November already?! What happened? Oh well. With sunny days sitting in the garden harder to come by, I keep myself occupied and happy with planting and potting bulbs for midwinter and spring enjoyment. And so, here’s my yearly bulb rant.
Bulbs in pots (most are Akebono, I think)
Bulbs can be annuals. With a relatively small urban space in which to plant, I’m loath to dedicate large swaths of it to bulb plantings that take a long time to fade into the background after a spring bloom period. I’m already regretting the space I gave up to alliums in one of my few mostly-sun beds and I can’t tolerate large daffodil hybrids anymore, just the miniatures. (Though I love seeing big daffodil plantings in more expansive gardens.) Hybrid tulips are always annuals in my book and work great in that role, whether in designated temporary plantings or in big pots where they are replaced with summer annuals. Smaller spring bulbs (like the species tulips at top) are delightful and their foliage is much more unobtrusive. Exception are greigii tulips, which aren’t exactly small, but their foliage is often just as interesting as their flowers and it hangs around for a while. With all the shade I have, I find I have to plan on judicious bulb plantings every year, including those that would perennialize in better conditions.
On tools. While all of the tools specifically intended for bulb planting that I’ve tried have not worked at all–and in some cases made bulb planting take twice as long–rather than just say bulb tools suck, as I usually do, I do have some tools I like. The ergonomic pointed trowels from Radius (and likely many other good pointed trowels) plunge into the ground to the right depth and provide plenty of room to throw in some species tulips, erythronium, galanthus, muscari and other small types. Another great tool for this is the Cobrahead weeder, which isn’t meant for bulbs at all. Otherwise, for a bunch of big bulbs, I just use a strong shovel, dig a big hole, and toss them in. In my case, I often also have to employ sharp pruners or even a hori-hori knife to get through roots, but I hope others don’t have to go to those lengths. The one time I used an augur, I was afraid the drill would blow up.
On additives. Likewise, I don’t bother with any of the granular mixes or liquid elixirs that are supposed to help bulbs. The ones that are annual don’t need it and the others should be fine with the yearly top dressing all the beds get.
Mechanical solutions like pinned down netting over plantings seem to work best against creatures. Sprayed or sprinkled solutions have to be reapplied too often. No deer issues in my neighborhood, but I have heard that combos of fencing and plantings that make it unclear what’s beyond the fence work well (again, mechanical).
Avalanche and Erlicheer tazettas
Bulb forcing is lots of fun. I do hundreds – maybe two-thirds hyacinths and the rest tulips. It is amazing to have the sights and scents of these inside during February and March. Those who aren’t ready for true forcing should at least try some of the more unusual (and mildly scented) tazetta varieties. When placed amid houseplants, these up the tropical ante many of us really need in January and February.
Agree with your comments regarding standard sized daffodils, they are beautiful in bloom but we hate looking at their fading foliage. At one time it was possible to interplant daffodils among our collection of over 50 species of daylilies. Sadly, the deer now decimate the daylilies on a routine basis so we no longer grow them. (Local zoning restrictions limit fence height in our borough to six feet in height, not tall enough to keep deer out of the garden)
We like miniature bulbs that are not favored by deer such as winter aconite, snowdrops, and squill. We do grow several varieties of miniature narcissi. We plan to borrow your suggestion to grow hyacinths and tulips on pots, on the deck away from Bambi and friends.
I always shop the end of season sales for bulbs to pot up in containers for an earlier show. Agree with you on the leftover foliage of hybrid tulips and daffs. Takes way to long to die back and leaves large holes in my beds. Camassias, a variety of unusual alliums, small species tulips and some interesting varieties of muscari have made it into the ground less than 24 hours before a large winter storm is going to drop a lot of snow on us. Whew!
How lovely to be thinking of spring. I’m right there with you on “strong shovel, dig a big hole, and toss them in.” I like using a pointed trenching shovel. For the inevitable roots, I also have my heavy duty Hori Hori and a sharp hatchet, too. Like you, I don’t bother with additives like bone meal. I did that once and our beagles dug up every dang bulb. Unlike you, I just can’t bring myself to indulge in bulbs that are unlikely to return. With tulips, I do occasionally spring for species tulips that have a fair shot at coming back in Texas. It would be dreamy to have ‘Ballerina’ or ‘Bleu Aimable’ to look forward to. Perhaps someday when I win the lottery?
Do you leave your pots of bulbs outside for the winter?
No, they need to be protected from freeze/thaw cycles. I keep them in an unheated garage.
Thank you. When do you store them?
About the same time you’d plant them in the ground, and that can range from October through late November or even later, depending on where you live;
Elizabeth, could you give a quick primer on forcing bulbs in pots? Or if you have already written about that, how do I find the article? Thanks!
Oops..never mind. I see that you’ve already answered the same question from someone else!
There is a link in the post where I first mention it.
Ah…so there is. Thank you!