How to Plant Spring Flowering Bulbs

Overview

Spring bulbs are often the first blooms in the garden. Daffodils, tulips and hyacinth are just a few choices in bulbs to plant. Many bulbs are perennial bloomers and return year after year. Other, such as tulips, only bloom well for one to three years and require replanting each year. Plant spring bulbs in autumn once the ground temperatures have cooled to 60 degrees Fahrenheit but before the ground begins to freeze. Daffodils can be planted four weeks earlier as the warmer ground temperature doesn't negatively effect them.

Step 1

Prepare a well-drained planting bed in full to partial sun. Improve drainage and soil quality by adding a 3-inch layer of compost and tilling it in well.

Step 2

Dig planting holes three to four times as deep as the width of the bulb. Space holes for large bulbs 3 to 6 inches apart and smaller bulb 2 inches apart.

Step 3

Add a teaspoon of bulb fertilizer to the bottom of the hole and cover with a ¼ inch layer of soil. There is no need to fertilize single season bulbs such as tulips.

Step 4

Place the bulb in the hole root side down and pointed side up. Cover with soil and gently firm in over the bulb with your hand.

Step 5

Water the bed well so it is evenly moist but not soaking wet. Keep the soil moist until the first freeze. Resume watering in the spring when the soil is dry to the touch.

Step 6

Cover the bed with a 3 inch layer of organic mulch to preserve soil temperature and moisture. Use bark or straw mulches over the bulbs.

Step 7

Allow the foliage to yellow and die back naturally in late summer, except for on single season bulbs which are dug up any time after blooming ends. Work bulb fertilizer into the soil near each bulb in fall and reapply mulch before the first autumn freeze.