“Dig, drop, done” was a popular slogan a few years ago for bulb plants, but it really depends on which ones are planted and what type of soil is present. A few bulbs easily go in with a common garden trowel, but a bulb auger can make short work of hole digging. This tool attaches to the end of a battery powered drill. Hard, compacted soil will be hard to dig, while sandy or loamy soil should be fairly easy. Rocks of any size can really complicate the digging process. Extreme care must be taken when using a bulb auger as it can suddenly stop on a rock. That force gets transferred to the drill, which in turn gets transferred to the person holding it and can cause the operator’s hand/wrist to twist. This may cause significant injury. I like to use the extra handle attachment on a drill and brace it on my leg. The bulb auger will take the beating then. It is best to go slow and set the drill to less power so it stops if it hits a rock.
Fall is the best time to plant spring-blooming bulbs. As long as the ground is not frozen, bulbs can still be planted. It is best to plant after the ground has cooled below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Bulbs have an interesting life cycle. They grow roots in the fall, go dormant over winter, push up leaves and flowers in the spring, recharge in late spring for next year, and go dormant in the summer.
There are many bulbs to choose from, but I will focus on the two most popular as points of comparison here. Tulips are very beautiful, but must be thought of as an annual plant. They come up beautifully the first spring. On year two, if half come up that is doing good. Moden tulips varieties are just not very long lived. Also, they are preyed heavily upon by voles, mice, and squirrels.
Daffodils, on the other hand, are highly toxic to animals. Everything, even deer, tend to leave them alone. It is for this reason that some people interplant daffodils with tulips, hoping they will keep the tulip predators away. These plants are some of the most long-lived available. They come back year after year, and with more of them. If daffodils produce mostly leaves and only a few flowers, they are too crowded and should be dug up, spread out, and replanted. This would be best done in late May and early June when the leaves are drying up. Add some granular bulb-type organic fertilizer to the hole before planting avoiding it touching the bulb itself.
Planting design is a matter of personal taste, but I find that a row of daffodils neatly planted at the front edge of a garden bed is a beautiful sight. The formality of this really makes for a stunning impact in early spring when everything else seems dead. Equally mesmerizing are daffodils planted along a rock wall. I have done this on my property and it is so beautiful I have caught passersby taking pictures! The choice of whether to use one variety or a mix is up to the gardener.
One of the most breath-taking displays of daffodils are the ones that are “naturalized.” This is accomplished best on yards, fields, and hillsides. For the greatest impact, a mixed variety of daffodils should be planted. The goal is to have the planting look random with no pattern or consistent spacing. Each year, the bulbs will multiply and come back bigger and better.
Daffodils are best fertilized in the spring when growth first appears. This is the most important time as the bulb is actively growing, and will soon need to prepare for next year’s bloom. A fall application could also be done as the bulb is actively is taking up nutrients then, but is not nearly as important as the springtime feeding. Daffodil bulbs are fairly inexpensive – why not try or add some this year?