How to Plant Fall Bulbs? Best Flowering Bulbs

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Fall Bulbs

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How to Plant Fall Bulbs? Best Flowering Bulbs

How to plant your Fall bulbs? Best flowering bulbs. When should they be planted in the Fall? No sooner than your area’s first frost date after the first frost has arrived, your window to plant will remain open until the ground freezes, which usually comes several weeks later.

In Fall, the soil is still warm enough to promote early root growth, but not quite warm enough to stimulate bulbs into sprouting prematurely. When spring-flowering bulbs put out roots, their physical composition changes.

How to Plant Fall Bulbs? Best Flowering Bulbs

They become able to withstand the winter freeze. However, if those same bulbs were planted into the frozen ground, they would not have the chance to root and would not develop a tolerance for freezing.

In some of the warmer climates, you may need to pre-cool some of your bulbs. Most Fall bulbs require a 12-16 week cold period in ventilated packages in the bottom of your refrigerator at 40-50 ºF before planting.

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How to Plant Fall Bulbs? Best Flowering Bulbs

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Bulbs are available everywhere in the Fall, including garden centers, catalogs, and mail-order suppliers The advantage to purchasing your bulbs locally is that you can pick them out individually.

That’s important because you want the largest, firmest bulbs. They will generally perform better and have a superior display. Look for firmness, which indicates a healthy fresh bulb, and avoid any bulb that feels soft or mushy.

Choose planting areas that receive at least six hours of sunlight in spring and summer. 

Fall Bulb Planting Chart

How to Plant Fall Bulbs? Best Flowering Bulbs
How to Plant Fall Bulbs? Best Flowering Bulbs

How to Prepare Your Bulbs?

Start by conditioning your soil. When digging your holes sprinkle a tablespoon of high-phosphorous fertilizer like Holland Bulb Booster in the bottom of the hole.

Generally, bulbs are planted at a depth about three times as deep as the bulb is tall. Position the bulbs 4-5 inches apart. Most bulbs have an obvious pointed end, which should face the sky. The other end is usually wider and has tiny root hairs.

Cover with soil and water thoroughly. Follow the above chart for directions. Apply mulch on top of the soil approx. 2-5 cm.

Irises are an exception here. In fact, irises grow from rhizomes rather than bulbs — though the rhizomes are often called bulbs anyway. Iris rhizomes should be planted flat with the top half exposed. Never cover up the rhizomes with soil or mulch.

After Flowering the plants must be allowed to remain to soak up the sunshine and replenish their stored energy. Within a few weeks, the foliage will wither and die down.

 

Choosing Deer-Resistant Bulbs

To save yourself the trouble of treating bulbs or treating foliage to deter deer, rabbits, voles, squirrels, and other critters, choose deer-resistant flowers. The bulbs themselves and the flowers are distasteful to animals. They are naturally bitter to resist predators. 

 

AlliumHyacinth
AnemoneIris
CannaLeopoldina
Cornish Lily (Nerine)Naked Lady Lily(Amaryllis belladonna)
CrinumNaked Lady (Lycorissquamigera)
CyclamenOxalis
Daffodil (Narcissus)Snowdrops (Galanthus) 
FritillariaSnowflakes (Leucojum)
Grape HyacinthSquill (Scilla)
HippeastrumSquill (Scilla)

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you in your fall planting and I hope you enjoy your amazing show in early Spring.

Joanne. xo

About Joanne Jensen

6 responses to “How to Plant Fall Bulbs? Best Flowering Bulbs”

  1. […] comes to storing spring flowering bulbs, the temperature is key. According to American Meadows [2], bulbs must be stored below 45 degrees […]

  2. […] calendula, daisy, dandelion, day lily, echinacea, and chickweed. While feeding chickens nutritious flowers can be beneficial, it is important to remember that they should not be the primary source of […]

  3. […] first step in layering spring bulbs is to choose the bulbs you want to plant. You can choose bulbs of different types, colors, and […]

  4. […] seed heads before they mature. The seed heads are the small pods that form at the base of the spent flowers. If left to mature, they will release seeds into the surrounding soil, which can result in the […]

  5. […] attractive flowers and foliage. Today, there are many hybrid cultivars available, each with unique flower and foliage colors and growth […]

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