Monday, November 24, 2014

Time to Plant the Bulbs - Part II

We continue with our bulb planting project.


Once again, here is a picture of the many different varieties of bulbs we chose for our initial planting this season.  Daffodils, tulips (of the parrot variety), crocus and hyacinth.  These will make for a spectacular spring bloom season.  


I used this organic potting mix which I am hoping will help bring vibrant growth to our bulbs.  In the upper right corner on the bag you will see "for stronger roots."  I certainly hope so.  Between this high quality soil and the Bulb-Tone, I expect great things.


I couldn't resist the beautiful blend of blues and whites and purples in this Hyacinth Blue Blend.  You see in the picture they are planted en masse, very close together, so you get a nice full look.


Here are the hyacinth bulbs ready to be planted.  Notice these bulbs are purple in color where the other bulbs were not.  I don't know this for certain, but I suspect it has to do with the final color of the blooms.


This is a picture of the bulb table before any of the pots were planted.  All of the smaller pots were planted with bulbs.  I reserved the large, center planter for the hyacinth.


I started by cleaning out the planter and amending the soil that was already there with some of the new organic soil I used for the other bulbs.


A couple small handfuls of Bulb-Tone on top of that and we were ready to plant our hyacinth bulbs.


I added a very light layer of organic soil on top of the Bulb-Tone.  Then I placed each hyacinth bulb in a circle around the metal ornamental tower in the center.


Finally, I covered the bulbs completely with more organic soil and this project was complete.  We were very fortunate in that it rained, very lightly, the evening these bulbs were planted.  So mother nature took care of watering the bulbs in rather than one of us standing out there with the garden hose or a watering can, freezing the whole time.


I wanted to show you one last picture of another pot of bulbs.  In this pot we have six parrot tulips and a hyacinth bulb in the center.  Who knows what this will look like, but if you don't try, you'll never know.  This pot had some Bulb-Tone added to the soil, then the bulbs were placed on top of that and more soil added to the top to fully cover them.


We love Behnke Nurseries Co.  They are located in Beltsville, MD.  They are closed on Thanksgiving Day, which every company should be.  But they are open on Friday and all weekend. So if you are in the area and you are thinking you might like some beautiful spring color in your garden, give them a visit over the long weekend.

NOTE:  For those who have squirrels in the yard - Sprinkle a little red pepper over the soil when planting bulbs.  That will keep the squirrels from digging them up.  You could even mix a little red pepper into the soil as you are planting.  Squirrels are relentless when it comes to digging up freshly planted bulbs.

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