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Fall Planting For Spring Gardens

by Carrie Paulk

Ask someone what their favorite time of year is, and you'll most likely hear them wax eloquently about Spring, with it's colorful spring gardens heralding the end of Winter. Ahh, if only your garden gave you that feeling when Spring rolls around. But alas, you do not even know where to begin in your landscape.

Fear not, achieving that gorgeous spring garden is not as hard as it seems; all you have to do is get your plans in gear and tackle them one by one. This way, you won't be caught by surprise when Spring rolls around. One of those plans that you can do now is bulb planting. Many of the flowers that you connect with springtime are actually bulb flowers, planted back in fall. Planting these bulbs now will help you to achieve that colorful spring array of flowers that you so want.

The first place to start when you're planning a spring bulb garden is your local garden center or other establishment that has spring-flowering bulbs for sale. To get the best quality bulb, try to stay away from the packaged bulbs in netting, and go to a place where you can pick out the bulbs individually. This way, you can check the bulb's quality. The old saying, "The bigger, the better," applies when you're looking for a good bulb. You also want to check for any soft or squishy spots, and look for any sort of pests or disease. A good quality bulb should feel solid and slightly heavy.

So exactly when in Autumn should you plant flower bulbs? Some bulbous flowers, like crocus (Crocus spp.), baby gladiolus (Gladiolus colvillei.), and ornamental allium (Allium spp.), can be planted at any time during the Autumn season. Other flowers are more finicky with their planting times. Daffodils (Narcissus spp.) should be planted as early as you can get them. Tulip bulbs (Tulipa spp.) should be planted in mid to late October in this region. Hyacinth flowers (Hyacinthus spp.) do their best when planted from October to December. Spring-flowering lilies (Lilium spp.) should be planted as soon as you receive them. As for Iris species (Iris spp.), they depend on whether they are a bulbous iris or a rhizomatous iris. Bulbous irises should be planted between October and November, and rhizomatous irises can be planted from July to October. Even though all these flowers can be planted in Fall, many are specific about exactly when they should be planted.

Planting depth of bulbous flowers are specific as well. Generally, the larger the bulb, the deeper it should be planted. However, there are exceptions to every rule, so the following is a list of common bulbs and the depth that they should be planted:

Daffodils: 5-6" (large), 3-4" (small); planted 8" apart
Tulips: plant three times as wide as the bulb width, 4-8" apart
Bulbous Irises: 4" deep, 3-4" apart
Rhizomatous Irises: just below the soil surface, 1-2' apart
Baby Gladiolus: 3-5" deep, 4-6" apart
Crocus: 2-3" deep, 3-4" apart
Lily: 2-3" (small), 3-4" (medium), 4-6" (large), 4-8" apart

Bulbous flowers are more finicky than most when it comes to how and when they should be planted, but that shouldn't deter you from having a garden filled with their noticeable presence come springtime. Once you educate yourself and formulate a plan for your garden, you will be well on your way to having that springtime burst of color and shapes to welcome you back from the bleak winter.

Carrie Paulk is the author of "Fall Planting For Spring Gardens," which is part of the Tip of the Week program with Turf Tamer, Inc. She has written many informative landscaping articles. To learn more about landscaping tips and tricks, you can find the rest of her articles at http://www.turftamerinc.com/tip.shtm . She can be reached at carrie@turftamerinc.com

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