To water ... Or not?

I'm new to planting bulbs and recently planted Hyacinth, Narcissus and Tulips. I have some cornflower bulbs to plant also. The instructions with the cornflower tell me to soak overnight for best results. What's up with that? Do bulbs need watered after planting?

Logic makes me wonder why they should. It will be six months before they emerge as plants. Then again, someone with more experience than I suggested watering them for the first week or two. No reason was given other than that's how their mother did it.

I watered them when planted, mostly to remove air pockets opposed to expecting some reaction from them.

Need some advice from those in the know. Thanks.

Gary

I know it is suggested for certain bulbs to soak them overnight before planting. Fall is the time for your bulbs to develop roots before the ground freezes. I would think that soaking just wakes up the bulb and helps it get rehydrated and start growing roots.

Also, for the Ranunculus I planted the bulb is actually a tuberous root plant. It kind of looks like an octopus. From the store they come dry and brittle. It's pretty easy to break the legs (tuberous roots) off when planting when they are in that state. I soaked them first which made them more pliable. And for the Anemones bulbs which are actually corms they are crazy shapes and there was no way for me to see the eyes for shoots to know which side is up. After soaking them the eyes were much bigger and swollen so I could tell which way to plant the corms.

I understand that you should water well right after planting any type of bulb for root growth and to get the soil to settle back down. Loose soil makes it easy for moles or squirrels to get to your bulbs! Hyacinths and Narcissus are really not an interest to the creatures but Tulips sure are! I hope this helps!

Thank you. After reading your post it began dawning on me there was reason to plant bulbs in the fall. If it didn't matter there would be no reason not to wait until spring. Without the "head start" of getting them primed then fall planting would be useless. Part of the head start is watering them to help get them established and ready for spring temperatures so they can grow.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with a gardening student.

How long should you soak the anemones for?

Gary - I'm still learning too so it's exciting that I can actually answer someone else's question on something! I must be learning something with all this gardening. I always need to know the reason behind things too. It's really helps your understanding of all flowers to know the why. Dave's Garden is a great place to exchange knowledge.

You might enjoy forcing a hyacinth bulb indoors this winter. I did it last year and it was neat. I did some in soil and one in a forcing vase over water which was very cool because I could see the roots in the glass vase. Anyway, enjoy your bulbs!

Marie - I read that the anemones should be soaked 12-14 hours and that's what I did.

Ok thanks. I never knew about soaking and them and have stayed away from them since I could never figure out which way to plant them. I bought some this past weekend to give them a try once again.