Bulbs... bulbs... bulbs...bulbs...bulbs...

 Landscaping with bulbs is one of the easiest ways to start your flower beds out.  Early spring and fall are the ideal times to work in your yard on your new or expanding landscaping projects... the weather is generally cooler and much more pleasant for all that hard physical labour!  Once you've decided where you'd like your flower bed,  outline the area with a garden hose in the shape and size desired, and dig the sod up.  If you're energetic, you can beat the soil out of the sod so you don't have to replace as much lost soil... or just get rid of the sod and replenish the planting area with a mix of topsoil, sheep or hen compost and some peat moss.  You won't have to worry about fertilizing your flower bed for the first year with a great mix like that.  Next... get yourself some bulbs... Lots of them!  Look for bulb collections that have a nice variety of different flowers.

Bulbs - The great majority of bulbs are planted in the fall, for spring and summer bloom time.  You can actually plant your fall bulbs right up until the ground freezes, but it's advisable to try to get them in the ground in September and October so they have a little time to get established before ground freeze.  Once planted you can expect continuous blooms year after year with very little maintenance, except for clearing away dead foliage after the bulbs have bloomed and faded.  Just like us, bulbs need a little food now and then, and a good bulb specific fertilizer is needed get those bulbs growing vigorously and to ensure continued blooms, year after year. 

I highly recommend Bulbs Alive! 100% All-Natural Fertilizer.  Spring is the best time to fertilize, although if you get the bulbs in the ground in September, a little fertilizer won't hurt.  Bulbs encompass tulips, daffodils, alliums, muscari, fritillaries, glory-of-the-snow, caladium, oxalis, pineapple lilies, and many More...

Tip:  Sometimes the smaller the flower, the greater the impact.  Try Anemone's and muscari in large groupings for a delightful riot of spring colour.  If you plan on incorporating some deciduous trees into your landscape, tuck handfuls of these little bulbs into the soil all around the base of the tree before mulching.  You'll be totally awed by the display the following spring!  Throw in some double early tulips as well for added texture and colour... All three of these bulb types are only 6 inches tall, and by the time the tree leafs out, they will have finished blooming for the season.

Tubers, Rhizomes, Corms - Tubers and tuberous roots encompass dahlias, ranunculus and begonias.  Rhizomes include irises, cannas, and callas.  Corms include gladiolas, crocus and freesia.  For the sake of simplicity, we'll class these as "bulbs" when referring to them in further articles.  Again, don't forget to fertilize your bulbs with flower specific fertilizer to ensure continuous blooming year after year.  You will be rewarded with healthier, larger bulbs and blooms.  Generally speaking, you can plant your tubers, rhizomes and corms at the same time you plant your bulbs... remember though, the earlier the better.  If you are in a northern climate, September is ideal as the days are still warm and the nights are cool, providing ideal conditions for establishing root growth.  You can also plant tubers, rhizomes and corms in the early spring if you miss getting things planted before the first hard frost.  Be sure to keep them in a cool place though, about 50º F or 10º Celsius. 

Just a note for northern gardeners... Gladiolas, Calla lilies and Canna's are not winter hardy... you must pull these bulbs/corms up before the ground freezes if you want to store them for planting the next spring.  For any non-hardy bulb, tuber, corm or rhizome, you should pull them up before the first hard frost, dry them out, break the stalk off after it's dried out, and store in a cool dry place.  Mesh onion bags are ideal for storing them as air circulates around the bulbs and the bags are also easy to hang.  Come spring planting time... just take them out of their bags and plant as usual.  Depending on the size of the bulb, coolness of the storage area, and whether the bulbs stayed in a dry environment, your germination results could be spotty.  If the storage conditions were not very good, you may get a low rate of sprouting and may have to augment by purchasing new bulbs.

Calla Lilies .... lift bulbs in the fall. When planted in a pot, just bring pot inside and water sparingly during the winter. No light necessary during the winter months. Bring pot outside after danger of frost has passed, mix in a little fresh soil, fertilize, water well and you should have some beautiful calla's in no time.

Related Articles ABCs Of Bulb Gardening Flowering plants that over winter and multiply by means on fleshy stems of leaves are called bulbs. The bulbs we grow in our gardens today are native to temperate zones all over the world, the woodlands, meadows and mountains of the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North America. The Dutch have been extremely successful over the centuries in collection and hybridizing new species of bulbs and improving them for reliable garden performance. Tulips in particular, once played an important role in the Dutch economy. There is no easier plant to cultivate than a bulb. Planted at the right time, in a loose, well-draining soil, bulbs will bloom punctually year after year and even spread (“naturalize”) if conditions are to their liking. By planting a sequence of spring-, summer- and fall-flowering bulbs at the appropriate time, you can enjoy their blooms practically year ‘round. Fall (late September through late November) – Plant hardy, spring-flowering bulbs: tulips, narcissus (includes all types of daffodils), crocus, eranthis (winter aconites), erythronium, fritillaria, hyacinths snowdrops, scilla, hardy cyclamen, lilies. In California and milder areas of the Southwest, also plant ranunculus, freesias, anemones and paperwhites outdoors. Store tulips, crocus and hyacinths in refrigerator for 6-8 weeks before planting. In all regions, store potted bulbs in refrigerator for forcing indoors. Winter – In California, plant pre-chilled hardy bulbs outdoors. In all regions, remove sprouted bulbs from refrigerator for indoor forcing. Spring – Plant more tender, summer-flowering bulbs: achimenes, gladioli, alliums, calla lilies, tuberous begonias, ixia, crocosmia, dahlias, cannas. Late Summer – Plant the late bloomers: fall crocus, fall- and winter-blooming hardy cyclamen. Click here to browse bloomingbulb.com for #1 quality plants and bulbs.