Bulbs Planting In Autumn Ensures A Colorful Spring
James Kilkelly
In the spring, a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of
love. Whereas in autumn a gardeners fancy turns to spring.
No sooner has autumn set in than we gardeners begin to think of
spring and spring bulb planting. There is a wide selection of
bulbs available for fall planting and blooming in spring, the
following is just a small selection those available…
Allium (flowering garlic),
Anemone (wind flower),
Crocus,
Cyclamen,
Galanthus (Snowdrop),
Hyacinth,
Iris,
Narcissus (daffodil),
Scillia (bluebell),
Tulip,
Now, choosing the right bulbs involves more than just selecting
colors and flowers you like. Bulb size and more importantly,
bulb health are equally significant factors in selecting your
spring garden bulbs. I suggest you carry out my personal
quality test for bulbs before you go ahead and plant.
Healthy bulbs should be firm and heavy for their size. They
should not feel overly dry or light. Certain bulbs (daffodils
etc) will have loose and peeling skin, this is normal and
nothing to worry about.
In the case of bulbs, "bigger is better", big bulbs usually
mean a large amount of stored food to produce brilliant blooms
the following season. Smaller, bargain bulbs may take two years
to produce blooms good enough for your garden.
The colour of the bulbs skin should be uniform with no dark or
light patches. Any bulbs with weak or spongy areas should not
be planted, this is often a tell tale sign of rot.
If the bulbs you select appear to tick all the above boxes then
you are well on your way to a colourful return from this
season’s bulb planting.
Weather permitting; you should try to plant your bulbs quite
soon upon arriving home from the garden centre. Bulbs
continually deteriorate the longer they are out of the soil. If
you cannot plant them right away, store them in a cool place
such as your garden shed or garage. Never store them in closed
bags as they might rot. Bulbs need to breathe; this is why you
will see garden centre displaying bulbs in perforated or net
bags.
About The Author: James Kilkelly is a freelance
horticulturalist and garden writer for four Irish regional
newspapers. His forum, http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/
offers you free access to a wealth of horticultural information
specific to Ireland. He also regularly contributes to
http://www.gardenstew.com/
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