Planting tulip and daffodil bulbs this fall? Here are tips for success in PNW gardens
It is mid September — have you purchased your bulbs yet? Fall is the time of year to purchase spring blooming bulbs such as daffodils, tulips and hyacinths.
These most popular spring bloomers are easy to find at nurseries and home centers but picking the right location in your landscape can be a death-defying stunt — the bulb’s death, not yours. Make sure the site is well drained or the bulbs will rot during our wet winters.
Here are the most asked bulb planting questions.
Q. Can I plant daffodils in the shade? I have very little sun in my new garden. — B.L., Tacoma
A. Yes, daffodils will flower in a mostly shaded location, unlike tulips that tend to flop over without good sunlight. You can even plant daffodils in a woodland garden as long as some of the trees that cast shade lose their leaves so that some sun can reach the fading foliage after the flowers bloom.
Q. We have deer, mice, voles and rabbits. I planted 100 tulips last fall and not one bloomed. I know you put up a deer fence around your garden but I cannot do that in my yard. Any suggestions? — S.B., Olympia
A. Plant daffodils. Deer, mice and voles will not bother daffodils. Both the bulb below ground and the blooms above ground are toxic.
Q. I want to put spring bulbs in my patio planters after I take out the summer annual flowers. How close together can I place the bulbs? Can I reuse the potting soil from the summer flowers? Do I need to add fertilizer? — M.N., Enumclaw
A. Yes, you can reuse old potting soil for pots of bulbs. Layer tulip, daffodil and crocus bulbs shoulder to shoulder and sandwiched on top of each other. In most cases the bulbs you plant in containers will flower only for one season so there is no need to add fertilizer to the old potting soil. As long as you loosen it up so it drains well, you can pack in the bulbs.
Plant the largest bulbs such as daffodils and hyacinths the deepest at 8 inches down into the pot. Then cover with a few inches of soil and add another layer of smaller bulbs creating a lasagna of bulbs, soil, bulbs, soil. You can even add winter pansies to the top layer for some instant color. When spring arrives, your pot of bulbs will have a long season of color as the early-, mid- and late-season bulbs take turns blooming.
Q. Are bulbs considered low water use plants? — Anon
A. Yup. In our climate the winter rains soak them well, spring rains keep them blooming and in summer the dormant bulbs like to be hot and dry.
Be sure to grow bulbs in a location where they will not be hit by lawn sprinklers or given additional summer water. Plant spring blooming bulbs between large boulders, behind drought-resistant shrubs and under deciduous trees where you will neglect them all summer.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.