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Thursday, February 10, 2011

It's Not to Late to Plant your Spring Flowering Bulbs

Yes, you can still plant any of the spring flowering bulbs, they will probably not bloom this year, but next year you'll be all set.  Here's a way to "cheat" a bit when you are planting your bulbs.     


Employ your power drill as a planter

A power drill used with a bulb auger will make planting your bulbs a snap.  Most augers come in 2 sizes, one for smaller bulbs and one for larger bulbs such as tulips and daffodils.  You can purchase the augers at most nursery stores.  You can also apply this time-saving technique for planting annuals, turning and aerating your compost pile, or mixing potting-soil recipes.  Of course there's always the shovel or trowel that can be used as well.
For really striking displays,  make your own flower basket with your bulbs.  You can plant in various areas, but try to stay consistent with your color palette.   You want an area about 12" across and 9-10 inches deep.  Make sure you add compost or another bulb fertilizer like Bulb tone to the soil and mix well.  Then plant your daffodils or Narcissus in the middle of your area (think of a basket), add several allium bulbs around the daffodils, space them about 4-5 inches apart from the daffodils, add some soil to the area, then 3 crocus about 8-9 inches apart and add more soil.  You can vary this technique depending on your choice of colors.  Just check the depth and spacing of the bulbs you want to plant.  You can go a little deeper than the package recommends to start your daffies. Their tough and can take it.  When you get bloom, take pictures and mark were your bulbs are planted.  I use thin bamboo poles to mark mine as well.  Having dug up a bunch......sigh   Just stuffed em back in the ground, sorry, sorry, sorry.   
To help protect your bulbs, take the time to mulch them in the winter.  Add about 3-4 inches of good quality mulch.  It helps protect the bulbs from sudden changes in temperature, smothers out a lot weed seeds (we can all do with out those)  and makes it easier to tend to other plants that may planted around the area.  Mulch only the bulbs.  

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