Spring-blooming bulbs seem like such a miracle.

Pop the little bulbs into the soil in fall and like magic, richly colored flowers emerge in early spring, often before the snow has even melted from the ground, according to a representative with Home Depot and homedepot.com.

Of course, as with all gardening, you’ll have better success if you follow a few time-honored tips and take the time to prepare the soil.

Where you plant bulbs is everything. Spring-blooming bulbs demand excellent drainage, for example. Ideal places include slopes, berms, raised beds, and any other spot where water can drain freely. Also, don’t make the common mistake of planting spring-blooming bulbs closer than 4 feet from a house. The home’s warmth will cause them to grow prematurely, harming their ability to bloom well and stay healthy year after year.

Here’s how to enjoy spring-flowering bulbs in 1-2-3 simple steps:

STEP ONE: Plant spring-blooming bulbs in fall, as soon as possible after receiving them so they don’t dry out. You can plant them any time until the soil freezes. Since bulbs need good drainage, prepare the soil well. Dig to a depth of at least 18 inches, working in compost or sphagnum peat moss to improve soil texture.

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STEP TWO: Add to the planting hole a fertilizer made specifically for bulbs, such as Holland Bulb Booster Fertilizer. Although bone meal has been a popular bulb fertilizer, it is not a complete fertilizer for bulbs.

STEP THREE: Position the bulbs, pointed end up, to the depth specified. As a rule, plant tulips and hyacinths 6 to 8 inches deep; daffodils 6 to 9 inches deep; and crocuses, glory-of-the-snow, snowflakes, grape hyacinths, snowdrops, and squill 3 to 5 inches deep. (Those depths refer to the bottom of the bulb, that is, the base of the bulb should be planted at that depth.)

EASY-DOES-IT BULBS

If you don’t have a garden for planting bulbs, the new website Dig.Drop.Done at digdropdone.com suggests you think out of the box about places to plant bulbs.

“Flower bulbs don’t care about their container as long as they have water, drainage and something to cover them,” says Mary Leigh Howell, marketing specialist for the website.

So think in these terms when you’re looking for a container to grow bulbs:

Rain boots, wooden crates, large seashells, dresser drawers, baskets, scales, mismatched china bowls, tea cups, water pails and watering cans, take out boxes, sand pails, egg cartons, picnic baskets, picnic style purses, hats.

“Anything from egg shells to discarded dresser drawers can play host to flowering bulbs,” she says.

 


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