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What Are the Best Tips for Selecting Fall Bulbs?

Angela Crout-Mitchell
Angela Crout-Mitchell

In order to enjoy colorful spring flowers in your yard, choosing and planting fall bulbs is essential. Gardening experts offer several tips for selecting the ideal bulbs to create the perfect flowerbeds. Many suggest purchasing larger bulbs in good condition and to consider the bloom times for each species as well. Varying color and flower types is another good tip for the novice bulb flower gardener. To produce lovely flowers, most fall bulbs should be planted in a prepared container or bed in the fall, allowed to bloom naturally in the spring months, and do not require any extravagant care or maintenance.

It is important to choose fall bulbs in excellent condition in order to achieve good results. Home and gardening specialists suggest purchasing firm, large bulbs for the best results. Firm fall bulbs indicate healthy, strong tubers that should easily root and bear flowers. It is common for flower bulbs to have some dark spots, much like onions or garlic, but bulbs with soft or mushy spots should be discarded. Some fall flowering bulbs may be missing their thing, papery covering, but this is not an indication of poor quality and it should produce roots and flowers successfully in the spring.

Bloom times should be considered when purchasing bulbs.
Bloom times should be considered when purchasing bulbs.

Another useful tip in choosing fall bulbs is that size is important. The common held belief among gardeners is the larger the bulb, the bigger the flowers it will produce. Some gardeners may purposely choose smaller bulbs for container or small bed gardening. Most home improvement stores and nurseries sell fall blooming bulbs by the size or caliber. This practice makes it much simpler to choose the best sized bulbs for your garden.

It is useful to consider the blooming time of each type of bulb before purchase. Fall bulbs have either an early spring, mid-spring, or late season blooming schedule. If you choose to plant bulbs with varying blooming times, your garden will stay colorful and vibrant through most of the warm weather season. Experts recommend planting the bulbs mixed together for natural grouping or planting the taller bulbs behind the shorter flowering bulbs.

Regardless of the type of flower, the color and type of fall bulb should be clearly marked. While some people choose to plant the same kind of flowers, many choose to plant varying types for more visual appeal. The available color options are enormous, and it is a good idea to have a wide range of colors in your bulb selection.

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    • Bloom times should be considered when purchasing bulbs.
      By: tsach
      Bloom times should be considered when purchasing bulbs.