Bulbs are a wonderful way to plant a garden. For one, they are easy to plant, hearty, and produce magnificent plants and flowers. With bulbs, you can have beautiful tulips, daffodils, gladiolus, lilies, and other beautiful flowers that bloom year after year. For some people, knowing the right time to plant bulbs for springtime blooming is a challenge. To get you started in the right direction, consider the following recommendations:
•When – For springtime blooms, you want to plant them during late fall to early winter. By doing so, you will have gorgeous and healthy blooms in the spring. Keep in mind that blooms must go through a biochemical process, which is what causes them to bloom. For this to happen, the bulbs must go through a long period of cool temperatures, thus the fall and winter planting. If you live in a region that commonly freezes, you want to get the bulbs planted prior to the ground freezing. This will provide them the opportunity to grow strong, healthy roots.
Now remember that if for some reason you forget to get the bulbs into the ground during the fall, you can place them in your refrigerator, and then plant them indoors until the spring comes, at which time they would be transferred to the outdoors. Bulbs are great in that they are tough and have a natural storage of food. This means that no matter when or where they are planted, they will try to bloom. Therefore, even if you have to get them started in the refrigerator and then indoors, they will probably grow into stunning flowers.
•Climate – With bulbs, they are very versatile, meaning that they will even tolerate warm climates all the way to Zone 10. If you do live in Zone 9 or 10, you will probably find that the bulbs bloom much earlier than if you lived in Zone 3, 4, or 5. Again, when bulbs are grown in warm zones, especially species such as daffodils and tulips, then they do need to be pre-chilled.
•Pre-Chill – If you decide to pre-chill the bulbs, then plant to keep them in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 weeks. Additionally, the temperatures need to be maintained around 40 to 45 degrees F. If needed, the pre-chilling can go as long as 16 weeks, at which time you would need to plant the bulbs, preferably in the ground.
•Location – The location of where the bulbs will be planted depends on the species. For example, daffodil, crocus, and tulips prefer the shade while other species such as gladiolus like partial sunlight.
•Soil – Finally, make sure whatever location you choose has adequate drainage. Otherwise, you will have bulbs sitting in overly moist ground, which can cause them to rot.