WORTHINGTON — “Help! I am upside down!”
This can actually happen if you are planting bulbs this fall.
Now is the time to plant bulbs like tulips, grape hyacinths, crocus, daffodils, hyacinths, and snow drops. These bulbs need to spend time in the cold in order to bloom in the Spring.
One time I shared lily bulbs with a friend and then I heard that they did not come up. I teasingly said that they were planted upside down; that did not go over well, but we are still friends.
So how do we tell which end is up? The bulbs mentioned above have a wider bottom on them and come to a point at the other end. You can look for dry thin roots on the bottom wider part also. Their shape reminds me of a Hershey’s candy kiss. The wider bottom is planted down in the ground.
Tulip bulbs have a thin dry light brown “tunic” over them and that is left on when you plant them. If a bulb does not have that tunic you can still plant It. These bulbs also are perennial, meaning they will come back for many years.
So let’s get started planting. First , select a location that has well drained soil and is “showy” in the spring. You want to enjoy these spring blooms so find a spot where you can view them early in the spring. Next prepare the ground by digging a trench for rows; individual holes for the bulbs; or an entire bed.
The depth to plant the bulbs is 2 to 3 inches deeper than the height of the bulb. It is better to plant too deep, than too shallow. Because it is dry this year, you will want to water in the base of the bed and let it soak in. Next, you may wish to sprinkle in some bone meal which is a slow release fertilizer. Now you are ready to place a bulb. Buying good quality bulbs is essential to success.
Look for large size, heavy weight , and firm bulbs. Choose any color that you like.
Once bulbs are placed with the pointed top to the sky, cover with more soil and pat down the soil. Check the bulb bag for the spacing between bulbs.
To keep the squirrels from digging them up, place chicken wire over the bed, and secure the edges with plant/landscape staples. This wire can be left on all winter over your bulbs. It is a good thing to make a map or keep notes about what and where you planted the bulbs as over winter we can easily forget what we did six months ago.
Here is some reassurance I read in two articles — if you don’t know which is the bottom of the bulb, plant it sideways as the plant will know to grow upward!
How late can you plant bulbs? You can plant bulbs even after the first frost as the ground is still warm at the 4-inch depth. I once planted bulbs in November, and they did come up in the spring as it had not frozen hard enough that month.
The current ground temperature is 66 degrees at 2 inches, 60 degrees at 4 inches and 58 degrees at 7 inches.
Happy planting, and now you can look forward to these bulbs coming up in the spring.
Resources: University of Minnesota Extension; Garden Gate Magazine; bulb companies
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