GARDENING

Plant Your Bulbs Now

By Michele E. Buttelman

Signal Staff Writer

Living in the Santa Clarita Valley it is easy to forget about the seasons.

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest I remember the thrill of seeing beautiful dark blue crocus flowers emerge in the early spring from beneath a soft, melting blanket of snow. The bright yellow of the daffodils in my grandmother’s front yard lit up the landscape like a sunny morning after the gloom of winter. The stately purple iris would bring majesty back to the dull, lifeless garden of winter.

However, my favorite spring bulbs were always the delicate snow drops and grape hyacinths. Pretty pink hyacinths were also among my favorites.

How to Plant Bulbs

Bulbs can be planted anytime until December in Southern California for showy spring blooms. A few tips for planting your bulbs. • Plant taller spring-flowering bulbs (like iris and daffodils) behind the early bulbs (like crocus) for color contrast. • Make sure the soil drains well, because bulbs will rot in soggy ground. • Before planting, work in organic matter such as compost, peat, or shredded leaves to a depth of at least 10 inches. • Plant bulbs at the correct depth, generally at a depth three times the size of the bulb. • Some bulbs require soaking in water for a few hours before you plant.

Check the instructions on your bulb package or research your bulb variety before planting.

Pitfalls of Bulbs

When buying bulbs choose ones that look solid and fresh, pass on those that look dried out, are mushy or soft and any that look as if they have any fungus growing on the bulb.

Store the bulbs in a cool, well-ventilated area until you’re ready to plant.

Mail order bulbs offer great selections, but check to make sure it is reputable company with good reviews.

Know what you are planting, is it suitable for the climate?

Rats, squirrels, gophers and voles will gobble up bulbs if they have the chance. There isn’t much to be done about it except lay down wire netting under a layer of soil over your newly planted bulbs or plant your bulbs in wire cages, which I found very time consuming.

Which Bulbs to Plant

I was often told that crocus doesn’t do well in the SCV because the winters are usually too warm. However, living at the edge of Canyon Country and at an elevation of about 1,400 feet I found I could successful grow my beloved crocus. I had to plant new bulbs every year, with the occasional hardy survivor returning for an encore.

Best bulbs for the SCV include daffodils, tulips, scilla, oxalis, peonies, anemone and freesia.

If you are unfamiliar with scilla, it is a family of low-growing plants that offer mostly tiny, blue, bell-shaped flowers in the spring.

Oxalis is an interesting looking plant, a sorrel, one variety offers burgundy shamrock shaped leaves and tiny white flowers, another variety sports candy-cane colors. The advantage of oxalis is that it thrives in Southern California.

French peonies are among my favorite flowers because of the riot of color they offer when they bloom. Red, pink, white, yellow and orange on strong, tall, 12-15-inch stems. They flower in June or July, a bit later than most spring blooms.

Freesias are one of the world’s most popular cut flowers because of their long vase life and sweet scent. Each of the graceful 12-15-inch stems will bear about 10 trumpet-shaped blossoms..

Fertilizer and Water

Enrich the soil where the bulbs are planted with compost, bone meal and granite dust or wood ashes. Also add nitrogen. Nitrogen can be easily washed from the soil by winter rains and bulbs need a small but continuous supply all winter for strong growth of the foliage and the bloomstalk.

Water after you plant bulbs to close up any lingering air pockets underground, but don’t water too much until the plants emerge in the spring to avoid bulb rot. 

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Day12.03.22

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