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Home > Home & Garden > Articles > Summer s barely over. What s the rush to get in spring bulbs

Summer s barely over. What s the rush to get in spring bulbs

01:00 Tue 11th Sep 2001 | Home & Garden

A.� There are two good reasons. Firstly there are some bulbous plants that simply won't appear on time unless you get them in within the next few weeks.

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Secondly, unless your happy to take your chances with what's on offer at the local garden centre then you will be ordering your particular favourites or new varieties either from the plethora of trade catalogues or over the internet, along with thousands of other enthusiasts. Along with the inevitable delay between ordering and delivery, if you don't get in quick you may well lose out to those who are quicker out of the traps.

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Q.� Is there any advantage to ordering the bulbs rather than buying them from a shop

A.� Good garden centres and nurseries will have a wide variety of well-kept bulbs in stock now and that's good enough for many of us. Beware though, bulbs bought off the shelf, especially at the last minute, may have been subject to dehydrating draughts and fluctuating temperatures.

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If you've got time to do a bit of research, then specialist bulb growers are obviously going to be able to offer you a much wider variety. There is a lot more to spring bulbs than Snowdrops, Daffodils, Hyacinths and Tulips. Feast you eyes on the huge range of Irises, Frittilaria and Erythroniums (Dog Tooth's Violets), to name but a few, available and your garden could be a much more varied and exciting place come spring.

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When you order the bulbs they should come direct from the growers storage and then all you need to do is to keep them in a dry paper bag in a cool place until you want to plant them.

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Q.� How can you tell if a bulb is in good health

A.� As a general rule of thumb, the bigger the bulb compared to its counterparts the better. It is a sign of plenty of flower buds inside that promise an optimum yield.

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If you have left it late to buy you'll find many of the bulbs have already sprouted. If this is the case select only the ones with nice green shoots, avoiding those that looking weak and yellow. Also ensure the bulb looks whole and undamaged. Chances are ones that have been marked or have some of their protective skin missing will not thrive.

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Q.� What about planting out

A.� When planting bulbs in the garden don't make the mistake of planting them in small orderly groups at regular intervals. Flowers like daffodils look much better when planted in dense, irregular, naturalistic drifts under trees, in borders or around shrubs.

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The vast majority of bulbs need to planted to at least twice their depth, usually three, and at least twice their width apart.

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Spring bulbs look brilliant in clumps emerging from grass, but need special treatment. Once planted they should not be lifted, allowing them to increase and 'naturalise'. The foliage of bulbs planted in grass must be allowed to die right back and the grass left alone for at least a month after flowering.

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Finally, many people enjoy planting bulbs in containers but find it frustrating that they get so few blooms because of the lack of space. The solution is to chose a deep pot and put in two layers, just making sure the top layer aren't sitting on the crowns of those underneath.

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If you've got a question about your home or garden, click here.

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By Tom Gard

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