NFBIC
427 Old Otis Rd.
Danby, VT 05739
802-293-BULB (2852)
Say “Hello Old Friend” to Naturalized
Spring Bloomers, Year after Year
Gardeners know that fall is prime time for planting. The cooler temperatures and frequent rains of autumn make conditions perfect for establishing the hardy flower bulbs, perennials, trees, shrubs and lawns that add to a home’s appeal as long-term landscape upgrades.
Of these, only spring-blooming bulbs absolutely must be planted in fall. This “now or never” push makes fall bulb planting an annual tradition in many households where spending an hour or two each fall can reap colorful spring time benefits for years. Not surprisingly, it’s many bulbs’ ability to naturalize and come back to bloom year after year that attracts people.
“This come-back-benefit makes bulbs a smart investment, both financially and emotionally,” said Sally Ferguson, director of the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center in Danby, VT (www.bulb.com). “When naturalized spring bulb flowers come up and bloom each spring, you begin to think of them as more than seasonal markers. You wait for them. They come back as chums. ‘Hello old friend’ you say to this daffodil or that.
“It feels good to bond with nature and connect with the seasons in this way,” says Ferguson. “Your kids will feel it too. The daffodils you and your six-year-old plant this fall can multiply and continue blooming there, spring after spring, from now till his or her first prom and beyond, all with minimal help from you. When you share pleasure in the flowers you planted together, year after year, they’re part of your family story.”
Each fall, Ferguson advises, plant a new batch of bulbs to achieve cumulative sweeps of spring color over time. She suggests planting a sea of buoyant yellow daffodils bobbing over a carpet of low-growing cobalt blue scillas, or a wash of orange-and-purple-flamed ‘Princes Irene’ tulips along a path. For late spring bloom, a broad swath of soft blue Spanish bluebells nicely outlines a hillside or forest edge. Spring-blooming bulb flowers –including daffodils, species tulips, grape hyacinths, crocus, scilla, and more – can be planted to naturalize in beds, groundcovers, even the lawn where you can tuck the bulbs right under the grass.
“The secret to planting naturalized bulbs is that you don’t have to do it all at once. Pace yourself: each year treat yourself to something new or something more,” says Ferguson.
Following are some tips on planting and growing naturalized bulbs from the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center (NFBIC). For additional NFBIC spring bulb planting tips, see www.bulb.com. For the NFBIC’s videos on naturalizing and planting daffodils in grassy areas, see http://www.bulbvideo.com/springflowering_bulbs.html or visit the NFBIC’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/bulbvideo.
What does naturalizing mean? Many spring blooming bulbs will thrive in a wide variety of garden conditions. Some, including many tulip varieties and hyacinths, are best treated as annuals. Others will “perennialize” or do well for three to four years before diminishing. Others will make themselves right at home and “naturalize” into the landscape. Technically, naturalizing bulbs are those that accommodate themselves fully to their new sites, feeling so at home that they multiply naturally, on their own, increasing in numbers year after year.
Will some bulbs naturalize and not others? Actually, most bulbs are, by definition, perennials. But, in reality, not all bulbs will adapt to diverse growing conditions so readily. A lot depends on the particular type of bulb and the particular planting site. Soil, climatic, water and other conditions all play a part in determining which types of bulbs will be the best repeat performers in any given environment. A further critical factor is that, to naturalize, the bulb plant must be left undisturbed after bloom, with leaves left intact for six weeks or more to die back naturally. It is during this post-bloom period that the green leaves take on the task of recharging the bulb with stored food starches for next year’s bloom via the process of photosynthesis. Look for bulbs marked “Good for Naturalizing” or “Good for Perennializing” on packaging, mail-order website listings, or at www.bulb.com (see Spring Bulbs).
What about squirrels, deer and other pests?
Good old Mother Nature is a step ahead of you here, having programmed flower bulbs as mini-subterranean survival units. Many (though not all) of the bulbs that naturalize best are also among the most pest-resistant! If animal pests are a problem in your area, check out the lists of pest-resistant bulbs on www.bulb.com (Spring Bulbs, pest prevention tips).Plant in soil that drains well. The Dutch have a saying: “Bulbs don’t like wet feet. Soggy soil rots bulbs. Avoid planting where water collects such as the base of hills, near downspouts or in landscape depressions. In garden beds, work organic matter such as compost, well-aged cow manure or peat into the soil, mixing it in deep enough to provide drainage at root level.
