How to Plant Early Spring Flower Bulbs in Fall

Just when it seems winter will never end, spring showers show up and wash away winter's grime. We've all heard the saying that those showers bring flowers, but that's not all they bring. They can also trigger a serious longing for masses of colorful tulips when spring landscapes are filled with bulbs in bloom.

There's no denying that Mother Nature outdid herself with tulips, daffodils and other spring bloomers. Whether you're into pale pastels, vibrant primary colors or goth-garden black, spring bulbs put on a spectacular show.

But here's the rub if you're new to gardening or just discovered the joys of bulbs: You have to plan ahead and plant those bulbs in fall to get the spring show you're yearning for. We're here to tell you how.

• How to Plan a Spring Bulb Bonanza

• How to Plant Spring-Blooming Bulbs

• How to Cheat if You Just Can't Wait!

Crocus bloom early in spring (and look great naturalized in lawns).

How to Plan a Spring Bulb Bonanza

Once tulips and daffodils have your attention, they'll keep it — especially once you find out they come in early-season, mid-season and late-season types. By planting a variety of these spring bloomers, even just tulips and daffodils, you can wow the world with an extended display of traffic-stopping blooms.

Choose right, and you can keep the show rolling from spring's earliest days all the way to summer until your garden's hot summer blooms take off.  

Just to build on that excitement — because we know you're feeling it — there's a bevy of other spring-blooming bulbs you can add to kick your bulb bonanza up a few more notches. Here's just a sampling to get your plans flowing:

• Snowdrops are one of spring's earliest bloomers. These little beauties have a habit of breaking through remnant snow with tiny white flowers. Hence the name.

• Crocus is another early spring bloomer perfect for creating layers of underlying color around the feet of your tulips and daffodils.

• Hyacinth blooms hit your garden mid-spring, from white to deepest purple, with the sweetest fragrances of the season.

• Alliums, aka ornamental onions, arrive in late spring. From minimalist to maximalist, their straight, sturdy stems and rounded blooms carry your garden through spring and beyond.

Mix it up with whatever suits your garden style. The only rules are yours. 

Repeat after us: Fall planting party.

How to Plant Spring-Blooming Bulbs

Once you've decided on petal palettes and bloom times, you can really let loose. Plant spring-blooming bulbs en masse or in singles. Create designs or interesting shapes — or go for a wildflower look and scatter heirloom daffodils around your landscape.

Whatever planting scheme you land on, make sure your planting sites have plenty of sun and good drainage. (Bulbs and wet, soggy soil don't mix. Root rot is not your friend.)

Plant your bulbs about six weeks before the soil in your area normally freezes. This gives your bulbs plenty of time to settle in and get ready for winter. (It's also a perfect excuse for a fall planting party.)

In cooler northern climates, ideal planting time runs from September through October. In warmer areas, late October and November may be best. If you're clueless when it comes to freeze dates, do a quick zip code search and find out. Then count back six weeks on the calendar.

Planting depth depends on the type of bulb you plant, but a general rule is to plant bulbs two to three times as deep as the length of the bulb itself. And — this is important — always plant the pointy end up. That's the end your flowers will come from.

Because you're planting based on bulb size, don't hesitate to pack bulbs close together and layer smaller bulbs on top of larger ones if the depth is right. That's one way over-the-top spring bulb gardens come to life.

To prep your soil, loosen it with a hand trowel or small spade. Mix in some plant food designed to give bulbs and flowers the nutrients they need. Bulbs love phosphorus, so look for foods with a higher middle number in the N-P-K- on the label, like Pennington Rejuvenate Plant Food Rose & Flower 4-6-3 or Lilly Miller Bone Meal 6-12-0, an easy, natural way to add the phosphorus to your soil. When you're through, water the area well. Then start daydreaming about spring.  

If you want to have your bulbs bloom again in the same place next year, don't cut off the leaves when your blooms are through. Leaves help the bulb store up the energy it needs for another year, so leave the foliage until it turns yellow or brown. Then cut it back.

Of course, you can always start from scratch and change things up every fall planting season. That's the nice thing about having your own slice of earth where nobody calls the shots but you!

Skip the wait and buy spring bulbs already in bloom.

How to Cheat if You Just Can't Wait!

If planning ahead isn't your forte and your bulb-less spring garden leaves you feeling a little blue and a lot impatient, we get it. We've been there, too. And here's what we do.

Most garden centers and nurseries offer spring "bulb gardens" as soon as winter starts to lift. These potted bulbs usually come in shallow bulb pans, just a few inches deep. Some pans have just a few bulbs, but larger ones have a wild mix of all kinds of spring-blooming bulbs. If you want instant color, go for open flowers. If you want to stretch your bloom time, look for pans with tight flower buds and blooms.

Don't take the bulbs out of the bulb pans — keep them right where they are, and don't disturb them a bit. Take your trowel and dig down the same depth as the height of your bulb pans in the same shapes. You can do it in your garden soil or in entryway containers that need a spring lift.

Then sink the pan down into the soil and cover all the edges with a light layer of mulch so the pan stays hidden. And voilà! Instant blooms to beautify the neighborhood and instant gratification for you. Treat your bulbs to a snack while you water them in with our liquid Pennington All-Purpose Plant Food 2-3-2 or our Pennington Water Soluble All-Purpose Plant Food 20-10-20.

Here at Pennington, we're on board with helping you do lawn and garden your way. Whether that's springtime tulips, clover-filled pollinator lawns and wildflower meadows, or homegrown food. Have a question? We have answers, so send it our way. Let us help you nurture your roots.

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