Planting Spring Bulbs

At Ultra Growth we like to plant our bulbs without much fuss or expense, using as few gadgets as possible. We prefer a garden shovel and pointed trowel. Most gardeners do not plant enough bulbs to make much of an impact in their early spring flower beds.

In fall when the garden is still full of foliage from the summers perennials and annuals, it is hard to remember how stark the beds can look in early spring. The following is a sure fire step by step guide to planting your spring bulbs.

1) Spring flowering bulbs thrive in full or partial sun. Good drainage is a must for healthy bulbs. Do not plant your bulbs in soggy or low lying areas of your garden as water will pool in these areas during spring thaw.

2) Once you have chosen a site, prepare the soil by adding some compost and/or peat moss mix. This is also a great time to add Ultra Growth Compost or Ultra Growth Soil Conditioners. You really want to make sure you have good drainage and healthy soil at this point.

3) Bulb size will dictate how deep to plant them, i.e. large bulbs 8 - 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) deep and smaller bulbs 4 - 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) deep.

4) When spacing your bulbs size also matters, i.e. large bulbs should be spaced 3 - 6 inches (8 to 16 cm) apart and small bulbs from 1 - 2 inches (3 to 6 cm) apart. Always plant your bulbs pointy side up. If you are confused as with tubers like windflowers just lay them sideways and they will right themselves as they grow.

5) Now that you bulbs are planted, cover them with soil and water well. When the soil starts cooling later in the year apply 2 - 3 inches ( 6 to 12 cm) of some type of a mulch as this will help to prevent the soil from drying out as well as help stabilize the temperature of your bulbs throughout the winter.

By following these basic steps you will have great blooms from your bulbs year after year . When buying bulbs you want to look for healthy bulbs that are firm with no soft spots or white mold as these are signs of poor quality bulbs. Do not forget your bulbs are an investment in your garden and a part of your home.

Bulbs do not require any fertilizers at the point of spring planting but for really vigorous growth you can apply Ultra Growth Plant Food and a bulb booster rated at 5 - 10 - 10.

Make sure you do not allow any of the actual bulb booster fertilizer to come in to contact with the bulbs as the fertilizer will burn the bulb. By using Ultra Growth Plant Food and soaking the bulbs prior to planting will give you amazing results once your flowers poke their heads up and start their growth.

If you follow these steps you will have a beautiful spring display of bloom. After the flowers have faded, deadhead the plants so that they are not wasting energy producing seeds. Leave the foliage in place to allow the plant to recharge itself for next springs performance.

This will take some restraint as leaves may not look that presentable. Another idea is to look at your bulbs like annuals and simply pull out the clumps and put them into cold storage until next spring or even that fall. This can help you decide the perfect place to for a particular set of bulbs as you can experiment throughout your garden.

Hopefully this information will help you to ensure great results at a time when nature is just starting to show her colors, Spring. Personally we can not wait to get back to our outside gardens.