Bulb planting - question

I might plant some daff or tulip bulbs this weekend. Just wondering what the best way to plant them is? I will dig a hole and add compost - should I be adding anything else?

Some people feel bone meal encourages critters, like squirrels, to dig. I wouldn't put compost under the bulbs but mix it in well with the soil. If you haven't purchased the tulips yet the Darwins are the longest lived ones. Others are certainly more beautiful but in five years there's an excellent chance you won't have one left.

Daffodils increase so there's no problem there.

There are bulb foods that do not contain bone meal. Read the labels for ingrediants to be sure. For tulips I usually plant a group in odd numbers of bulbs and put a ring of small daffs around the outside If I can, to help protect the emerging foliage from critters, most will not eat daffs. Not always successful but it may help if you have deer and squirrel problems. After planting I cover with shredded leaves and place a few fallen tree twigs over it so it doesn't look freshly dug, be sure you mark it somehow so you don't disturb next spring. :)

Many people also sprinkle muscari bulbs throughout the planting area because they send up new foliage in the fall and they're to remind you that bulbs are there so you don't think you have a vacant spot to plant.

Hey that's a great tip, pirl! Darn . . . wish I had known that last year when I planted the daffodils . . . What happens if you plant bulbs in the spring . . . do they just rot?

I mean, could I plant the grape hyacinth when the daffodils emerge?

The grape hyacinths can just be pushed into soft soil whenever you buy them, from now to November. Don't let them wait over winter!

Ugh ok this is what I did tonight. I basically just planted those Darwin bulbs that were suggested and some shorter daffs! I dug my wholes deep enough that is for sure but I didn't add anything.....will they be okay? Sorry the only thing I did was dig and add water. Is that ok???

Been there done that. Don't worry they have the flower for next spring already inside the bulb. If you have decent drainage they will be fine. Next spring you can give them a boost with some bulb food scratched in to the soil a bit.

Okay whew ngam! Thanks. I was hoping someone would say that! LOL

Would bone meal be okay in the spring?? If so when exactly would I add it? Before they come up or after the come up?

Yes I've planted many bulbs without anything. You can add bone meal or Bulb Boost when you see the foliage.

The gardener on radio says to feed in spring just as the foliage emerges. I only add food when I plant, probably because I have the food out along with the bulbs.

No harm will come from not feeding them now, Dawn.

Yay I planted 50 bulbs!!!!

Congrats! Hope you fertilized.

Which ones, Dawn?

Hmmm no Victor. I told you not till the spring LOL Too late now anyhow....they are buried.

I got a mix of Darwin Tulips and a bag of all sorts of different kinds of daffs. I can't wait till spring now!!!!! LOL

I was playing Dawn. I had just posted before about not worrying about it. You should know me better by now!!

What color tulips, Dawn?

They are a mix of red and yellows and combinations.....yeah not the most exciting ones but I I think yellow is the cheeriest colour in the spring!!!! I love yellow!!!

Will those trumpet daffs multiply also like the normal yellow ones do??

My goodness, Dawn. We haven't even received our bulbs that we ordered yet. I'm glad you began this thread so that us 'other newbies' will know what to do when we get them.

You *must* take photos of your lovely daffs next spring!

Dawn - practice lifting weights for the daffodil expansion. Yes, they'll multiply!!! Here's a 52 pound clump I lifted last year. Yes, I brought out the scale and weighed it! I'd seriously suggest you divide more frequently than 14 or 15 years! Try five years.

I have seen several books where they recommend planting many bulbs in the same hole. Daffs deepest, then hyacinths, then crocus, scilla, galanthus or other small bulbs on top. Has anyone ever tried that? I was going to plant some more bulbs this fall and wondered if it would work.

I've done it with three different bulbs / depths. It's very nice.

We have done it, too. It easy to do, saves on real estate, and looks gorgeous in the spring.

OMG pirl!!! Just look at those!!!! Those daffs are like bunnies LOL

Too late to ask now but I will tell you what I did....not sure if it will look nice but live and learn I guess. I mixed some daff bulbs with some tulip bulbs in the same whole. Did I do a big no no??

No light bulbs, I hope.

Each person plants according to their own style, Dawn. There's no way to say right or wrong until you make that decision when you see it. Most likely the daffodils will be on their way out when the tulips bloom.

ohhhhhhhhhh I see.....okay this bulb stuff is making sense to me now....

Victor I think "my" light bulb just went on LOL

Dawn:

Your garden will be gorgeous in the Spring. The way you planted the bulbs will be just fine. I have a question, though. Do you plant tulip bulbs and daffodill bulbs the same depth in the soil?

All I can say is that yes "I" did.

Anyone toss crocus and muscari in a lawn? Been thinking of using Crocus tommasinianus and Muscari armeniacum . Have a good deal of area (10,000 sq ft at least) to cover and want something which will naturalize fast. Would larger crocus be better? Or isn't this a good idea at all?





This message was edited Sep 13, 2007 2:00 AM

You won't be able to mow until the foliage dies down. Then, come fall, the muscari sends up new growth and you wouldn't be able to mow. Would it bother you to leave the area with tall grass?

I don't get it....how do bulbs multiply???

I'm no biology major but the quick answer is they take in nutrients through their leaves, which feeds the mother bulb. Then she produces an "offset" (baby bulb) that develops into another mother bulb and it goes on and on.

They use calculators.

Dawn, You don't have too, but you could scratch some bulb food into the ground over where you planted the bulbs.
Always keep in mind while gardening that plants lived for millions of years without ever being fertilized by humans. Bulbs are easy.

I have found the Crocus tommasinianus and Muscari don't really mind if you don't leave their foliage up too long. We just delay the first mowing a little while. And then set the blades up higher for the fall mowing when the Muscari foliage is up. I have Ruby Giant, and Barrs Purple Crocus tommasinianus, but the species Crocus tommasinianus is my favorite for spreading. If you put it on an incline it will throw its seeds downhill, and cover the incline.

Pirl, wow on the daffs. How many did you start with, and how long ago? And having seen your soil, I would dare say most people will not get increases like that.

Pirl, THOSE POOR bulbs of YOURS??? Did you see the shape of them??? They have been squashed in like sardines!!! LOL

I generally lightly fertilize when I plant the bulbs, when they first emerge, AND when the bloom is done, when the foliage is starting to "ripen". That's when they are pulling in "strength" to store up for next year's blooms.

The year before I sold my last house I planted over 300 pink tulips in the back yard. flower beds. I had planted pink in front years before. Costco has NICE big quality bulbs and I've been very pleased with them. The price is right and they have yielded great big beautiful blooms. I hope I can get to Costco this year and buy more for THIS house.

Polly - the soil with the plant I sent to you is not the same as the soil where the daffodils grow. It's that out of sight, out of mind thing. When there's no foliage to scream "Divide me!" I do tend to do other chores and put aside the daffodil moving. I began in '92 with a dozen in each spot and only have one area left to dig. I hope it's not another 52 pound clump.

I like your idea about planting them on an incline!

PsychW2 - yes I did happen to notice how slim and trim they were! Much more than squished. I planted 1,069 (hyacinth/daffodils/tulips, etc.) down the side of the driveway of my former home and 144 daffodils in one huge area in the rear gardens: the new owner ripped them all out.

The owner ripped them out? Oh, how crass!!!!

Why would someone do that? Did they know they were there? They are no maint. really so why go to the trouble of taking them all out.