That’s the title of a talk I gave recently for a suburban/rural gardening club, though maybe it didn’t apply. They all seemed like longtime spade-wielding warriors. Very few of them ever looked online for gardening advice; they just did things the way they’d always done it and seemed OK with that. It was refreshing. What a contrast to my online gardening group, most of whom seem to worry about everything. But there are a few bulb rules I follow, some of which go against bulb wisdom found both online and in newspaper columns and some of which were new to the club members. They work for me, so I’ll share them here.
(But first: why am I even talking about bulbs? Aren’t all my bulbs in? They are not, because my mail order bulbs are just arriving this week, a full month after I usually get them. The companies (top-rated ones, BTW) blame shipping delays thanks to COVID. But I also wonder if zone changes were a factor and, if so, boo! I don’t care if I am now a 6b; I still want to plant bulbs in balmy October weather.)
To continue:
• Traditional bulb tools are dumb, as you know if you’ve ever spent minutes pounding plugs of soil out of them. I use a sharp spade to get the small bulbs in (species tulips, tiny daffs, galanthus, chionodoxa, erythronium, eranthis, species tulips shown in photos above). For big groups of hybrids, I use a large shovel, dig a big hole or trench and throw the bulbs in. If I think of it, I straighten them out a bit before covering with soil. Drill and auger? Tried it; still a lot of bending for lots of little holes and I hated it—the drill was still not as good as a sharp spade when it came to dealing with root-filled beds. I have even found myself using the Cobrahead to get through this tough terrain.
• Deer, chipmunk, squirrel, and vole problems should not rule out bulbs. Wire or plastic mesh can be pinned on the ground over the plantings immediately after planting. That keeps out the small guys. With deer, we know they don’t like quite a number of species (daffodils, allium, etc.); as for the rest, I am told that they are less likely to bother species tulips and that sprays work. I think pots close to the house (easy to keep sprayed) might be an option. I am also told that interplanting of daffodils among tulips can fool them. (Deer are not yet roaming the streets of downtown Buffalo.)
• Try tulips in pots. I do about 14 big pots every year, planting the bulbs at a normal depth (this is not forcing) and storing the pots in the unheated garage. They come out sometime in March and tend to bloom at the normal times for their types. These pots can be moved around or even brought inside. I wrote a pretty detailed description of this for Fine Gardening.
• Plant a lot or don’t bother. Accept that hybrid tulips are (close to) annuals and enjoy them for their beauty, even if it is relatively short-lived.
There are many beautiful, enjoyable things in life that last way shorter than hybrid tulips.
This is a slightly revised and updated repeat of a 2019 post.
I plant a lot of tulips for clients – hundreds and hundreds. And treat them as annuals since they do not usually naturalize though the T. clusianas have. Moles and voles are our big problem and can and do totally wipe out the plantings. I’ve had great success with this process, stinky and laborious as it is.
I soak the tulips (in their bags ideally) in a big vat of I Must Garden Mole and Vole Repellent (concentrate), I Must Garden Squirrel Repellent. You will need a lot to make it deep enough. I turn them over once if necessary to get both sides. It’s best if you can soak 3-4 hours, and set them aside to dry. Dry is a relative term since they are coated with oils from the repellents.
This has worked for me many years — since the I Must Garden products came on the market. I do not lose tulips. I can vouch for the process’s success because last year I was just sick of the smell and didn’t soak. And got very few tulips. I tried digging in granular animal repellent which did not work. And of course, as soon as the leaves start peeking up, I spray with Deer Repellent and Rabbit Repellent — also products from I Must Garden. Vigilance here! But after all that soaking and planting, it’s pretty easy to commit to.
For the price of a fast food meal, or many other ephemeral things, you can buy bulbs which will give you enjoy for weeks.
I went overboard and ordered and purchased way too many bulbs this year. All of the orders came late as well. Winter is here already so wondering how to get all the bulbs in. Little guys, no problem, but those that needed to go deeper were a lot harder. My husband helped me using a bulb auger. He would drill several areas together and I pushed the bulbs in deeply. Took less than half an hour to plant 250 tulips and daffs.
Wow!! that is some speedy planting!
I too dig a hole or trench for bulbs. I also plant them in rows in vegetable garden in fall because there are still plants in flower beds. And I never remember where I already have bulbs and end up slicing bulbs already there. Come spring I dig them up as they bloom and put them in the best spot. They do fine. And the vegetable bed is easy to dig in.
I am sad to hear that you don’t like the drill/auger idea. I had just watched a video on the YouTube channel of the Impatient Gardener, and she is a huge fan. She loves her auger, and I still think I will buy one. I hate trying to dig into my heavy clay CT soil. Every single year, I end up throwing away bulbs that I never get around to planting b/c it’s so damn hard to dig a hole — for bigger bulbs anyway.
Bought it, tried it! I don’t have a lot of room to spare for big tulip bulbs anyway, so this is why I do the pots. Which are so easy.
I love bulbs, especially daffodils. I am working to rejuvenate my Mother’s flower beds, and I am finding lots of bulbs. I dig them up, divide, and replant. So much return for not a lot of work.
I too tried all the myriad ways to plant bulbs, but find a shovel or trowel works best for me.