It’s time to think about spring bulbs

Nothing suggests the arrival of spring quite like a bed of blooming tulips or daffodils. You can have burgeoning bulbs in your yard next spring by following these guidelines:

SELECTION

When people see bulbs in nursery bins, they lose their enthusiasm for the "ugly" things. Bulbs are deceiving, but their looks are only skin deep.

Rub the flaky skin off a daffodil bulb and it looks like a double-nosed onion. Then there's the ranunculus, with its shriveled prongs pointing in all directions; there is nothing pretty about either of them. However, bury those ugly, misshapen bulbs in your garden this fall and they will turn your brown thumbs into blooming thumbs.

You can't go wrong with bulbs. Slice a tulip or daffodil in half, and you'll see the potential flowers and leaves tucked in the embryo. It's already determined how many flowers it will produce, so you know you will succeed. Select large, firm bulbs of the same size for more uniform-sized blooms.

REFRIGERATION

Our warm climate creates problems with bulbs. If they don't get a cold treatment, you won't get long-stemmed tulips or daffodils. They remain down in the leaves where you can't see them. To solve this dilemma, place your bulbs in paper sacks and store in your refrigerator's vegetable crisper for about six weeks, and then you'll get those long-stemmed blooms.

PLANTING

Work plenty of organic matter along with bone meal into your soil to enhance their growth. Also provide drainage, as they can't stand wet feet.

Plant your bulbs at the proper depth. Your nursery will provide you with a planting chart to help produce the desired results.

Plant your bulbs in a sunny location. Place them along borders, in flowerbeds or use them to accent an area.

MULCHING

After planting the bulbs, mulch the beds at least 2 inches deep. Mulch provides a beneficial haven for microorganisms to improve your soil conditions for longer displays of blooms.

AFTER BLOOMING

Never cut off the leaves; they are still manufacturing food for new bulblets for next spring . When the tops die, discard them and interplant with annuals to brighten up blank spaces. Again, cover bulbs with more mulch to keep them cool for prettier blooms next spring. However, you won't get as high a quality of blooms as you will if you plant new bulbs next fall.

Every few years dig up and replant your bulbs. Overcrowded bulbs will mean smaller flowers and uneven plant height.

WATERING

Keep in mind winter temperatures are warm, so keep them watered. Never let the beds dry out; then again, don't overwater. Overwatering will cause bulb rot.

CULTIVATION

After planting bulbs, avoid cultivating the beds except to control weeds, which won't be a problem if you mulch.

FEEDING

If you are going to carry over the bulbs into the next spring, pull the mulch back and fertilize them around Memorial Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day. Use a prepared bulb fertilizer and refresh the soil with compost . Avoid digging too deep so you don't injure the bulbs. Remulch the bulb beds.

BUGS

Aphids and cutworms may become a problem. Your nursery has several organic sprays to stop the invasion. Apply the pesticide in the early mornings for best control.

HOW BULBS GROW

I'm fascinated with the way bulbs grow. They are so dependent on one set of conditions to happen before other conditions take place.

All bulbs, rhizomes, tuberous roots and corms have periods of growth followed by flowering and then a period of dormancy when they sustain themselves until next season.

As your soil warms, they initiate roots. Stems soon follow inside the bulb, utilizing its food reserves. By the time they flower, the storage organs have become exhausted.

After flowering, the plant accumulates new food reserves to store in the bulbs. After the foliage dies back, the embryos complete their development within the bulbs and dormancy sets in again.

Dying foliage becomes a significant visual problem. This is why we stress you interplant flowering annuals to soften this transition.

Linn Mills' garden column appears on Sundays. He can be reached him at linnmillslv@gmail.com or call him at 702-526-1495.