Bulbs! It’s that time of year to start thinking about planting bulbs because there is nothing like a garden bed filled with nodding Daffodils, stately Tulips, and swaying Crocuses after snow has melted and the muddy brown world becomes filled with color. But when do you plant? What do you plant?
“Bulb” is a generalized term for modified underground stems that contains bulbs, corms, rhizomes, tubers, and tuberous roots. They are divided into two categories: Spring Flowering, which is planted in the fall and Summer Flowering, which is planted in the spring. Spring Flowering bulbs are Alliums, Crocuses, Narcissus (Daffodil), Galanthus (Snowdrops), Fritillaries, Hyacinth, Scilla, and Tulips. All which are planted in the fall. In the Northeast we can plant from September through to November. Bulbs in Western Massachusetts, generally are planted after mid-October. This helps the bulb to establish a good root system before it satisfies its cold requirement for flowering. Also around mid-October most herbaceous perennial plant material has been cut back and it is easier to navigate bulb planting. Summer flowering bulbs are planted in the spring because they are tender and do not require the cold requirement. Examples of Summer Blooms are Caladiums, Calla Lilies, Cannas, Colchicum (Fall Crocuses) Dahlias, Gladiolus’, and Tuberous Begonias.
Bulbs have a variety of uses from indoor color such as Amaryllis, Paperwhites, and little Narcissus to mass border plantings in perennial garden beds, and naturalized in lawns like Narcissus, Crocus, Muscari, and Scilla. Enjoy the spring and plant bulbs today!