Planting Fall Bulbs in your Organic Garden

A Simple Way to Add Springtime Color and Blooms

Sep 22, 2009

While the rest of your yard is still asleep for the winter, bulbs underground are eager to pop up before the slowpoke springtime perennials and annuals begin to show off!

Anyone, even someone who specializes in an indoor exotic 'plastic' houseplant collection, can grow a real live flower from a bulb! All you need is a trowel, a bit of phosphorus, some compost and a lot of patience.

In the fall, go to your local nursery or online catalogue and drool over blooming bulb photographs. When you’re done salivating, choose your few favorite flowers from thousands of spectacular bulbs. You want to choose a variety of bulbs which bloom at different times so that you can have color from late winter until early summer.

Step two

Once your bulbs arrive, store them in a dark, dry and cool area such as a garage. (For taller and earlier bloom, store hyacinths and tulips in the bottom of the refrigerator for 6 weeks and plant them in November.) The bulbs you’re planting this time of year are winter hardy and will bloom in the Spring. Most of these bulbs do not need to be dug out of the ground after they bloom. (Summer bulbs are not winter hardy and depending where you live, they may have to be dug out and stored over the winter months.)

Step Three

You can plant spring-flowering bulbs any time in the fall before the winter freeze. Most bulbs prefer sun to light shade. Because bulb roots reach deep down, you will need to amend your soil just as deep, usually a foot down. Make sure you have good drainage as well. This is a good time to mix your soil with a few scoops of compost and phosphorus.

It’s best to plant bulbs in clusters of 12 or more. Don’t be skimpy. More is good. The larger the bulb, the fewer you need in the clump. For instance, for large bulbs such as tulips and daffodils, you could use three to five to a clump. Set them in the ground firmly, then cover them with soil, water thoroughly and cover with a 2-3 inch layer of mulch or leaves.

Some spring flowering bulbs will naturalize, which means they will have babies and spread underground over the years. Giving you a big bang for your buck! Your best choices for these are:

Tulips: Darwin hybrid tulips such as these are great multipliers: Tulipa 'Apeldoorn' 'Apeldoorn's Elite'- 'Beauty of Apeldoorn'

If not sure, a general rule of thumb is to plant the pointy end up and the roots down.

After Bloom

You must keep the old foliage on the bulb after it blooms. If you cut off the foliage before it yellows you severe the bulb’s food supply and weaken them. I know. It’s a poor design.

But if you’re soil is in good condition from amending it in the fall, your spring and summer perennials should be coming into their most prolific season yet and can cover up the old bulb’s brown foliage.

The copyright of the article Planting Fall Bulbs in your Organic Garden in Bulbs is owned by Annie Spiegelman. Permission to republish Planting Fall Bulbs in your Organic Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.