How to Plant Spring Bulbs in the Fall

How to Plant Spring Bulbs in the Fall

It's time for some fall planting! Why do we plant certain bulbs in the fall versus the spring? The cooler weather allows spring bloomers to winter over, which is an essential process! Enjoy the cooler weather when working outside in the garden once past the scalding hot sun of summertime.

How to Plant Spring Bulbs in the Fall

It's time for some fall planting! Why do we plant certain bulbs in the fall versus the spring? The cooler weather allows spring bloomers to winter over, which is an essential process! Enjoy the cooler weather when working outside in the garden once past the scalding hot sun of summertime.

When to plant?

Fall bulbs are to be planted as soon as the ground is cool and once the evening temperatures range from about 5 to 10°C for 6 to 8 weeks before the ground freezes over. If you have already purchased your bulbs and you’re waiting for the right time to plant, store them in a cool, dry place so that they stay fresh.

Choosing a Location

You can essentially plant fall bulbs anywhere in your garden, as long as you have well draining soil! We always say that “bulbs don’t like wet feet,” so make sure you’re avoiding areas where water collects, such as bottoms of hills or ditches.

How to plant?

We want to make sure that our soil is loose and workable, and that we are planting in the bed to a depth of at least 8 inches for larger bulbs and about 5 inches for smaller ones!

You want to make sure that you are setting the bulb 'point' side up and the root sides down. It’s fairly easy to spot the pointed end of the bulb — if you are unsure, place it on its side and it’ll figure itself out.

You can mix in compost, organic matter or even some sulphur and bone meal to make sure that your bulbs are well nourished while wintering and when they decide to bloom in the spring.

Watering Your Fall Bulbs

Okay, so we got our bulbs planted, we filled the hole with soil and we’ve lightly padded the soil — not packed! We don’t want to suffocate them — we just want to put them to bed gently. Water them once to make sure the root growth is active and that you are filling any air holes. You don’t have to water them continuously unless you are somewhere where you don’t get great rainfall this time of year!

And that's it! Your bulbs are ready overwinter and bloom with gorgeous flowers in the spring!

How to Plant Spring Bulbs in the Fall

Video

How to Plant Spring Bulbs in the Fall

It's time for some fall planting! Why do we plant certain bulbs in the fall versus the spring? The cooler weather allows spring bloomers to winter over, which is an essential process! Enjoy the cooler weather when working outside in the garden once past the scalding hot sun of summertime.

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