rain and is soggy in early spring and late fall—the bulbs may simply rot away.
So, choose a naturally well-drained location for your bulbs besides providing soil nutrients.
The old advice about placing a cupful of sand beneath each bulb is ineffective in remedying the results of poorly-drained soil.
Finally, foliage is necessary to manufacture food for bulk storage, so allow it to remain until it yellows.
If the spring season is very dry, it is advisable to water bulb plantings thoroughly at least once a week to help the plants retain their foliage.
The more vigorous the foliage and the longer it lasts, the more food is produced and stored in the bulb.
A commercial fertilizer, such as 5-10-5, sprinkled lightly among the plants and scratched and watered into the soil, is a further inducement for the plants to grow vigorously.
16 Spring Bulbs What You Need To Know
Name: CROCUS (Crocus)
Blooming Time: Early spring
Height: 4″-6″
Depth and Distance Apart: 3″ deep; 3″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Crocuses are particularly fine for naturalizing under trees, on a hillside, or lawn. Colonies are effective along a garden path and often flower before snow melts if in a warm sunny location near the house. Corms are inexpensive so plant lavishly.
Name: DAFFODIL (Narcissus)
Blooming Time: Mid Spring
Height: 18”
Depth and Distance Apart: 6-8” deep; 6” apart
Comments and Suggestions: Narcissus species look well in a rock garden where small flowers can easily be seen. Plant in early September. Most species like the full sun; N. triandrus albus and N. juncifolia like partial shade. N. bulbocodium and N. cyclamineus like moisture.
Name : DAFFODIL SPECIES (Narcissus)
Blooming Time: Early-Mid Spring
Height: 10”-15”
Depth and Distance Apart: 4” deep; 3” apart
Comments and Suggestions: Narcissus species look well in a rock garden where small flowers can easily be seen. Plant in early September. Most species like the full sun; N. triandrus albus and N. juncifolia like partial shade. N. bulbocodium and N. cyclamineus like moisture.
Name : GLORY-OF-THE-SNOW (Chionodoxa)
Blooming Time: Early spring
Height: 4″-6″
Depth and Distance Apart: 2″ deep; 2″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Chionodoxa from sheets of color when planted in large numbers on a bank, woodland path, or near large boulders. Flowers usually follow snowdrops. Effective beneath forsythia. Magnolia stellate or with dainty Tulipa Kaufmanniana. Multiply rapidly.
Name : GRAPE-HYACINTH (Muscari)
Blooming Time: Mid-spring
Height: 6″-8″
Depth and Distance Apart: 3″ deep; 3″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Grape-hyacinths are one of the most versatile spring bulbs. Plant in the foreground of tulips and daffodils for color contrast; in the rock garden; under shrubs and naturalized. Left undisturbed they multiply rapidly from seeds. Can be forced indoors.
Name : GUINEA-HEN FLOWER (Fritillaria)
Blooming Time: Mid-spring
Height: 12″-36″
Depth and Distance Apart: 4″ deep; 4″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Fritillaria meleagris, or guinea-hen flower, has charming pendant flowers with petals curiously checkered. Good in the rock garden in a somewhat dry location. F. imperialis, or crown imperial, is a tall, robust grower. Plant in full sun in a protected location.
Name : HYACINTH (Hyacinthus)
Blooming Time: Mid—late spring
Height: 8″-12″
Depth and Distance Apart: 6-8″ deep; 8″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Hyacinths are excellent for formal plantings. For even flowering use uniform-sized bulbs, varieties with the same blooming period, and place bulbs exactly according to a pattern. Space not more than 8 inches apart from center to center. Fragrant and good for forcing.
Name : IRIS, DUTCH (Iris)
Blooming Time: Late spring
Height: 22”-28”
Depth and Distance Apart: 6″ deep; 3″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Dutch iris bloom just as the late tulips fade and before bearded iris. Plant in full sun in rich soil. Mulch in cold regions. Plant between clumps of Oriental poppies or combine with columbine and baptisia. Very satisfactory for growing indoors.
Name : LILY (Lilium)
Blooming Time: Summer
Height: 12″-72″
Depth and Distance Apart: 6-8″ deep; 10″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Lilies are excellent in perennial borders or against the background of evergreens. Select varieties to flower from June until fall. Plant in sun or light shade in well-drained soil. Madonna lily (L. candidum) is planted in August at a depth of 2 inches.
Name : SNOWDROP (Galanthus)
Blooming Time: Early spring
Height: 4″
Depth and Distance Apart: 3″ deep; 3″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Snowdrops are one of the earliest harbingers of spring. To be effective, plant in large groups against rocks, beneath shrubs or trees, or in woodland. Once planted they remain for a lifetime. G. nivalis Flore Pleno is double. Snowdrops can be forced indoors.
Name : SNOWFLAKE (Leucojum)
Blooming Time: Early spring
Height: 6″-12″
Depth and Distance Apart: 3″ deep; 3″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Snowflakes resemble snowdrops but have larger flowers and green tips at the base of petals. Bulbs delight in the shade and should be left undisturbed to multiply. Plant in the rock garden, open woods, or stream bank. L. vernum flowers in March; L. aestivum in late April.
Name : SQUILL (Scilla)
Blooming Time: Early spring
Height: 6″-15″
Depth and Distance Apart: 4″ deep; 6″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Scillas should be massed under shrubs or trees, in open woods, as border edging, or in the rock garden. S. bifolia and S. siberica flower early with 6-inch spikes. Blooming later with tulips, S. hispanica has 12-inch stems, which is particularly fine for the woodland garden.
Name : TULIP (Tulipa)
Blooming Time: Mid-late spring
Height: 25″-30″
Depth and Distance Apart: 6-10″ deep; 6″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Tulip plantings are best planned with the aid of a good catalog so that the blooming date, color, and height of varieties may be used to advantage. Use plenty of white and bold combinations such as dark mahogany set off by a bright yellow variety.
Name : TULIP SPECIES (Tulipa)
Blooming Time: Mid-spring
Height: 6″-18″
Depth and Distance Apart: 5-6″ deep; 6″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Tulip species bloom in advance of most hybrids. Excellent in the rock garden and border plantings. Color and form vary greatly among the different species. Plant in a dry, sunny location. Once planted, come up year after year. Hybrids must be replaced often.
Name : TROUT-LILY (Erythronium)
Blooming Time: Mid-spring
Height: 8″-12″
Depth and Distance Apart: 3″ deep; 3″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Trout-lilies are fragile-looking flowers with an amazing ability to endure strong winds and low temperatures in early spring. Bulbs are unusually shaped, boring, long and flat. Plant as soon as received, to avoid drying, in a partially shaded, moist location.
Name : WINTER-ACONITE (Eranthis)
Blooming Time: Early spring
Height: 4″-6″
Depth and Distance Apart: 2″ deep; 2″ apart
Comments and Suggestions: Winter-aconite is one of the first flowers of spring. Buttercup-yellow flowers are held 3” inches above the ground and surrounded by a collar of leaves. Tubers resemble dried raisins. Plant August or September or on receipt. Prefer sun in spring, and light shade in summer.
44659 by J.R.R.