Is There Still Time to Plant Bulbs?

Relax. You still have time to plant spring-blooming bulbs. As long as the ground isn’t frozen, you’re good to go. And although it varies by a few weeks here and there, look at Thanksgiving weekend as the bulb-planting deadline for the Midwest. Whether you’re going for a wide swathe of tulips or a naturalized look, all the bulbs you’ll need are available now—from online or catalog mail-order specialists, garden centers, nurseries, and even supermarkets.

Spring-blooming bulbs are the best gardener’s gifts because, no matter how well we mark them, their arrival always comes as a surprise. Even their timing is anyone’s guess. I’ve had the same variety of crocus start blooming as early as March 1 and as late as March 31. Add to that their undemanding nature, and we should be wondering why we haven’t planted more.

Planting bulbs takes commitment. It’s the time of year when gardens are filled with asters, mums, and the first hint of fall color. We also have overgrown annuals, browned coneflower heads, and tired petunias. I look around for lone perennials, or ornamental trees that would benefit from a carpet of spring color.

Think Variety

For a nice mix of bloomers, think beyond the standards. Anemone blanda comes in pink, blue and white, and makes the perfect ring around the taller posies. They like full sun and bloom with late blooming Hyacinths and mid-season Tulips.

Two early, pale blue, ground-brighteners that are inexpensive and easy are Puschkinia and Scilla. Plant plenty with perennials that like a little shade; they bloom before the trees leaf out, giving them plenty of sun when they need it. Scilla appears first, and within a week, Puschkinia begins to bloom.

Muscari, or grape hyacinth, blooms a bit later in the season than all but the latest daffodils and comes mostly in shades of blue, but they are also available in white or pink. Muscari ‘Superstar’ (4” tall) looks great with Tulip ‘Exotic Emperor’ (16”-24”), both of which bloom around mid-spring.

The mid-season Tulip ‘Analita’, with its petals of red and lemon-yellow, adds some punch to any mid-season Daffodil, as they’ll bloom together from mid to late April.

Top Ten Spring-Blooming

1. Anemone
2. Crocus
3. Hyacinth
4. Frittilaria
5. Muscari
6. Narcissus
7. Ornithogalum
8. Puschkinia
9. Scilla mischtschenkoana
10. Tulip

Don’t just think in terms of bulbs when planting. Tuck some in around perennials that make their debut or reach their prime around the same time as the bulbs. They look better when planted with the buddy system in mind.

Perennials & Woodies That Make Great Bulb Companions:

• Anemonella thalictroides
• Aquilegia (columbine)
• Bergenia (pigsqueak)
• Brunnera
• Centaurea (perennial bachelor’s buttons)
• Chaenomeles (quince)
• Dicentra (bleeding heart)
• Epimedium
• Geum
• Hellebores
• Lilac
• Magnolia
• Peonies
• Polemonium
• Primula
• Pulmonaria
• Rhododendron
• Viburnum

Spring Blooming Bulb Sources:

1. American Meadows
2. Brent & Becky’s Bulbs
3. Easy to Grow Bulbs
4. John Scheepers
5. Longfield Gardens
6. Old House Gardens

For More Information:

Dig Drop Done The Dig Drop Done Foundation was founded to promote the joy of bulb gardening and ensure its future in North America. This diverse and committed group of companies has devoted its time, knowledge and financial support to educating consumers on the simple, surprising beauty that flowering bulbs bring to our lives.

Bulbs for Garden Habitats by Judy Glattstein

Gardening with Tulips by Michael King

Pocket Guide to Bulbs by John E. Bryan

Tips to Grow By:

Don’t get hung up on planting depth. Old House Gardens offers a few basic guidelines:

• Plant larger bulbs deeper than smaller bulbs (approximately three times the height of the bulb).
• Make sure to plant deeper in sandy soils, less so in heavy soils.
• Plant deeper in the North, less so in the South.
• American Meadows offers great step-by-step planting instructions in their easy to follow HOW TO PLANT FALL FLOWER BULBS.
• Take photos of your bulbs so you can look back to see when and where they’re blooming.
• Use a digging fork in order to avoid skewering other bulbs already planted.
• Plant fragrant bulbs in an area where you’ll be working in the spring so you can enjoy them.
• Choose planting areas you can see from indoors; it’s likely the weather won’t be that welcoming in early spring.

One More Thing About Tulips:

Did you know that some tulips are fragrant? Longfield Gardens offers a fragrant tulip collection (//www.longfield-gardens.com/plantname/Fragrant-Tulip-Collection), listing four scented varieties that also are available separately. They include ‘Ad Rem’, ‘Mount Tacoma’, ‘Princess Irene,’ and ‘Red Princess’.

Jay Hutchins of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs recommends a variety called ‘Brownie’ for some serious scent. I would have named it “Caramel Brownie,” as it’s color is more like caramel gone neon, with bright swirls of deep gold swirling into pink. Besides scent and color, it’s a petal-packing double that blooms early so it won’t be done by a late spring heatwave.

‘Orange Favorite’ is another scented tulip, and it’s a beauty. Each flower gives a first impression of pinky-orange. But as it opens, you’ll notice petals are fringed and then kissed gold along their edges. This special treatment is what puts ‘Orange Favorite’ into the parrot category, known for its fringed, twisted, brightly-colored petals.