Bulbs: More than Tulips and Daffodils

​It’s the middle of October and I just checked the soil temperature.  In my garden it is 45 degrees.  We had our first hard freeze last night.  It’s time to plant bulbs! 
 
Many of us plant tulips and daffodils, but there is so much more that you can plant in the fall.  These are generally referred to as bulbous plants.  They have bulbs, tubers, rhizomes or corms that swell into a food storage organ enabling the plant to survive when it is dormant.  

​Some positive features of these plants: 

• Low maintenance-just like other low maintenance plants, this does not mean “no maintenance”.  With the spring blooming variety, you are planting in the fall rather than in the busy spring planting time.  And once planted, many naturalize and you do not need to do anything special to keep them coming back year after year.   
• Add structure—Most of these types of plants are narrow or spiked and add vertical structure to your mixed borders.  
• Blooms – many bloom when other perennials are quiet.  For example:  (1) spring bulbs before anything else has emerged, (2) summer alliums fill in that gap between spring and the full bloom of summer, and (3) Lycoris in the dog days of summer when other perennials are fading. 
• Variety—there is a huge variety of all types of bulbous plants.  Many make good cut and dried flowers.   
• Pest and disease resistant—yes, despite their reputation there are lots of choices that deer, rabbits, and squirrels don’t like and will avoid. 

 
Life Cycle   The life cycle of spring flowering bulbs are very different than other types of plants.  Once you know how they work, you can understand the process taking place underground.  Fall is the time to plant when soil temperatures are below 50 degrees – usually in October in our zone 3.  Water well and protect against squirrels digging them up.  I have successfully used blood meal sprinkled heavily over the top of the newly planted bulbs to discourage squirrels.
 
This is the time of year that bulbs, once planted, are sending out roots so they get a head start on shooting up in the spring.  During the winter protect from thaw/freeze cycles and early, warm weather with mulch applied after the ground has frozen.  This protects those tender new roots from breaking. 
 
Spring is when we get to enjoy the show.  Remove the mulch once the weather is warm enough and the plant is starting to send up shoots.  Once the flowering is done, remove the spent flower stem, but keep the leaves so the plant puts its energy into the bulb.  Once the leaves brown in early summer the plants are dormant.  Bulbs can remain in place, be divided, or removed and stored in a dry, cool location until fall planting time. 
 
What to plant?  Bulbous plants have a long season in this area – from April to September.  Here is a list to get you started.

• Early Spring (April to June) Anemone, Daffodil, Tulip, Fritillaria, Muscari, Trillium, Scilla
• Summer (June-August) Allium, Lily, Lycoris
• Fall (September – October) Colchicum, Autumn Crocus

 
Common Problems   Have you not had much luck in getting bulbs to perennialize or naturalize in your garden?  There are a number of factors that could be contributing, but there are a few common ones.  The bulb may not be hardy in our zone which causes the bulb size after the first year to be reduced below the minimum required for flowering.  Poor drainage can cause the bulb to rot; many like dry conditions in their summer dormant period.  Bulbs need proper fertilization to maintain bulb size and their foliage needs to remain in place to allow for adequate photosynthesis to store energy for next year.  The best time to fertilize is after the first hard frost, next best—early spring when leaves emerge with a low nitrogen fertilizer.  Do not braid or remove the leaves until brown.
 
More Information   Some resources you might want to check out:

• UW Extension – articles on spring bulbs https://wimastergardener.org/2017/04/17/articles-on-spring-flowering-bulbs/
• www.bulb.com (website of the International Bulb Centre)
• www.planttalk.org (Colorado State University)