glo’s Monthly Shopping Guide

Planting Spring Bulbs

By Bethany Beebe

Bidding farewell to a season’s garden is just the beginning of the next year’s labor of love. Love’s labor is anything but lost with the addition of bulbs that flower in the Spring. Planted in the Autumn, their bright colors add personality to the garden with relatively little maintenance.

Two main types of bulbs are available: hardy and tender1. Hardy bulbs, planted in the Fall, can stay in the ground in which they are planted from one season to the next. Tender bulbs need to be removed for winter and then replanted after cold passes. Should one force hardy bulbs to bloom indoors, in a pot, the bulbs can be put out in the garden, but may need multiple seasons to bloom again. After the leaves have died, usually about five or six weeks after flowering, the plant is ready for the garden. For the health of these bulbs, wait until after frost danger has passed1 .

It is best to start early, shopping as soon as bulbs go on sale. Local retailers and catalogs are two common options1. Having said this, waiting a bit also allows for some outstanding deals2. No matter when you shop, a few characteristics are common expectations for a quality product1. Free from blemishes and bruises, the bulb should be firm, plump, and relatively large.

With quality bulb in hand, planting time can be plotted1. If needed, you can wait several weeks (should the weather be appropriate) to place bulbs with dry, scale coverings like narcissus or crocus. Some bulbs, like snowdrops, lose quality more rapidly and should find their soil surrounds sooner than later. Those growing from root like lilies should be planted immediately. A little advanced research based on the type of bulb selected can help assure a positive outcome.

Once the decision to plant has been made, a general rule of planting depth is two-and-a-half to three times the biggest diameter, unless directions indicate otherwise1. Hardy bulbs can stay in this location until it is time to separate them. You will know, in future seasons, that separation is necessary when greenery, but not many flowers, grow. When this happens, simply dig up the bulbs, separate them, and plant at an appropriate spacing.

Generally speaking, smaller bulbs are planted more closely together than their larger counterparts1. Directions from the supplier or a reliable source like Extension can give greater detail based on variety. Too close together, smaller flowers and leaves may result, and the beauty of each lost. While placing them too closely together is a problem, Extension reminds us that light is the single most important environmental consideration, most requiring full or partial sun.

Your choice of flowers to flourish is a personal one, based on the resources you have available. An outstanding reference, Purdue Extension’s HO-86 (see the URL below, number 1) presents further information about the many options available to those who love their gardens and the loveliness of Spring.

Resources:

Grandma’s Jade

By Amber Bouthot

Every month, we highlight do-it-yourself projects from our readers. Do you want to see your project featured in our magazine? It can be something as simple as a craft project or as large as a home addition. If you did it yourself, it can be featured. Email Amber at ambouthot@the-papers.com. This month’s Reader DIY is a bit different than previous months. We don’t have a furniture restoration, craft project, or room makeover to share, rather a charming story about love, loss and a very special plant.

Olivia Mariano’s great grandmother, Iva Mae, passed away in 1990 at the age of 96. She had a green thumb, even keeping Christmas poinsettias alive year-round. When she passed, her jade plant already had around 50 years of growth. The family believes Iva received the plant from her own mother, so they aren’t 100% sure how old it was, but they estimate 50 years in 1990. Olivia’s cousin took the jade plant to her home and began to cut snippets off to give to other family members. At one point, the original jade plant was destroyed by aphids, however there were enough new plants started from the original, so it was able to live on. Olivia and her family members began receiving jade plants in memory of her great grandmother. There have been approximately 50 new plants grown from the original. At this point, the plant is around 80 years strong and growing.

Olivia’s great grandmother had two children, a son and a daughter; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

These photos include Iva’s 3 grandchildren and Olivia, her great-granddaughter.