How To Care for Blubs
Flowering bulbs are great for garden designs because of their beauty and how they add that unique touch. I worked with these plants many years ago and was amazed at how beautiful they were when I saw them in full bloom.
There are many species of bulbs with their array of rainbow colors that will just lighten up your garden and landscape bringing those areas to life.
Bulbs can be planted in flower beds and they also do well in container gardening.
When to plant bulbs?
The best time to plant bulbs is in the fall, this fall planting prepares them for the spring. Now I know you may be thinking that this is such a long wait, but trust me it is worth the wait and you will love the end results as your landscape and garden areas take on a different appearance.
How to plant bulbs?
1. when purchasing bulbs make sure that you are getting quality for your $. Bulbs that appears to be sickly, such as mushy or small is not a good buy, purchase bulbs that are firm with a lot of body or mass to them.
2. Give your bulbs a good head start by using good garden soil or compost, this will go a long way in ensuring that your plant is getting that good quality soil.
3. Dig planting holes about four inches deep, this depth is great and will ensure that you have nice strong healthy bulbs.
4. Bulbs love a good drain soil so be careful of how much water you give them because they can die very easily with excess moisture. Some persons plant their bulbs on their sides instead of pointing up to avoid rot. But even if you decide to plant them pointing up just keep in mind they may need a good soaking.
5. Fertilize bulbs with granular fertilizer, sprinkle just a few in the bottom of the hole at the time of planting as a starter fertilizer, and after they bloom you can switch to a water-soluble or liquid fertilizer. Triple ten or triple twenty is good.
6. Fertilizer your bulbs at least once a month.
7. Place mulch around bulbs to keep weeds down because weeds have been known to compete for water and fertilizer.
Rodent Problem
Animals such as squirrels and many other rodents love to dig up and make a meal out of bulbs. Here are some suggestions to discourage them from your garden areas. Make a cage out of chicken wire and place them around your bulb, sprinkle mothballs around the beds, be careful not to let children or pets play with mothballs, spray the area with hot pepper sauce, install a fence that has good height also you can check with your garden center or plant nursery to see what other measures can be taken.
Pest Problem
Common garden insect pests that attack bulbs are aphids, snails, slugs, caterpillars, mites, Trips. To counter attack there are many pesticides that are sold on the market that is safe around humans and children such as insecticidal soaps. etc… to learn more about pesticides that are human and pet- friendly follow the link. In the case of snails and slugs, you can add snail bait or handpick them and drop them in a bucket of water that contains dish liquid. What you can also do is plant resistant varieties or you can check your garden center to see what other pesticides are available that are safe to use around the home garden.
Planting Bulbs in Containers
Another great way to plant bulbs is by planting them in containers, this method is great especially if you choose the right decorative containers which will work wonders.
1.When planting bulbs by container make sure that the container accommodates the plant so that your plant sits comfortably.
2. Use good garden soil or compost as we discussed earlier.
3. Bulbs love a good drain soil so adding about 2 inches of pebbles at the bottom of the pot and then adding soil acts as good drainage for your plant.
4. Make sure that the pot has drain holes, to allow excess water to run off.
5.Water as mention earlier.
6. Fertilize as was mention earlier.
7. Confront pest problems as was discussed earlier.
8. Plant various species together for a colorful effect.
Some examples of bulbs and their zones
A. Anemone-zones 5-9, growing height 6-12 inches.
B. Allium-zones 4-9, growing height 6 inches -3 feet.
C .Amaryllis-zones 9-11, growing height 2 1/2- 3 feet.
D. Caladiums- zones-10-11, growing height 6 inches-3 feet.
E. Colchicum-zones -4-9, growing height 6-12 inches.
F. Crinum lily-zones 7-9, growing height 6 inches -8 feet.
The final word
Making bulbs apart of our overall garden design can really add that much -needed color, these plants really do work wonders, so let’s make them a part of our garden and enjoy the beauty that they bring.
About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
I have a TON of squirrels in my front yard that wreak havoc on everything. I would love to chop down the acorn tree, but at $1500, not going to happen for me. So I have to deal with these rascals. When I bought the house, the lady had bulbs planted everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. They still seem to be coming up where I thought I’d removed all of the bulbs. I like them but they were haphazardly placed throughout the yard. I am more of a “clean line” person. Maybe now I can start from scratch and get some planted where I want them.
Hello Matt’s Mom my good friend so good to see you as always and thanks for commenting, I guess that is the down side of having these beautiful plants and that is the pest and rodents but by using different methods you can take control of the problem with good results.
Hoping that you will have the best off success with your garden project. Have a good day my dare lady and thanks again.
This is a great site full of awesome information! The layout is good and the content is great. This is ideal for someone who wants to step into gardening or someone who wants to spruce up their yard. I had an easy time reading and I really enjoyed it! I can see that you love what you do and know a lot about it. 🙂
Hello Abbey and thanks for those kind words, wishing you the best off success and have a good day.
I find I have problems with choosing a pot that is too small. Now, yes I could choose a pot that is too big, but then it looks ridiculous, and isn’t a pot that’s too large also a bad choice?
Just the other day I was helping my Love re-plant an Amerella because the pot we had was too darn small. I’ve had to do this with a number of plants in the past few months.
Is there a general ‘rule of thumb’ that I should go by when choosing the right sized plant pot for my plant?
Thanks!
