Guide for Planting Bulbs

Before you dig your first hole for planting bulbs, you'll want to make sure you are placing your bulbs in the right place. Bulbs do not like to have wet feet, so don't set them into an area that stays damp.

Most spring flowering bulbs love sunshine and can be planted anywhere in the yard as long as there is good drainage.

Summer flowering bulbs are the ones to watch out for. Caladiums do best when grown in a shaded area. Dahlias grow best in sunshine. Give them what they want and they're produce for you.

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Plant Bulbs In Groups or Individually

A bulb such as the Elephant Ear can be planted individually. It produces a large plant and as such can be used as an individual show piece.
Tulips and Hyacinths along with most of the smaller bulbs produce better looking results when planted in masses.

When planting a mass of bulbs, make sure to set them at all at the same depth so your bloom times will be similiar.

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Planting Tools

If you only have a few flower bulbs to plant, you can use a trowel or hand shovel.
A bulb planter can also be used. It pulls a plug of soil from the ground leaving you a nice hole to set the bulb into.

Large quantities of bulbs will be quicker to plant if you use a planting auger attached to a cordless drill.

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How Deep to Plant

A general rule for planting bulbs is to put them into the ground at 3x their width.
A 2 inch wide bulb will get planted 6 inches into the ground.

Gladiolus need to be planted four to five inches deep. They need that depth to hold up the stalk once it's grown. If you plant them too shallow, the stalks will fall over!

How Far Apart

A general rule is to space your flower bulbs twice the diameter of the bulb. This allows for future growth.
For sweeping masses you can put the bulbs closer together but not so close that they touch each other.

Corms can be placed close together since new bulbs are formed on top of or below the original corm.

Which Way is Up

Bulbs prefer to be planted with their tip facing up and their roots facing down. If you can't tell which is the top and which is the bottom, try placing the bulb on its side.

Some bulbs like the anemone don't seem to have a top, bottom or side. When you run into a bulb like the anemone, just plant it like you would a seed...plop it in, cover it up and hope for the best!

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Fertilize When Planting Bulbs

When planting bulbs it always helps to give them a little boost by putting bonemeal into the hole with them. Follow the directions on the bag. Give them only what the directions call for. Thinking that if a little is good a lot is much better is a sure way to kill your plants.

You can fertilize your bulbs with an all purpose fertilizer once you see the flower buds forming.

More About Bulbs

Garden Bulbs
Bulb Care
Deer Resistant Bulbs
Spring Bulbs
Summer Bulbs
Fall Bulbs
Storing Bulbs
Buying Flower Bulbs
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