Tulip Time

Crocus are one of the first
bulbs to bloom in spring

It’s officially fall; the days are getting shorter, the temperature is falling and things in the garden are slowing down. I haven’t mown my lawn in over a week, when at the height of summer it was a twice a week chore. Sometimes I am actually relieved when this time of year rolls around.
But, it is not too early to think about next spring and it is the perfect time to plant bulbs. Bulb sales have been declining for several years and it’s mystery to me why. One of my gardening friends thinks it’s because we want instant gratification. We don’t want to plant something now and then have to wait six months before we see it bloom. Well, what ever the reason it is too bad because bulbs are a wonderfully versatile plant in the garden.

Fritilliaries are deer resistant

You can pack a lot of blooms in a small area by "layering" the bulbs, or planting them at different levels based on their requirements. A good rule of thumb is to plant a bulb at 3 times its height. Smaller bulbs like crocus need only be planted maybe 2-3 inches down in the soil while the bigger bulbs such as daffodils or allium need to be planted deeper. And it seems to just work out that the smaller bulbs bloom earlier than the bigger bulbs. There are even bulbs that bloom in the fall! The saffron crocus is one of them, colchicums are another.

The bulb industry has a new ad campaign to show you just how easy it is to plant bulbs. It is called Dig, Drop, Done. Dig the hole, drop in the bulb, and you’re done. You should also be sure to water thoroughly but that doesn’t really go with the alliterative dig drop done theme. I like to naturalize my bulbs, either in the flower beds or in the lawn. I just randomly toss the bulbs in the area I want to plant and then plant them where they land.

Daffodils in bloom

You can fertilize if you like but it really isn’t necessary. The bulb itself has all the energy it will need to grow and bloom the next year. The best time to fertilize is in the spring when you first see the foliage poke up from the ground. After the blooms have faded, resist the temptation to cut back the foliage. This is how the bulb produces and stores the energy needed to bloom next year.

When you buy bulbs make sure to purchase the largest bulbs possible. The bigger the bulb the more energy it has to produce blooms the first year. The bulbs should be also be firm and not bruised. Soft bulbs are dead and will not bloom next spring.

Fox in the neighbor's garden

Yesterday while walking in the neighborhood a fox ran in front of me on Pomeroy Street. He ran into someone’s side yard and sat there long enough for me to take this picture with my phone. He jumped up on a retaining wall and then saw me and took off.

Spring Is Finally Here

Crocus in lawn

Spring Is Finally Here!

The crocus in my front lawn are up and blooming and the daffodils are not far behind.  Last fall I planted more crocus in the back but it is shadier there and hence cooler so no sign of them yet.  I hope the squirrels didn't dig them up.  I do occasionally find blooming bulbs not where I planted them.  But that is okay because I naturalize my bulbs in the grass as well as designated flower beds so what could be more natural than bulbs planted by squirrels.

Naturalized scilla

A few years ago I planted scilla in the middle of the front lawn.  I just love those houses on Woodstock Street near Oak where the scilla has truly naturalized in the front lawns.  What a sight.  You should drive by and see it.  Mine hasn't done so well and I will have to remember next fall to add more.  I meant to do it this year, but by the time I got around to it the stores were sold out.  

Well, what better way to begin another gardening season here in Norther Illinois than by attending Garden Fest next Saturday at McHenry County College.  GardenFest is sponsored by the Master Gardeners of McHenry County, part of the University of Illinois Extension Service.  With all the funding cut backs going on this is one way to help support a group that gives so much to the community.  If you ever have a gardening question and call the Extension Office in Woodstock, it will most likely be a Master Gardener that answers it.  They get extensive training from the Extension Service and in return volunteer time at the office to answer garden related questions.

Kim Hartman and I will be there as speakers-- I am giving a talk on water gardening and Kim's topics are shade gardening and roses.  Kim's are at 9:30am and 1:15 and mine is at 2:45. 

Also going on this month, in fact as we speak, is the Macy's Flower Show at the Macy's on State Street.  I can't get there this year but I have gone in the past and the floral displays are outstanding.  Again, they also have classes and the Cook County Master Gardeners are there to answer any questions. 

And, finally, on April 16 Countryside is having another full day of seminars on gardening.  Kim will be filling you in on the best new plants for 2011, Karen Campney, Nursery Manager, will be talking about growing fruit and a tree specialist will be teaching you about insect management in trees, including how to deal with the emerald ash borer.

Get Ready for Winter

Now is the time of year to prepare the garden for winter.  As much rain as we got this spring and summer, that is how dry it has been this fall.  Plants prepare for winter by transporting the energy produced in the leaves down to the roots and they need water to do this.  If you did any new planting this summer be sure to give those plants a good drink of water.  Don't assume the rain we are supposed to get tomorrow will be sufficient.  I have been dragging the hose around the garden for the last week making sure all my plants have adequate moisture.  I even watered the lawn, which I never do, because it is just so parched.

Besides getting ready for winter we can also prepare for some spring blooming by planting bulbs.  Bulbs seem to go in and out of fashion and you can tell they are currently out of fashion by the limited availability in the garden centers.  I don't know why that is because they really are a good value, especially when compared to buying them already in bloom next spring.  I like to "naturalize" my bulbs by planting them to look like they would in nature.  I don't plant them in rows in a border.  I plant mine in the lawn and in clumps in and among my perennials. 

