How to Plant Bulbs the Correct Way
Bulbs are one of the easiest things to grow for a new gardener. They just need to be planted and watered. They come in a vast variety of types and colors to enhance any flower garden. It is best to plant bulbs as soon as they are purchased. This usually happens in late summer or early autumn. The main thing for growing bulbs is to have a patch of well-prepared, weed-free soil. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Dig up your soil in the area where you want to plant the bulbs. Check to see if it is a well-drained patch. If the soil holds an excess of water then add sand to it. Also add organic material like rotted garden compost or manure in order to add nutrients to the soil. Be sure to dig at least three times as deep as the biggest bulb.
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Add slow-acting fertilizer, such as bone meal, to the soil. This contains mostly phosphate and will feed the bulbs for a long time. Rake the fertilizer in so it is spread throughout the soil.
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Dig out the holes for the bulbs. If you are planning a natural look, then clump the bulbs together and keep the kinds together. Dig the holes three times as deep as the bulb size and allow for good spacing between the bulbs. You need to plan on bulb growth and multiplication in the following seasons.
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Plant the bulb root-side down. A bulb has an obvious up and down.
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Fill with soil carefully so you do not dislodge the bulbs. Keep the soil loose and do not compact it. Water the bulbs by soaking the ground to the deepest bulb depth.
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Tips & Warnings
To get a flower patch that will have blooms for all the growing seasons, plant different kinds of bulbs on different layers. Start with the largest bulbs which should be the deepest. After covering with soil, plant the next layer. Tubers are a type of bulb that have difficult-to-determine tops and bottoms. Plant these on their sides because the roots will always grow downward and the shoots will always grow upward.
Some bulbs that come in the mail may have a light coating of blue mold on them. This is a surface mold that grows due to the humidity of being in an enclosed package. Just wipe it off with a paper towel and plant the bulb.
