 ello fellow Earthlings and welcome
to the first of a two part series on bulb planting and the enjoyment and
surprise of a bulb garden in any spot or pot. But first a little science...
 Bulbs are actually a common description
given to the bulbous storage tanks,of certain types of perennial plants
that have a distinct dormant season where the plant actually disappears
and stores energy and food for the following growing season in a fleshy
modified root that acts as a insulator and storage facility for the dormant
plant's life force. Although many different types of storage organs are
called bulbs many are corms, tubers and rhizomes. So, enough of the semi
technical stuff and on to the garden.
Fall bulb planting is something that
can be done with a master plan or with total abandon. Planned bulb gardens
are beautiful places where drifts of flowers are placed in areas of the
garden to show off a kind of display of color in an organized manner. Many
gardener's, however, plant bulbs with no plan or organized scheme. I like
this method just as much as the organized style because the bulbs become
a sort of surprise of color when it is their time. Both of these methods
are exciting and rewarding for many years if a few steps are taken ahead
of planting time to ensure that your bulbs give you a good display of colorful
flowers from the first year and for many years afterward.
The first step is to select the type
of bulbs that you have an interest in growing. It should be noted here that
we live in a very mild climate and there are a few types of bulbs that will
require refrigeration to simulate a cold snap so that they may go dormant
properly. These bulb types include tulips, hyacinths, crocus, snowdrops
and muscari ( grape hyacinth). These bulbs should be stored in the refrigerator
for no less than six weeks. I prefer to store them for ten weeks, the prolonged
cool season really seems to let the plant rest and go fully dormant, thus
making the spring flush of growth even more spectacular when they are placed
out in the garden. I also like to plant these types of bulbs in pots. By
doing this I make less work for myself when it comes to digging the bulbs
up to store them for next season. Pots also make the displaying more flexible
due to the mobility of pots. Other types of bulbs like daffodils, paperwhites,
freesias and bearded or Dutch iris don't really require chilling, so you
can just plant them directly from the garden center in your prepared soil.
Selecting bulbs at the garden center is a lot like shopping for tomatoes.
Selection of large firm bulbs will always make your life easier. Undersize
or bulbs that have molds or mildew growing on them or have and odor of rot
should be passed over. There are lots of places where good bulbs can be
purchased including the Home Depot
Once you have selected your bulbs and
have them in your shopping cart, scoot over to the section of the garden
center where they have their bulb foods and pick up a box or a bag of an
organic bulb food to mix into the soil that you are about to plant your
bulbs in. Whitney farms makes a very good bulbs food and it can be purchased
at Grangetto's Farm and Garden Supply at any of their four location in the
county. Use this product according to the instructions on the box and you
will have very healthy bulbs with good color. I like to mix my own bulbs
food consisting of 2 parts soft rock phosphate, 1 part cottonseed meal and
one part alfalfa meal. I use about an eighth of a cup mixed into the backfill
soil for each bulb at planting time. Because my organic bulbs food lasts
so long I only apply it at planting time, it lasts long enough to feed the
growing bulb plant all the way though the blooming cycle. Remember the Mulch!
A good 2"-3" layer of mulch will also make your bulb garden a
cleaner place while feeding the soil organic matter at the same time.
Next month we will be discussing the
care of bulb plants once they have emerged from the soil and caring for
them after blooming is over to ensure even more bloom next season. Come
up and see me sometime!  | 
mill.net. The Garden Goddess is a trademark of The Organic Gardener's Resource and Design Centre of Encinitas. D.W. Trotter is a consulting horticulturist and an award winning garden designer.