Gardening tips: When to plant bulbs for vibrant spring blooms

Spring bulb plants delight with their flowers. To enjoy the array of colours, you need to know when to plant the bulbs on the ground. What does the gardening calendar tell us?

Bulb plants are not too complicated to grow if we follow a few valuable tips. Before we plant the bulbs in the ground, remember to remove weeds from the soil, dig the soil to a depth of about 30 cm, and then level the area where we want to plant the flowers. It is also worth adding fertilizer, de-acidified peat, or compost to the soil.

All these tasks should be done 2-3 weeks before the planned planting. When do we plant the bulbs of individual plants?

The best times to plant bulb plants are late summer and early autumn. However, the planting times for individual species differ and can also change if weather conditions are unfavourable.

Let's start with September. This is the month when snowdrop bulbs are best planted (place them in the soil at a depth of 5-8 cm). The next "September" species are hyacinths—in their case, bury the bulbs at a depth of 8-15 cm.

Plant tulip bulbs (depth of 8-13 cm) and Siberian squill bulbs (8 cm) at the end of September and beginning of October. In October, plant ornamental garlic (place the bulbs at a depth of 15 cm).

Not all bulb plants need to be planted in the fall. Mid-April is the perfect time to place crocosmia bulbs in the ground (depth of 5-8 cm). Later, in late April and early May, plant gladioli, Ixia (10 cm), and lilies (10-15 cm). Cannas, whose bulbs are placed at a depth of 5 cm, are planted in mid-May when there is much less risk of frosts dangerous to the plant.