Consider the sunlight. Most bulb plants prefer full sun, though not all. But don’t let fall planting conditions fool you. What’s dark and shady in fall may be bright and sunny next spring before the trees’ new leaves come out. For early and mid-season spring bloomers, most deciduous trees will not yet have leafed out. For late-season bloomers, shade may be an issue.
Which sites are best? When naturalizing, think long-term. You want to choose sites where your colorful spring bulb flowers can become a part of the landscape, multiplying and spreading over time. Flowerbeds are great, of course. So are sunny or partly sunny lawns, groundcover beds, forest edges, roadside edges, all places where flamboyant spring bloomers thrive. Even shady woodlands areas can be enlivened with permanent naturalized bulb plantings of shade-loving species such as Allium ursinum (ransom), Anemone nemorosa (wood anemone), Corydalis, Arum italicum, Fritillaria meleagris (snakeshead fritillaria), Galanthus nivalis (snowdrop), Hyacinthoides non-scripta (bluebell), and Ornithogalum umbellatum (Star of Bethlehem).
Dig hole, pop in bulbs, cover up. Bulbs are easy: plant small bulbs five inches deep; plant large bulbs eight inches deep, or come as close as you can. By digging a trench, you can position multiple bulbs at once. When digging individual holes, it’s okay to use one good-sized hole to plant a large bulb or two with several smaller understory bulbs (for instance a daffodil bulb with several grape hyacinths).
When planting in grassy areas or on slopes, use a spade to flip back a patch of grass, like sod, to create a pocket underneath. Place bulbs inside the pocket, then reposition the grass to cover them up. Now tamp down. On slopes, try to position your bulbs to achieve naturalistic swaths of color following the flow or topography of the land.
Pointy end up. Bulbs have a top and bottom. The pointy end is generally the top. The bottom, or basal plate, is generally a flatter, darker area from which the roots will grow. On some bulbs, especially the little ones, it’s not always easy to tell which end is which. Not to worry, bulbs will usually right themselves underground as the roots begin to grow. Another feat of nature! Bulbs are really that easy to grow! After planting, water the planting area to settle the ground and initiate rooting. Or let autumn rains do your watering for you.
Naturalized bulbs appreciate food. The bulbs you buy in fall come fully charged, chock full of the stored-food they need to flower the next spring. Bulbs that are planted for only one season of enjoyment don’t need fertilizer. Naturalized bulbs are another story – they’re in for the long haul. A bit of food now and then gives naturalized bulbs a welcome boost.
For the first season:
- If soil is poor, it’s always a bonus to work a good organic compost or well-rotted cow manure into the soil when planting and also “top-dress” or mulch with this material.
- Or, add compost or peat to the soil for drainage and top-dress with a 9-9-6 NPK slow release or an 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 NPK, fast-release soluble fertilizer (about one tablespoon per square foot).
What you do next spring depends on what you did in the fall:
- If you used a slow release method, such as the compost, cow manure or the slow-release NPK, don’t do anything.
- If you used a fast-release fertilizer, apply a nitrogen-rich fast-release NPK fertilizer in the spring just as the shoots first emerge from the soil (which would be about 6 weeks prior to bloom).
- Each fall, fertilize again by your method of choice, for optimal results.
After spring-flowering bulbs have faded. “Dead-head” the plants by snipping off the faded flowers. This prevents the formation of seeds, but allows the green foliage to die back naturally, a process which generally takes about six weeks after bloom. (A dead-heading exception: daffodils do not require dead-heading — though many people choose to do so for aesthetic reasons. Large naturalized beds of daffodils can be left "au naturale" after blooming and suffer no ill effects.)
Avoid the urge to "tidy up" bulb plantings after bloom by tying up the leaves with string or rubber bands, as some suggest. The six-week leaf die-back time is a critical work period for leaves busy with photosynthesis (the process by which leaves combine chlorophyll and sunshine into the starches that recharge the bulb with food for next year’s bloom). The leaves must be free to soak up sunshine during this crucial period.
If fading foliage is unattractive, the best solution is camouflage. Interplant bulbs with hostas, coral bells (heuchera), astilbes, lady’s mantle, day lilies or other perennials that leaf out early in the spring season. They will grow up and around fading bulb plants and disguise the dying foliage of the bulbs.
###