They may not look like much now but in a few months their yellow flowers will herald the arrival of spring
Even though it’s almost Thanksgiving, it’s not too late here in southwestern Connecticut (zone 6) to plant spring-flowering bulbs. Because the weather has been seasonable and the ground is not frozen, this is a great time to plant. I ordered 200 daffodil bulbs from Colorblends about a month ago and as you can see from the photo, that’s a lot of bulbs to plant. I am planting my daffodil bulbs in front of a low stone wall that runs the length of my property, about 150 feet. I already have some daylilies planted there for summer color so I needed to be careful not to disturb them when planting the bulbs.
A bulb auger makes planting lots of bulbs easy
While there are several good methods to use when planting a large quantity of bulbs, the easiest way that I know of is to get your kids to do it! Seriously, bulbs augers make quick work of planting a large number of big bulbs, like daffodils or tulips. If you’re planting in large clumps, it’s probably easier to use a shovel to excavate to the correct depth, but for a job like mine – planting in front of a wall – the bulb auger is ideal. And, as you can see from the photo, using an auger attached to a power drill is the perfect chore for a teenager who hates to help out in the garden! He dug the holes and I followed behind and dropped in the bulbs and filled in the soil. We planted all the bulbs in about an hour. And I’ll be enjoying them for years and years and years.
For more information about planting spring-flowering bulbs, check out these links:
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Design considerations when planting spring-flowering bulbs
- Local advice about bulb planting in your area
- Tips on naturalizing bulbs
- How to plant and care for your bulbs
How lucky for you that a bulb auger works, and your teen is available to use it. In my much rockier land – a wooded, once glacier deposit area of south central CT, a bulb auger would only be a frustration. We grow rocks here as well as anything, yet a few miles away, closer to the banks of the CT river, the soils would easily handle an auger. All gardeners there need is the teen … oh yeah, and the bulbs.
joene,
It sounds like our soil is somewhere between yours and the coastline. We planted some bulbs at my in-laws house, who live near the LI Sound, and the bulb auger went right in to the ground like it was potting soil. I must admit, I was very jealous.
[...] need to plant more spring flowering bulbs. While I did plant a few hundred daffodil bulbs this fall, I know I need more bulbs – quantity and variety – so my garden greets spring [...]