Bulbs are not hard to plant.  They should be planted at a depth 3x the height of the bulb.  Small bulbs, like crocus and scilla, are planted just an inch or two below the surface of the soil, while larger bulbs, like tulips and daffodils should be planted much deeper.  This ability to plant at different depths allow you to layer the bulbs and you can actually plant enough different types of bulbs in a small area to have blooms from April through June.

If you planted bulbs last summer, you might have planted gladiolas, cannas or dahlias.  These bulbs are not hardy in our area and need to be dug up, dried, cleaned and stored in a cool, dry place until they can be planted next spring. 

More Fall Chores

Most of the leaves are off my trees and neighbor Dave and I were out raking yesterday in our respective gardens. I put the patio furniture away and the hose and really started battening down for the winter. When we first moved here a friend of mine said of this time of year, "Say good bye to your neighbors because you won’t see them until spring! They hibernate, too!" And she was right. Unlike other parts of the country where people really enjoy winter sports, we don’t here. I suppose it has to do with the dreary, gray days. (Mr. Ross tells me that in most parts of the country backing up to high tension power lines results in lower appraisal values for houses, except in Minnesota where it is considered a bonus because it makes for great snow mobile trails.)

Well, I guess what keeps us going is knowing that in six months spring will be here and our gardens, like us, will be springing back to life. I am already starting to plan for next year and my leaves are helping out. I want to put in a mixed herbaceous border, as they say in England, so I need to get rid of some grass in the back. Mike in the greenhouse department gave me this tip so I am trying it out this year. When he puts in a new planting area, he spreads newspaper over the area and then piles leaves on top. By spring the leaves and paper have smothered the grass and then you can till in the decomposing leaves to help amend the soil. So this week I have 3 bags of leaves for the city to pick up, whereas neighbor Dave has seven.

It is pretty shady back there and I want plants with brighter foliage to lighten the area up. I will be planting lots of the gold tone and chartreuse hostas and hakonechloa grass in addition to the limelight hydrangea and itea shrubs that I planted last spring. One thing to keep in mind when planning a new bed or landscape is to think about what the area will look like when not in its prime. What is there to capture the eye at that time. This is a piece of statuary from my old house. It looks great mixed in with the plants, but it also gives me something to look at during the winter. I can see this area from my kitchen window so I do see it through all seasons.

I also planted the last of my bulbs. I had a few daffodils and crocus bulbs left over from my bulb forcing project last month so I got them planted as well. (Last month I planted some bulbs in a container to force them to bloom earlier than they normally would. I had them in the refrigerator until last week when I moved them to the cellar steps, where they would stay cold but not freeze.) I used a bulb auger attached to my electric drill to dig the holes for the left over bulbs. I have a few planted up the beds on either side of my front door, but to change it up a bit, I planted these last few in the lawn right in front of the raised planters. I accidently dug up one that I had planted earlier and was pleased to note that the roots had really started to develop. So that is one other thing I have to look forward to this spring.

Forcing Bulbs

Forcing bulbs is a fun project for the fall, though you won't see the fruits of your labor until spring. Forcing bulbs means to trick them into blooming sooner than they would when planted outside. Some bulbs do not need to be forced, like paper whites or amaryllis. Others, such as daffodils, tulips, crocus or hyacinths need to be cooled before they will bloom. It is a little too late to force bulbs for blooming by Christmas but you can still get a jump on spring by doing it now. The Van Bloem web site has a page that explains how to do it and gives the weeks of cooling needed for each bulb type.

Most bulbs need 12-15 weeks of cool temperatures before they will bloom. After this period it generally takes another month for the blooms to actually set and open. I prefer to time my bulbs to bloom sometime in late January or February. There is usually plenty of color in the house in December, what with Christmas decorating and poinsettias. After that the house looks a little drab so it is nice to perk it up with some forced bulbs.

In this example I am using daffodils and crocus. You can use any type of container. If it is going in the house you would want to use a more decorative container. I am planning to put this out on the front porch so the container doesn’t have to look too nice. I think using a galvanized container would look nice, also.

Fill the container with potting mix, not garden soil, and place the bulbs pointy side up. In a 6" container Van Bloem recommends 6 tulip bulbs, 3-6 daffodil bulbs, 3 hyacinth and 12 crocus or muscari bulbs. In my container, which is more like a 10" container, I am using 4 daffodil bulbs and 5 crocus bulbs. Once the bulbs are in place, partially cover the bulbs with soil, water in and place in a paper bag.

Find a cool place to store the bulbs. Right now the coolest place is going to be in your refrigerator. I am having to evict the wine from the bottom shelf of the frig at least for a few weeks. Once the outside temperature has dropped sufficiently find a place that stays cool but does not freeze. My garden club friend Kathy, puts hers in the covered window wells in her basement. In 12-15 weeks bring the container into a warm sunny room. There should be green shoots about 1-2" tall emerging from the soil. They will continue to grow and form buds and finally open. This process will take about a month. Be sure to turn the container so that the stems don’t grow to one side, toward the light.

Bulbs do not have to be fertilized since they stored the energy for next year’s blooms last spring. I have had some people tell me that bulbs that are forced do not ever bloom again and they should be thrown out after the blooms are spent. This is not true. Once the bulbs have blossomed, you can fertilize them with a well balanced, all purpose fertilizer. If you want you can plant them outside in the ground at this point or allow them to grow in the container until later in the spring and then allow them to go dormant, remove them from the soil, dry them and replant them in the fall in the ground. The key is allowing them to continue the process of photo-synthesis and sending energy to the bulb to enable the plant to store up enough energy to bloom again the following spring.