Bulbs – Get ‘Em in the Ground!
By Paul James
Next spring, will you be one of thousands of people who, while driving or taking a walk, can’t help but notice all the daffodils, tulips, and other beautiful bulbs in bloom, and kick yourself in the butt for not planting them at your place the previous fall? Don’t suffer another spring of frustration due to your procrastination! It’s fall. Time to plant.
Spring-flowering bulbs are a bargain, and they reward you with years – even decades – of blooms. Okay, so tulips often don’t come back, but even they are worth the effort given how gorgeous (and inexpensive) they are. And planting bulbs is really simple – dig a hole, plant the bulb pointy side up, cover, and water. Boom! You’re done. A bulb auger attached to a drill makes the job even easier, enabling you to plant up to 100 bulbs in less than an hour.
But you have to get them in the ground now, or at least now through November. That’s because the bulbs have to be exposed to cold soil temperatures for several weeks to trigger the changes that cause them to bloom in spring. In other words, they have to chill or they won’t thrill.
So, sound the alarm. Tell your friends and neighbors. The time to plant bulbs is now. Or this weekend, anyway. After all, the forecast looks amazing.
2 responses to “Bulbs – Get ‘Em in the Ground!”
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Is it recommended to put bone meal with each bulb planted? Or is it thought to attract squirrels to dig bulbs up? Thanks for the tip. JT
Your call, Janis. There’s actually some recent research that suggests it’s unnecessary in terms of providing nutrients. However, I’m not aware of bone meal attracting squirrels.