How to Grow Bulbs on a Budget
Gorgeous spring blooms are a worthy investment, and here are tips on how to grow bulbs while making the most of your budget and time.
Bulbs are a great way to get lots of beautiful spring blooms. But for the big colorful show that most of us dream of, it takes a lot of bulbs. A big investment of time and money deserves dramatic impact and the knowledge that you won’t have to redo all of it every year!
Flowerbulbs.com horticulturist Peggy Anne Montgomery is a bulb aficionado (she even lived in the Netherlands for several years) and has some tips to ensure you’re doing all you can to maximize your investments.
Plant flower bulbs in the right spot
Many spring-blooming bulbs are Mediterranean natives so they do best with plenty of sun while they’re blooming and a long, dry summer dormancy. One big reason bulbs don’t return, even though they’re cold hardy, is that they rot from too much moisture. Here are some ways to prevent that:
Plant bulbs on a slope
Whether a slope is steep or gentle, water usually drains better there than on flat ground, so it’s the perfect spot to keep bulbs from getting waterlogged and rotting.
Look for low-water companions for bulbs
Once established, woody plants don’t need a lot of extra water, making them good bulb companions. Besides that, deciduous trees and shrubs often leaf out later, so allow plenty of sunlight to reach the bulbs while they’re growing.
In a perennial border, choose drought-tolerant companions, such as anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) and coreopsis (Coreopsis grandiflora). That way you can mostly leave the entire border alone in the summer instead of watering annuals and perennials to keep them going while at the same time overwatering the bulbs and causing them to rot.
Plant a bulb lawn
A great way to support early pollinators and get a lot of spring color is to plant bulbs in the lawn. Don’t these cheerful crocus (Crocus spp. and hybrids) in the photo above look great? Small bulbs, such as grape hyacinths (Muscari spp. and hybrids), snowdrops (Galanthus spp.), Siberian squill (Scilla siberica), miniature daffodils (Narcissus spp. and hybrids) and these crocuses give you big bang for your buck and can carpet your lawn with color.
Peggy Anne works with her husband, Dan, to plant bulbs in their lawn. They use a long auger to drill a hole (it’s a real back saver!), then drop in a bulb and a teaspoon of bulb fertilizer to get them off to a good start. These are usually small bulbs so to keep the impact high, Peggy Anne plants close and drops three of the same type in each hole.
Tips for growing bulbs on a budget
Here’s how to stretch your garden budget with some smart bulb picks from Peggy Anne.
Plant tulips that keep coming back
While large tulips with unusual flowers or colorful patterns look great in bouquets, they don’t always come back every year. The types known as “species tulips” are your best bet for perennializing and may even spread if they’re growing in ideal conditions.
Try these species tulips
Crocus tulip (Tulipa humilis)
Greigii tulip (Tulipa greigii)
Lady tulip (Tulipa clusiana)
Late tulip (Tulipa tarda)
Grow critter-proof bulbs
It’s so frustrating when deer or rabbits eat the flower buds as they emerge in spring and when squirrels or voles dig up or eat the bulbs themselves! Luckily, there are several types that critters seem to avoid. Grow these bulbs and you can enjoy big beautiful sweeps like the daffodils above with no worries.
Try these bulbs critters tend to avoid
Crocus (Crocus spp. and hybrids)
Crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis)
Daffodil (Narcissus spp. and hybrids)
Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica)
Summer snowflake (Leucojum spp.)
More at link: https://www.gardengatemagazine.com/articles/flowers-plants/plant-guide/how-to-grow-bulbs-on-a-budget/
Spanish bluebells are cheap bulbs all right.
They love clay soil and dry shade. Their sprawling leaves tend to smother nearby plants so I pull them out by the bagful and there are still flowers next year.
English bluebells sulk and dwindle in the same conditions.
I may get around to digging up some daffodils and starting new plantings out front. Or, maybe not.
Thank you for this direct timely post. My wife, ( of a nonFreeper political persuasion) is an avid gardener and expects me to understand her “plans for the landscaping and gardens”, and I listen often and pretend pretty well to understand.
This was quite helpful.
You folks must not have squirrels 🐿️ up there. Here in TX they dig them up. Even had to quit putting them in pots. Turn them over and leave the dirt behind for you to clean up.
I want to plant tulips this fall. Haven’t decided on a spot yet. Thanks for the tips!