From the Ground Up: Plant spring blooming bulbs now

Fall is the season for planting spring blooming bulbs.

Bulbs should be planted as soon as the ground is cool, when evening temperatures average between 40 degrees to 50 degrees. Plan to plant four to six weeks prior to the ground freezing so the roots can develop. You can store bulbs for a month or longer, if you keep them in a cool dry place, but they won't last till next season, so make sure to plant them.

You can plant bulbs anywhere in the garden as long as the soil drains well, bulbs will rot in wet soil. So, avoid areas where water collects, such as the bottom of hills. Bulbs like sun, and in spring, gardens they can get even more sun since the leaves on the trees are not yet out. So keep in mind when planting in the fall that you can plant in sunny and partly shady places for spring blooms.

Prepare the planting bed by digging the soil so it's loose and workable. It's also good to add some organic matter such as compost or peat moss.

When planting, loosen soil to a depth of at least 8 inches. Remove weeds, rocks or other debris and mix in compost, other organic matter or slow releasing fertilizer if your soil lacks nutrients.

Follow the recommendation on the label for planting depth. As a general rule, plant big bulbs between 6 and 8 inches deep and small bulbs about 5 inches deep. Set the bulb in the hole pointy side up or the roots down. It's easy to spot the pointy end of a tulip; tougher with a crocus. If you can't figure out the top from the bottom, plant the bulb on its side, in most cases, even if you don't get it right, the flower bulb still will find its way topside. After planting water to stimulate root growth.

For great flower designs, plant bulbs in clusters, planting one bulb alone, or making a thin line along the walk doesn't have the desired impact. Clusters, even small ones, provide a nice concentration of color. Even if you don't have enough bulbs for a big bed, small clusters make a super spring show.

Plant low bulbs in front of high if they all bloom at the same time. But if they bloom at different times, plant the earlier bulbs behind the later ones, since their blooms will camouflage the dying foliage of the back bulbs.

Try a double-decker effect. You can plant small bulbs in a layer right on top of large bulbs. If you plant bulbs that flower in the same period you can create an interesting double-decker effect. Or you can stagger the bloom time by planting mid- and late-season bloomers together, creating a spring display that blooms in succession, for a whole season of color. In the end, what you do with fall bulbs is limited only by your imagination.

' For gardening questions, call the Linn County Extension Master Gardener Hortline at (319) 447-0647.