planting

Planting Spring-Blooming Bulbs in Autumn Provide Color After Winter

DanNursery crops, Specialty Crops, This Land of Ours

The springtime bulbs that you should plant in the fall. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

planting
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Planting tulips, daffodils, and other spring-blooming bulbs in autumn will provide welcome color in your garden after the winter. There are all sorts of bulbs that bloom at different times of the year, but among the best to plant in fall for spring bloom include tulipdaffodilgrape hyacinthcrocus, and hyacinth. These spring-blooming bulbs can be planted anytime in the autumn, up until the ground freezes. They do need several weeks of cold temperatures to grow properly so if you live where it stays warm year-round, buy pre-chilled bulbs and don’t expect them to return after they bloom.

A good rule of thumb is that bulbs should be planted three times as deep as the bulb is tall. For example, if a bulb is 3 inches tall, dig the hole 9 inches deep. Most spring-blooming bulbs like soil that’s on the dry side during their “off season” so choose an area to plant them that doesn’t stay too wet in the winter and summer months. Some bulbs will reliably come back year after year without replanting, as long as they have the right weather conditions.

Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.

Planting Spring-Blooming Bulbs in Autumn Provide Color After Winter