Helpful Tips from Premier Turf & Landscape on Fall Bulbs
It is time for perhaps one of the most rewarding of all gardening activities. Now is the time to plant spring flowering bulbs. By planting a variety of bulbs now, you will enjoy glorious color as early as mid-February and lasting through the end of May. Spring flowering bulbs enhance any landscape and may be used in a variety of themes. They can be placed in along any evergreen hedge for splashes of color, mixed into a perennial border for a lovely hint that spring is here, or line a driveway or walkway to create an inviting welcome. Bulbs can be scattered along the edge of a tree line to soften the transition between lawn and woods. Low-growing varieties such as crocus and scilla can even be planted within a lawn to provide a touch of color.
To create natural-looking bulb planting, what follows are a few simple helpful steps:
· Plant in clumps and curved lines. This will create a natural look in most bulb plantings. Clump plantings will reward you by making a fine show the very first year, whereas single bulbs will look thin and spotty for several years.
· Plant tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils in groups of 5-6 per square foot; crocus scillas, and other small bulbs should be planted in-groups of 10-12 per square foot.
· If possible, plan your planting areas to follow natural contours. You will achieve a “drifting” effect.
· Remember that with spring flowering bulbs it is necessary to allow the leaves to remain on the plant until they have turned brown. This allows the bulb to store the food necessary to carry it through the winter. Plant bulbs where other plantings will conceal the fading leaves’ among groundcovers, deciduous shrubs, perennials, or other areas where developing plants will gradually cover your bulbs withering foliage.
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