Expert Advice: Spring Bulbs

What to do with early bloomers

BY: Deb Brown

If it’s late winter and you notice your bulbs are making an early appearance, follow our tips to keep them healthy and safe until spring.

Cover with snow. Bulbs usually aren’t damaged much when they sprout early, but if you have some snow piled up on your property, it wouldn’t hurt to shovel it on top of the bulbs to keep them cooler and slow their growth.

Choose your location carefully. When you plant bulbs in the fall, avoid places that heat up early, such as south-facing slopes or areas near the foundation on the south side of your house or garage.

Plant bulbs deep. Be sure that you plant bulbs deeply enough. When they’re too shallow, they warm earlier.

Protect with mulch. Put several inches of mulch over your bulb beds as soon as the soil freezes in the late autumn. In addition to protecting the bulbs from extreme cold, mulch insulates the soil and helps keep it cool enough to discourage early sprouting. Bulb foliage that’s pale and yellowish under the mulch will green up when it’s exposed to sunlight.

Photo courtesy cwasteson

Comments

By jwhite33 Thursday, February 23, 2012 9:55 PM

Hi, I moved into a house that has PLENTY of these early bloomers, which are gorgeous, UNTIL they quit flowering, then it just looks like my flower beds are filled with un-mowed grass. There are so many bulbs and they just keep growing, does anyone have any advice on how I can either remove them or contain them? Thanks

By marilynhaynes Saturday, February 25, 2012 10:56 AM

a few years ago i had the same thing going on in my flower bed, so i marked the flowers as they came up with the month, when the weather change and it began to get cold , i dug the the bubs up and reset my bed with the monnth from my tags,the is flowers growing each and sometime there are more color that come up at the same time,i also remove the flower after they bloom and the grass look is on the edges so the bed look like monkey grass when the other flower come in you can pull the bulb apart when you have a lot of them,of one kind and plant them around a tree. i hope this help .

By jwhite33 Sunday, February 26, 2012 8:32 AM

thank you, I think i will replant them UNDER my hostas, this will hide them leaves until they are brown. Thanks for the idea!