Fall is the Perfect Time for Planting Bulbs

Fall is the perfect time to for planting bulbs. The temperatures are beginning to fall, the ground is still malleable, and the fall sunlight is calling me outside. Plus, the more bulbs I plant now (before the ground is frozen), the more colorful blooms I will have to look forward to not only next spring, but in the years to come.

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When it comes to fall planted bulbs (also known as spring flowering bulbs), it seems like the list of options is endless. Fall planted bulbs include tulips and daffodils plus alliums, cyclamen, hyacinth and crocus. As well as anemones, muscari, snowdrops and bluebells.

The list seems to go on and on and can be a bit overwhelming especially if you’re planting bulbs for the first time.

The good news is most of the larger online vendors have a landing page for their fall bulb offerings. So, with a quick online search of your favorite garden suppliers, you can find which bulbs are intended for fall planting.

For many, narrowing down which bulbs you want to plant can be a bit more difficult.

No worries, I got you! Listed below are my top three fall planted bulbs for beginner gardeners.

My Top Three Fall Planted Bulbs

Three fall planted bulbs that have quickly grown (pun-intended) to be my favorite for beginner gardeners are 1. ornamental alliums, 2. daffodils, and 3. tulips.

1. Ornamental Alliums

First on the list, Ornamental alliums, my favorite fall planted bulb. I began planting Gladiator Alliums three seasons ago and they are fabulous. The bulbs are huge, and the plant is incredible. Plus, they come back year after year in plant hardiness zones 3-8 (we’re zone 7a).

Each ornamental allium bulb produces a large orb like ball made up of hundreds of tiny florets. The ball sits upon a tall green stalk. And the plant as a whole makes a huge impact in the garden.

My first planting of alliums was just nine bulbs on one corner of our koi pond surrounding our statue of The Virgin Mary. These nine plants created a beautiful vignette in our garden. Since then, I have added alliums to two more corners of our koi pond.

2. Daffodils

Next up, daffodils, one of the earliest spring blooming bulbs. We have more daffodils on our property than any of the other fall planted bulbs, most are the well-known large yellow King Alfred Daffodil.

The King Alfred Daffodil is a great bulb to start with when planting daffodils for the first time. But with approximately 13,000 different daffodil varieties, you’re sure to find a few additional varieties that you want to add to your garden.

I love daffodils for so many reasons, not only are they beautiful but they are deer resistant hardy perennials that spread. Daffodils produce new bulbs each season and they multiply making them economical.

And you can dig up larger clumps of daffodils after they have bloomed and save the bulbs to plant in new areas of your garden the following fall. They are the perfect bulb to naturalize into your landscape.

3. Tulips

And rounding out my top 3 fall planted bulbs, tulips. Unlike daffodils, many gardeners (us included) treat tulips as annuals. In gardening zones 3-7, some tulips can be grown as perennials with the right conditions, but many climates require that you treat tulips as annual.

I have always loved the look of tulips in the garden but have had a difficult time being successful with tulips on our property. Mostly because the deer mow our tulips down if they can get to them.

With a bit of trial and error, we have discovered that we can plant tulips in our exterior landscape if they are in an area protected from deer. For us that means planting tulips in our vegetable garden which is near the barn and behind a fence. And if you’re in a neighborhood where deer aren’t pests, then adding tulips to your landscape is much more care-free.

My Favorite Tool for Planting Fall Bulbs

I discovered the ProPlugger a few years ago and will never plant another bulb in our exterior landscape without using it. It’s a great tool that saves you from a sore back and allows you to easily get your bulbs into the ground.

With the ProPlugger tool, you simply step, twist and pull to create a hole for each of your bulbs (without bending over). The soil plugs are stored in the tube of the ProPlugger and ready to easily place back over the bulb. Plus, depth rings are included that allow you to adjust the ProPlugger based on required planting dept.

If you’re going to plant bulbs, I highly recommend this tool (linked here).

A Few Tips for Planting Fall Bulbs

If you’re new to planting bulbs in your garden, I have a few tips for planting fall bulbs:

1. Choose bulb types that realistically allow you to get the look you want. I prefer fall planted bulbs en masse and stick with bulbs that produce larger blooms like ornamental alliums, daffodils and tulips.
2. You can order too many bulbs. Keep in mind that if you order 1000 bulbs, that means that you will be digging 1000 holes, bending over 1000 times to place each bulb in the ground and then covering up each bulb with soil.
3. Plant your bulbs as soon as they arrive. Online vendors typically ship your bulbs based upon your plant hardiness zone. Don’t let the bulbs sit in a closed-up box, they will rot. Instead, open up the box immediately and plan on getting the bulbs in the ground during the next 48-72 hours.
4. Follow the planting instructions included with your bulbs. Planting depth will depend upon the size of each bulb. Choose an appropriate location based upon soil and light conditions. And be sure to plant your bulbs with the correct side up (tip side up and root side down).
5. Bulbs are fairly care-free once planted. I water them in after planting and then typically leave them alone until they burst through the soil the following spring. Some climates and soil conditions will require bimonthly to monthly watering. Keep in mind that bulbs do not like soggy conditions.

Where to Order Fall Planted Bulbs

I typically order bulbs for fall planting from online vendors. Online vendors have larger selections than our local garden centers plus the larger online vendors will ship bulbs according to your plant hardiness zone.

I have had success with the following online vendors and feel comfortable ordering from any of those listed below:

• Breck’s
• Burpee
• Dutch Grown
• Holland Bulb Farms
• Van Engelen Inc.

I always find spring exciting when the plants burst out of the ground and fill our property with lots of color. Drop me a note in the comments and let me know what bulbs you’ll be planting this fall.

Cheers to retired life, and as always, happy gardening!

x Penny Pennington Weeks

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