How to Grow Bulbs in Open Ground

With a little planning, you can put your bulbs in the ground, fertilize them, and later enjoy a profusion of blooms.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bulb Fertilizers
• Corms
• Flower Bulbs
• Garden Hoses And Attachments
• Garden Trowels
• Gardening Gloves
• Potting Soil
• Tubers

1. Consult a planting schedule for the recommended planting depth of specific bulbs, corms and tubers.

2. 

   Dig a hole about three times wider than the bulb's diameter.

3. Plant bulbs of the same type at the same depth so the blooms are simultaneous.

4. 

   Add fertilizer high in phosphorous and potassium.

5. Place any obvious root growth facing down in the soil.

6. Cover the bulb with soil.

7. 

   Mark bulb sites with pebbles or sand piles to avoid planting on top of forgotten bulbs.

8. 

   Soak the area thoroughly.

Tips & Warnings

• After the blooms have faded, leave any remaining foliage on the plants. This is what provides next year's blooms with nutrients.
• It is generally recommended that you chill bulbs in the refrigerator for up to six weeks before planting.
• Plant bulbs in the autumn for a spring bloom and in spring for a summer bloom.

[cheridonna]

on 6/29/2009 To keep squirrels away from your flower bulbs, plant them, cover them with good garden soil, put down small hole chicken wire, cover with mulch.

[cheridonna]

on 6/29/2009 Remember to add Bulb Booster or bone meal but don't have it touch the bulb. After your bulbs bloom and the leaves die back, you should fertilize them again as well as in the fall. Do NOT cut the leaves once the flowers are spent as the leaves help to gather energy for the next year's bloom.

on 11/22/2005 When considering a bulb garden you have endless choices. Remember to check each type of bulb that you want to add to your garden for their bloom time. You can acheive a bulb garden that can last well into summer and will be ever-changing.