Why plant bulbs now for Spring color?  They’re easy to plant, require little maintenance, and provide years of increasing color.  What’s not to love?  You can choose among several characteristics – early bloomers, critter-resistant, fragrant, shade-tolerant, cut flowers, or forcing indoors.  Here are tips like what’s a healthy bulb look like, when to plant, how to plant, how to care after they bloom.  Then, my comments from my garden on 27 common types to choose, and online resources.  Go for it!

Why Plant Bulbs?

• Easy to plant
• Little maintenance
• Years of increasing color

 
Specific Bulb Characteristics

• Early bloomers: Anemone, chasmanthe, crocus, hyacinth.
• Critter resistant: Paperwhite, snowflake.
• Fragrant: Allium, daffodil, freesia, grape hyacinth, hyacinth, narcissus, paperwhite, tulip.
• Shade tolerant: Camassia, daffodil, galanthus (snowdrop).
• Cut flowers: Allium, anemone, daffodil, freesia, hyacinth, ranunculus, and tulip.  However, you don’t want to cut too many blooming stems because this will deprive the bulbs of their energy for next year’s bloom. 
• Indoor forcing:  Crocus, daffodil, grape hyacinth, hyacinth, tulip. Bulbs probably won’t retain sufficient energy for planting and blooming in the future.

 
Bulb Planting Tips

• What does a healthy bulb look like?  Large for their type, firm, and dry. Don’t even consider tiny, shriveled bulbs or any that have mold or squishy spots, especially late in the season.
• When to plant bulbs: Bulbs that flower in the spring are planted in the fall. Purchase and plant them as soon as they’re available so you get the highest quality, and they have as long a growing season as possible before blooming.

• How to plant bulbs: Generally, plant bulbs 2 or 3 times as deep as the bulb is tall – Larger bulbs like daffodils are planted up to 6” deep, and smaller bulbs like crocus are planted up to 4” deep. Plant the pointy side of the bulb facing upwards (or with any visible roots facing down).  If you can’t tell (as with anemone), simply plant the bulb on its side, and the bulb’s roots and shoots will find their correct direction. See below for more techniques in planting masses of bulbs.
• How to care for bulbs after they flower: When the bulbs are done blooming, allow the spent flower stalk and the foliage to dry back naturally.  Wait until the foliage is crispy brown, then break them off at ground level. This enables the bulb to reabsorb the nutrients for the following season.  Cutting the foliage off too early will lessen the energy available for the next year’s bloom.

 
Planting Masses of Bulbs

• Dig a wider hole. Instead of digging separate holes for each bulb, simple dig a wider hole.  Place several of the bulbs at their recommended depth and spacing, top with soil, and water in.
• Layer the bulbs. If your space is limited, as in a container, and you have several types of bulbs, layer the bulbs. Plant the larger bulbs the deepest. Add enough soil to barely cover them.  Place the medium-sized bulbs a bit offset from the points of the larger bulbs. Barely cover with soil.  Place the smaller bulbs. 
• Top with blooming annuals. You may also want to transplant fall-blooming annuals on top to camouflage the bare soil and provide color until and while the bulbs sprout and bloom.

 
Fall-Planting Bulb Choices
Allium
Amaryllis
Anemone (Windflower)
Bearded Iris
Brodiaea (Fool’s Onion)
Camassia (Wild Hyacinth)
Chasmanthe
Chiondoxa (Glory of the Snow)
Crocus
Daffodil (Narcissus)
Daylily
Dutch Iris
Freesia
Galanthus (Snowdrop)
Hyacinth
Hyacinthoides (Wood Hyacinth, Bluebells)
Ipheion (Starflower)
Ixia (African Corn Flower, Wandflower)
Leucojum (Snowflake)
Lycoris (Spider Lily)
Muscari (Grape Hyacinth)
Nerine
Ornithogalum (Star of Bethlehem)
Ranunculus (Buttercup)
Scilla (Squill)
Tulip

Online Bulb Resources

• American Meadows - https://www.americanmeadows.com/
• Bluestone Perennials - https://www.bluestoneperennials.com/
• Brecks -                           https://www.brecks.com/
• Dutch Grown -   https://www.dutchgrown.com/
• Easy To Grow Bulbs - www.easytogrowbulbs.com
• Eden Brothers - https://www.edenbrothers.com/
• High Country Gardens - https://www.highcountrygardens.com/
• Holland Bulb Farms - https://www.hollandbulbfarms.com/
• K. van Bourgondien - https://www.dutchbulbs.com/
• White Flower Farm - https://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/

 

     I’m afraid that I’ve already had enough of this heat, partly because my tomatoes and squash and beans are pretty dried-up and crispy, despite the lack of over-the-top torrid heat and having kept everyone’s roots sufficiently moist. They’ve just run their course, and we’ve eaten all that they provided.  I haven’t replanted new tomato plants in June for several years due to the drought – which in previous history these plants produced more tomatoes through fall.  So, not having these delicious orbs to continue looking forward to, I’ve had it with my hot-weather garden.  The three remaining delights are my blooming plumerias, the figs hurrying to ripen, and the promise of cool weather to come – which means sowing seeds for winter-through-spring eating!
 
Sorting through your old seed
Assuming that you’ve kept your open packets of seeds in a dark, dry, moderate-temperature (about 70 degrees) place, most seed will still be viable for 3 or 4 years, but you may have to sow a bit more thickly than if you’re purchasing the seed new.  Exceptions are leeks (2 years), onion (1 year), and parsley (1 year).
 
Purchasing new seed
Be sure to purchase from a vendor who keeps the seed display racks indoors in the shade – as close to that dark/dry/70-degree temperature place as possible.
 
Which to Sow, and Which to Transplant?

• The general rule is to sow root crops like beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes -- directly where the crops will mature so roots can develop long straight roots. This applies also to peas, so root systems can develop deeply into soil where they’ll mature, instead of having to overcome transplant shock.
• Others – like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard -- can be sown into seed trays or sixpacks to be later transplanted into larger containers once or twice before planting them into the garden where they’ll mature.  This allows you to monitor the plants so they’re more mature and well-formed when transplanted.  Because they tend to lean as they develop, you may need to bury the stem up to the first leaves to give them more stem support to grow straight; their hard cuticle will prevent any rotting.
• Many seeds – like beets, kale, leek, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard -- will do fine whichever method you choose. 

 
Don’t soak seeds ahead of time. 

• Rather than enabling quicker germination, this softens the delicate outer seed coat, which then can break as you sow the seed, potentially letting in diseases. 
• Instead, thoroughly moisten the seedbed or row ahead of sowing, gently drop in the dry seed, pull soil over it, and water it in thoroughly.  This “melts” the soil closely to the seed, enabling the best possible germination. 
• Once the seed sprout itself breaks through the seed coat, it’s developed sufficient energy and hormones to withstand any exterior disease elements.  

 
Keep Beds Moist

• Keep seed beds or flats moist and shaded during the hottest portion of the day until the seeds germinate.
• A light mulch helps keep the soil surface from crusting, especially over tiny seeds that take a while to germinate, like carrots and parsley.

 
Sow Consecutive Crops
Sow another batch of seeds every couple of weeks through October for a succession of tender crops through the winter.  Even if some seeds don’t seem to germinate, keep repeated sowing.  Last year, I resowed my peas 3 times, and then they ALL came up!
 
See August for More Tips and Tasks