Homegrown: Cool tool for bulb planting

The following is from Linn County Master Gardener, Lisa Slattery:

I used the coolest tool ever yesterday planting bulbs.  It's a special drill bit that will “dig” a bulb hole for you with very little effort.  I wish I would have had this garden tool years ago – since I've been hand digging my bulbs.  I really love it because I am partial to alliums, particularly the variety that requires a bulb to be planted to an eight to nine inch depth.  I don't know the formal name of this tool but I picked mine up at a local hardware store.  I encourage all of you who are bulb lovers to try it…

 I'm a little late planting my bulbs this year, but I wanted to wait for the ground temperature to be cool enough so that the bulbs can establish a root system without sprouting from the top.  If you do plant too early and your bulbs sprout – it won't kill them but it may diminish the flower show next spring.  The optimal time to plant bulbs is usually late October here in Iowa.

The rule of thumb for planting bulbs is to put them in at a depth of three to four times the width of the bulb diameter.  So in the case of my giant Allium bulbs, measuring almost 3 inches in diameter, I'm planting at a depth of eight to nine inches.  Most tulips and daffodils should be planted at a depth of six inches – but the smaller the variety of bulb the shallower the planting depth.  Crocus and grape hyacinths should be planted only three to four inches deep.  Space bulbs so they don't touch.  A favorite way to plant bulbs is to plant them in “puddles” or dig a nice wide hole and plant five to six bulbs of the same variety in one hole.  That way you have a nice grouping of flowers and not a line, row or random flower here and there.  When planting in “puddles” don't let the bulbs touch.  Space them four inches apart (with a three inch spacing for smaller bulbs.)

 Make sure that tulips and daffodils receive six or more hours of sun.  Bulbs planted in areas with less sun will perform well the first year and may not bloom in successive years due to insufficient sunlight.

 Also make sure bulbs are not planted in soggy soil or low-lying areas prone to water.  Poor draining soils are death to bulbs; they will simply rot in the ground.  If you don't have well draining soil plant bulbs in raised beds.

 If we have dry weather after planting your bulbs, periodically give them water to promote good root development.  Follow these simple bulb rules and you'll be rewarded this coming spring.