Aren’t you glad you planted bulbs, don’t you wish everyone did? 

Anyone that is as old as I am which is just about as old as dirt surely remembers the Dial Soap commercial on TV about how happy the person was that he/she was using Dial Soap and how he/she wished that everyone else did too!  Well, that’s sort of the way I feel about bulbs.  If everyone had planted some bulbs last fall the neighborhoods all over this area would be colorful and uplifting right now instead of drab and depressing.

Spring bulbs fill a gap in the sequence of blooms that Mother Nature throws our way.  Some varieties come on as early as January while others hit their stride in February and by the time we get to March the big boys are taking over the scene.  By big boys I am of course referring to the most familiar of bulbs, the daffodils and tulips.

While fall is the best time to plant these little gems of spring color you can often find them this time of year at garden centers already growing in pots and in full bloom.  You won’t get much mileage out of them this season but if you plant them now they will settle in and reward you in even bigger fashion next spring.

Minor bulbs like Dutch Iris, grape Hyacinth, Bluebells and crocus can be found in 4 inch pots for 2-4 dollars each.  This is a heck of a lot more than you would have paid last fall but the nurseryman needs to get his share for the labor and materials he has put into them to get them to the blooming stage. 

As we move into the month of March you will start to find daffodils and tulips in gallon cans ready to plunge into containers or flower beds.  It’s best if you can buy them before they are in full bloom.  I know it is hard to resist a full pot of colorful tulips or daffodils but they are only going to last another week or two once they reach the full bloom stage so you will get a lot more bang for your buck if you buy them before they even start to show any color.  Just make sure they have some buds showing because sometimes bulbs will come up just fine but not produce a flower.

Gallon tulips and daffodils usually have 4-5 bulbs planted in them and you can figure that 3-4 of them are going to produce flowers.  Retail prices can range from3-5 dollars and occasionally you will find a special where the garden center is selling them 5 for 10 bucks.  This is a great deal because that is about what you would have paid for the bulbs if you had purchased them last fall.

Like any perennial, bulbs are meant to stay in the ground for a long time so take the time to improve the soil with some compost and organic fertilizer.  Make sure you have good drainage since bulbs will rot in a heart beat if they are sitting in soggy soil all winter.  Depending on the type of bulb, you could be planting them in the sun or shade.  Check with the nursery professional for the best location.

I like to work bulbs into the center of my beds where they will show up this time of year but as they fade away will be covered by the new growth of edging plants.  Under deciduous shrubs is another good spot for the same reason as above.  As the shrubs leaf out you tend not to notice the dying foliage of the bulbs.

Having said all this I might just add that buying potted bulbs simply for the joy of having them around the deck or patio for a couple of weeks and then tossing them out is perfectly okay too.  Just think of them as cut flowers with roots.  In this case you don’t even need to remove them from their pots.  Bury the pot and all into a container or a flower bed and when they are finished dump them onto the compost pile and recycle the pot at the garden center.

So while it would have made a lot more sense to purchase bulbs last fall you can still plant them now by buying them already sprouted and growing in flats, 4 inch pots or gallon cans.  You will pay more by doing it this way but at least you will be able to enjoy some early spring color and who knows, maybe next fall you might actually get around to buying some more bulbs in the dry state and adding them to what you have already planted.

Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville, a retail garden center that is celebrating their 60^th anniversary this year.  You can contact him with your gardening questions at www.sunnysidenursery.net or call 425-334-2002