Bulbs are handy little packages of plant life. Whether they are formed as proper bulbs, corms, rhizomes or tubers, they package the basic needs for a plant's survival into a lump that can help the plant survive while conditions are short of ideal. When the temperatures, daylight hours and moisture is right, the contents of the package stir into life and the basics of the awakening plant poke through in growth sprouts.
This adaptation to the environment makes for easy gardening for humans. Neat little plant packages can be slotted into the garden or popped into pots without much work or mess.
Buy the right bulb for your climate, soil and the area where you are planting. Most bulbs are pretty forgiving of less than ideal conditions, but shade bulbs will burn in too much sun, sun-lovers will struggle in shade, and those that are not frost tolerant will turn to mush in a cold winter.
Plant at the right time of the year. Cold-winter climates usually are best planted in spring. Warm-winter climates offer both fall and spring planting.
If you buy bulbs in packages, follow the directions for planting. A rule of thumb is that most bulbs will do best planted at least twice the depth of the bulb. One outstanding exception is the Amaryllis. Often planted in pots for indoor culture, this bulb does best with no more than the bottom half of the bulb covered with soil. Cyclamen bulbs also like to grow with much of the bulb exposed.
A pinch of bonemeal or bulb food beneath each bulb will help set the plant into vigorous growth when it breaks dormancy.
Design your bulbs into the overall landscape. Smaller bulbs look best planted in groups or clusters where they will mass to create a colorful statement when in flower.
If your landscape harbors bulb-munching pests like gophers, try planting outdoor garden bulbs in wire pots. You can buy preformed wire cages or sculpt your own bowl out of wire hardware cloth or chicken wire. Set your bulbs into the wire basket and plant the whole thing. Make sure the edges of the wire reach the soil surface so pests don't simply dive over the upper edge.
A good design idea is to plant bulbs behind or near a mounding, evergreen perennial plant. This way when the bulb finishes flowering, the foliage can turn brown and ugly without creating an eyesore. Let the foliage die back naturally to drain back energy into the bulb below for next year's growth. Yellow and browning leaves can be discretely tucked behind the evergreen plant so they will not be noticed.
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