– Nehpets
Hello Nephels it is so good to meet you and thanks for responding, if the plant is a 3 gallon plant size then you can place that plant in a 5 gallon container, the thing to remember is to always place your plants in containers that is twice that of the root ball, that why your plant will fit perfect and the plant itself will have enough room to grow. Hope this helps, all the best to you and have a good day.
What a great idea!
I always wondered if a person could plant these bulbs in a container indoors and if so would you follow the directions of planting them in the fall?
Where would you store them through the winter and how would you get them going in the spring, or, could you just grow them indoors all year round?
Shawn>>
Hello Shawn it is so nice to meet you, it all depends on the species of bulb. You can plant amaryllis in the fall and by winter you will have a nice bloom just keep the in a cool area. If you are planting bulbs like dahlia what you can do is get a wooden box place news paper inside of wooden box, place bulbs in wood box with stems up right then sprinkle peat moss over bulbs
make sure that bulb is mostly covered, then place bulbs in and are that is about 40 -50 degrees. As long as bulbs are getting humidity they will do find. This will keep them through the winter and till time to plant in spring, hope this helps. Have a good day.
Hi Norman,
I have been trying to “nurture” my green thumb with constant practice and your guide on how to plant flower bulbs will surely help. Apart from doing the “technicals,” do you believe in talking to plants so that they will grow nicely? My mom seldom does pest controls or adds fertilizers, but I always see her talking to plants while tendering to them. And her flower garden is just magical!
Regards,
Pitin
Hello Pitin it is good to see you again, I am glad that I could help. I heard over the years that people talk to plants and they do well, I heard of some one that said they play music for their plant it responds to the music, In this day and time you hear lots of things. But I believe that if you follow the laws of nature and give your plant what it needs it will do just fine. Thanks a lot for commenting, all the best to you and have a good day.
I appreciate the easy instructions on planting and protecting your burbs. You’re right, they are very colorful and amazing flowers! And your easy instructions allows me to have confidence in planting them.
Is there any flowers or plants that you can suggest that would go great along side them? Like for instance, a sun flower or would that look tacky?..
Hello Erich it is so good that you have decided to my page, thanks a million, bulbs are very beautiful plants and do work wonders. Sunflower may be somewhat off, but you can plant bulbs with impatience, bromelaids, coleus, anthurims and so on. Hope this helps all the best too you.
Hi Norman.
I really felt a sense of calm visiting your website.
The beautiful flowers and layout of site added to this feeling.
I love the fact that you have health tips as well related to the site.
A pleasant experience.
We don’t have those type of rodents in my country-Australia, but believe me we have others that can cause as much damage to gardens!
Hello it is so nice to meet you, thanks for those kinds words,glad that I could help. All the best to you and have a good day.
Hi Norman,
I enjoyed your beautiful vibrante site. It looks very nice and professional. The information is clear and informative. You have gone into alot of detail.
Now I know more about planting than I did before.
Do you have any suggestions for planting in alkaline soils?
Thank you for sharing.
Hello Yvonne it is so good to meet you and thanks for responding and for those kinds words, well as you know some plants love acidic soils and their are some that love neutral soils and their are others that loves alkaline soils, so one important key to remember is selecting the right plant, so in this case you would choose plants that is best suited for this area.
Some examples of plants that love alkaline soils are, heathers, rhododendrons, camellias and so on. You can also check with you garden center to see what other plant options you have. Hope this helps, all the best to you and have a good day.
Great article on how to plan flower bulbs. My wife loves flowers and I’ve been thinking about planting some for the spring and summer time this year.
I feel since fall is already over I may be a little too late. Are there any kinds of flowers that I can plan in the spring time that will bloom later this year?
Also do you have lots of flowers in your yard? You seem like someone like my wife who likes seeing lots of different colors as you drive up to your house.
Hello Michael it is good too meet you, their is so many options that you can choose from. For example, Hibiscus, golden shower, lantana, golden duranta, plumbago etc…. these are just a few of the many flowering plants that you can plant. What you can do also is check you garden center or nursery man for more options.
Not that much at home, but where I work they are all around me. Hope this helps, all the best to you and have a good day.
Hello there,
That’s a great post & website, I like the design & the colors, these instructions mentioned will make it so easy for people to plant their bulbs & to protect them, I like also the idea of planting in the container but maybe I will find it little difficult to do by myself lol, but sure I will give it a try by following the instructions in your awesome post, thanks for sharing.
Hello Ehab it is nice that we have met, thanks for those kind words and I am glad that I could help, wishing you the best of success with your garden project, please let me know how it goes, thanks again. Have a good day.
We have rats in our garden. We used rat bait blocks which they eat and then disappear somewhere and die. But they keep coming back again. Its a pain….but we learnt to live with the problem. Thanks for the chicken wire cage idea. That sounds cool. Never tried that before. Also never ever thought of using moth balls. I know my grandma used mothballs in wardrobes to keep little bugs and roaches away, but never in the garden. Maybe I’ll give that a try too. 🙂
Hello Santosh, I am glad that I could help, wishing you the best of success with your war against those rodents. Have a good day and please do let me know how it goes.
I just love these flowers. My garden is in serious need of some color and these would be perfect. I do not have a green thumb in the slightest and don’t have a ton of time to tend to my garden. Are these a good choice for someone who needs something a little more low-maintenance?
Hello Heather it is so good to see you, and thanks for commenting. Flower bulbs are a great choice to bring that flavor to any garden area but if you are looking for a low maintenance garden then you can follow this like that can give you some ideas, https://staging-gardenofedengardencenter.siterubix.com/xeriscaping. Hope this helps, all the best to you and have a good day.