winter weather and spring blooming bulbs
There's really a lot to love about spring, but a few things are just scrumptious icing on a fabulous cake. I love feeling extra warmth in my limbs when the sun starts to feel stronger again and I'm coming back to the land of the living after wearing sweats and leggings for 3-5 months. One of my favorite and most enjoyable things is seeing spring bulbs come up and show their fancy and bright colors off. There's such hope in the brightness, sturdiness, and punchy cuteness when they come poking up (especially out of the snow up in those terrifyingly cold northern states).
Certainly my two favorites, the grape hibiscus and the crocus, are showstoppers on a micro scale. Their detailed shape and color variation is impressive, but not really from far away. Maturing around 4" to 8", they don't really get the "weightlifter" size of daffodils, and aren't always the stereotypical spring flower. They really encourage me to walk around the garden in the cold to inspect their blooms. For some reason, I've always loved the blue flowers, too. Maybe because they are so vibrant, or maybe because I was just never a "pink" girl, we may never know...
The trickiest thing about bulbs is that I consistently seem to get about 60% to 80% showing from the beds I plant with them. Bulbs are delicious to critters, and the new green growth in the spring is like the pre-cruise salad bar they offer you while you wait in line. The deer and rabbits and who knows what else will I N H A L E the greenery as soon as it arrives (a day or a week no joke). With some bulbs missing after winter's end, and some foliage chewed off before blooming, the final result is spotty and sparse blooms in what should have been full and lushly designed clumps of spring beauty.
Purportedly, bulbs grow well in "naturalized" landscapes as that is how they were originally found, in lieu of the current farmed fashion we mostly encounter now.
The supplier I purchased 300 bulbs from three years ago, and 150 bulbs last year, had this description on their website:
"Because of their very early bloom time, blooming crocuses are often considered the first sign of spring. [...] you'll find more and more cheery crocuses, as they bloom so early and multiply every year. This particular collection of crocus varieties was selected specifically for a beautiful blend of same-time blooming color, to give spring an especially warm welcome!"
Seems like there are three things that make bulbs the queens that they are:
1) Keep those damn critters away (organically, duh). Deer, rabbits, and snails/ slugs love lush foliage. Cayenne pepper, coyote urine (don't knock it til you try it), and scented bar soap (yep just put it outside) can sometimes be enough, and you don't have to resort to fencing or other invasive methods first.
2) Feeding those bulbs some juicy fertilizer at the right time. Honestly, isn't timing part of everything? Different bulbs require feeding either right before or right after they bloom. Do a little bit of googling to find out when is best and what type of fertilizer to use (ratio of the supplements included). You can also use fertilizer marketed specifically for bulbs.
3) To lift or not to lift? So, its probably true that lifting bulbs at the end of spring will ensure you know exactly where they're going and how many will make it when you stick them back in the ground in the fall. BUT WAIT. Why would anyone double their work just to get the same result each year?! I'm fairly certain the answer to this question is "never, unless you need to relocate them for literally any other reason". Letting bulbs die back naturally, leaving their dead foliage until midsummer, and leaving their butts in the ground increases the likelihood that they will spread naturally (daffodils and crocus do this, as well as some iris). You may get some dead spots or critters that come back to dig them up over the summer when its hot and they remember you've got an underground salad bar for them. My thoughts? Its natural, let it ride. Plant more next year if you've got bare spots.
Happy gardening, friends!!
