Last spring I had the pleasure of visiting three amazing flower displays. The first was the tulips in Pella, Iowa. The second was the Tulip Festival at The Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah and the final one was The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California. I saw so many glorious flowers. I am a flower lover at heart and have my own cut flower garden but my yard has minimal flowers that come from bulbs. I attempted once, years ago – likely over 20 years ago, to create an amazing tulip display in my front yard. It was pretty much a failure. I don’t know what happened. Maybe the rabbits ate the bulbs or maybe the bulbs were bad or maybe it was just user error and I didn’t plant them correctly. At any rate, I haven’t attempted tulips since then. But after visiting Pella, Iowa and the Tulip Festival, I am determined to change my tulip-less yard into a spot with tulips. I found my inspiration for my spring flower display at the Tulip Festival. I hope my planting looks at least a little bit like the one I saw there. Next year I WILL have tulips. At least I hope so. I recently bought tulips and various other bulbs and will be planting them as soon as the weather is right. The weather is right for bulb planting in the fall when it is cool. Temperatures should be dropping here in October and that is when I will plant my bulbs.
These are from the garden that gave me inspiration for my planting this year. Aren’t they amazing?!!
In doing a little research, I came across a great video from the University of Minnesota extension service that I highly recommend. There are also others great tips on the website about planting bulbs. I will summarize the basics of that below but I highly recommend visiting the website for more in depth information.
If you don’t want to watch the video, here’s what you need to know to plant bulbs.
Location: Plant bulbs in a sunny spot. You can plant them close to deciduous trees since those trees will not have their leaves when the flowers bloom. Keep in mind however that the more sun the bulbs and flowers get, the better.
Soil: When you plant the bulbs, prepare your soil by adding peat moss or compost to create a good growing environment for the bulbs.
Spacing and depth: Check the label on the package of your bulbs to know how deep to plant your bulbs and how far apart to space them. Tulips are planted with the pointy side up. The rough spot on the bottom is where the roots grow out.
Water: After planting your bulbs, be sure to water them and if the soil dries out, continue to water them. Be sure to let the soil dry out between waterings so that you do not cause the bulbs to rot due to overwatering.
Mulch: To keep the ground from freezing or thawing too quickly, cover your planting site with mulch. You can remove the mulch in the spring when the temperatures start to warm and if it’s going to get too cold in the spring after you’ve removed the mulch, you can also replace the mulch to protect your bulbs.
Post bloom care: After your bulbs have bloomed, if you want them to bloom next year, it is important to let the leaves die back. As these leaves die back they are nourishing the bulb. When the greens have died back completely you can cut them to the ground.
I am excited to plant my bulbs but am even more excited to see them bloom in the spring. Hopefully this time my efforts will yield great success. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Happy planting! Comment below on what your plans are for planting bulbs.
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