Back to Info Sheets	Fall Bulbs for Spring Colour.          Planting fall bulbs gives your garden early colour and interest from snow melt on into the summer.  Many people have questions on the specifics of bulb care.  This general outline will get you started; for more information ask your local garden centre or one of our many helpful staff. EASY CARE BULBS: Bulbs purchased locally in the fall are usually hardy and will thrive in your area.  Unlike spring bulbs, they can stay in the ground year round.  In fact, they require cool temperatures for rooting and flower formation.    By choosing different types of bulbs, you can enjoy many beautiful colours and forms continuously from early spring until early  summer.  When purchasing your bulbs, have a look at the display box.  These labels usually indicate blooming periods as well as other useful information, such as height and colour.  However, one must keep in mind that blooming times vary from one region to another and with variations in weather from one year to the next. Many bulbs are prodigious multipliers.  The number of flowers increases from one year to the next.  This process is called naturalizing.  You can plant these bulbs not only in prepared flower beds but also under grass or trees.  The result after many years is a virtual carpet of bloom.  For example, you could enjoy a sea of multicoloured crocuses in drifts of yellow, purple and white, in early spring; followed by blue Siberian squill, and  even later in spring, cheerful yellow daffodils.  If you need to seed or resod your lawn, what better time to plant these bulbs! One kind of bulb that does not naturalize well is the tulip.  Most types of tulips put forth their best bloom the year immediately following planting.  In subsequent years the size and number of blooms tends to decline as the parent bulb disintegrates and forms tiny bulblets.  Therefore, it is best to regard tulips as annuals which need to be replanted each year.  However, if you wish to encourage them to re-bloom, you can do so by fertilizing with a high phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, cutting off the flower before seed formation begins, and  allowing the leaves to die naturally.  The foliage must be left until it is brown and dry.  Then it is cut off and the bulb should be dug up, allowed to dry for a few days in a warm airy room.  Store in an open paper bag and replant in Sept-Oct. Of course, a few tulips such as the low growing species naturalize well.  Tulipa tarda with its bright yellow center and contrasting white edge would look wonderful combined with the red "Little Beauty" which has a blue center.  There are also some taller tulips that will often bloom for more than a year.  They include the greigiis, kaufmannianas, and fosterianas.  Of course, a good application of fertilizer such as 6-12-12 following blooming will help promote a show the next year. These bulbs are good choices for naturalizing: Daffodils - Early flowering, and come in a variety of white, yellow and deep orange color combinations. Anemone blanda - Grecian windflower.  Actually a tuberous rhizome which should be soaked prior to planting.  Available in white or blue daisy like flowers these rhizomes should be planted on there edge as top and bottom are sometimes difficult to tell apart.. Chionodoxa - Glory of the Snow.  Available in pink or blue with grasslike foliage, spreads by seed or offsets. Crocus.  Available as early blooming species or "snow" crocus.  Blooms 2 weeks before giant crocus with a mixture of pastels and bright colours including light and dark purples, yellows, golds, soft violet-pinks, blue tinged whites.  Eranthis - winter aconite.   Yellow buttercup -like low beauty blooming before crocus. Best in a weed free bed with rich soil (not lawn).  Soak the tuber overnight. Fritillairis meleagris - Guinea-hen flower or checkered lily.   5".  Interesting purple and white checkered pattern. Very unique and eye catching. Galanthus  - Snowdrop.  3".  Milky white bells with green markings fond of heavy, slightly moist soil, good for under deciduous trees and in rock gardens. Location: Bulbs should be planted in a bed of well-draining, loosened soil.  Adding compost or organic matter to the soil will improve the quality of your blooms.  If you want to plant in a raised box, the planter should be greater than three-by-three, so that it doesn't freeze solid.  Bulbs can be planted throughout the lawn in a scattered, naturalized fashion. They may also be planted in the garden in large groups of 10-15. Grouping bulbs together by the same variety makes a great impact.  A more naturalized look occurs when you plant small numbers (5-7) of different varieties throughout the garden. When and How:  Plant bulbs in late September, October or November before the first hard frost. Plant bulbs twice as deep as their height.  Space large bulbs like tulips, daffodils and hyacinths five (5") inches apart, smaller bulbs go as close as three (3") inches apart.Cover with soil and water well. Care:  One may add a little bonemeal as fertilizer when planting to encourage rooting. In  the spring:  Once  the  flowers have faded, cut off the old flower stems and fertilize with a flower and bulb food.  Let the leaves grow and die back naturally.  When the leaves have all turned yellow, cut them off.  One can leave them in the garden over the summer or lift the bulbs and store in a cool (5oC) place until fall.   Store in paper bags and with good humidity but not wet.   Check all bulbs that they are firm, and have no mouldy spots.  Replant the healthy  bulbs in the garden in the fall.
© Murray's Garden and Horticultural Services Last updated: March 2, 2008