DIY Network

Bulb Basics Find out everything you need to know about bulbs—from buying to planting. From "Home Made Easy" episode DHME-125

Guest Fran Sorin, a gardening expert, joins host Stephanie Lydecker to talk bulb basics. She explains how to correctly buy bulbs, when to plant them and how to plant them.

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	Karen shares basic tips on planting bulbs in your garden.
	Figure A

Materials:

kneeling pads
50-100 daffodil bulbs (or more)
spade
shovel
watering hose
mulch
layering: 50-100 Grape Hyacinths

Bulb Basics

• Bulbs are great for gardeners because they are truly the harbinger of spring—they are the first thing you see after winter. You need to be an optimist to wait for these but it is worth it. You order them at one time of year, plant them at another time, and they bloom at another time. It is a year project. You need to make sure to pick a place in your yard that doesn't have a lot of water damage and has access to the sun.

• Daffodils are the most basic bulbs. They are hardy, multiply over the years, and are deer and rodent resistant. Animals like to eat tulips, so keep that in mind if you plan on planting them.

• Dig a hole that is 5" by 8" with a shovel. The soil will be used later to cover the bulbs. Place the bulbs inside pointed side up and cover with soil. The bulb should be planted about three times the depth of the bulb itself. Space large bulbs roughly 3-4" apart and smaller bulbs 1-2" apart. Try to keep them close together for the tight look (figure A). Add the soil back over them. You want to plant bulbs in clusters. You never plant just one bulb alone, you want to make a big colorful statement.

• It is recommended to order bulbs in the summer—with mail order you get so much more for your money. There are spring, summer, and fall bulbs—meaning they bloom during that time of year. You plant spring bulbs in late summer and they bloom at spring time. But you can cheat! You can plant anytime there isn't a frost (you just might not get flowers the first year). Bulbs ideally should be planted when the ground is cool—so when the evening temperature is between 40-50 degrees—that is a good time. But, everything is based on the climate where you live. If you miss the planting season, you can store your bulbs in a cool dark place and plant when you can.

• When buying bulbs, look for bulbs that are solid and heavy. Similar to the way you select a good peach in a grocery store, pick out bulbs that are solid, big and have no mushy soft spots. The bigger the bulb, the bigger the flower will be. You can order them through mail order catalogs. They have wonderful varieties available but sometimes they only ship when it's time to plant. Make sure the place you are ordering from is reputable.

• You should buy a large quantity—no matter how big or small your area is. You don't want just one or two flowers here and there. For first timers, buy about 100 bulbs. You do save money if you buy in bulk.

• The next level to this process is layering. It is simple. Like layering a cake, you can layer the bulbs so many can blossom in spring time. With daffodils, plant grape hyacinth. They are smaller bulbs and look great with daffodils. Plant the big daffodil bulbs first and then plant the grape hyacinth on top. Separate the two types of bulbs with about 2" of soil.

  Tip: If you see the tips of the stem coming up in the spring because of a spurt of warm weather and then the cold weather hits again—don't worry! Just leave them alone because nature will takes its course and they will be fine.

• Bulbs can last for years if you maintain them correctly. You need to think about your landscape. Does the area for your bulbs have sun, shade, half shade? When the spring comes, will there be a big tree blocking the sun? Also, you want to think about the colors you want and the style—rows or bulbs, or a sprinkling of bulbs? Also, take a picture of your bulbs if you plant different colored ones so you remember where different bulbs are if you want to add more.

RESOURCES :

Gardening Tools
Fiskars
Website: www.fiskars.com

Pruners
Smith and Hawken
Website: www.smith-hawken.com

Flowers
Proven Winners
Website: www.provenwinners.com

Extra Gardening Supplies
Website: www.lowes.com

GUESTS :

Fran Sorin
Author, Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening
0446531669
April, 2004
Warner Books
Website: www.fransorin.com