Dig in
How to plant bulbs
1. Choose a well-drained site with at least four hours of sun. Do not plant bulbs where water collects or they will rot.
2. Dig a hole that is three times as deep as the width of your largest bulbs. It's more efficient to use a long-handled shovel than one of the specialized bulb-planting tools on the market.
3. Mix about a quarter cup of bulb fertilizer or superphosphate and two cups of peat moss into the 2 inches of soil at the bottom of the hole to provide nutrients and improve drainage. Mix in lime if your soil is acid. Follow package directions for amounts.
4. Push the bottom of the bulbs into the loosened soil at the bottom of the hole. The pointed ends of the bulbs should face upward. Moisten the bottom of the hole slightly.
5. Mix peat moss into the soil you've dug out and then refill the hole with it, burying the bulbs. The planted area should rise an inch above garden level to facilitate draining water.
6. Soak the mound of top soil thoroughly so the bulbs will settle in and start growing roots.
Dealing with pests:
Lilies get wiped out by the newly arrived red lily leaf beetle and should not be purchased unless you are willing to spray or hand pick these pests all season long. Lily leaf beetles will also feed lightly on fritillaria, Solomon seal, and erythronium.
Deer will sample most plants but are tantalized by tulips. If you live in deer country, you may find you cannot grow tulips unless you spray the leaves and flowers regularly with deer repellent.
Rodents do most of their damage feasting on bulbs underground. Soaking bulbs in a commercial deterrent such as Deter or Ropel before planting them will help. Planting large tulip bulbs (not species like tarda) extra deep, up to 18 inches deep, will help protect them from burrowers and also make them bloom for more years. Because squirrels and chipmunks are over-populated this fall, this may be the year to skip planting their favorite bulbs, tulips and crocuses (except perhaps for crocus tommasinianus varieties, which they reportedly have less of a taste for).
The only completely marauder-proof bulbs are the poisonous ones: snowdrops, daffodils, leucojum, and fall-blooming crocuses (colchicums and sternbergias). However, there are many pest-resistant bulbs that wildlife finds unappetizing. These include all the bulbs on our top 10 list -- except tulips. In addition, try squills and chinodoxias if you have an animal problem.
Where to buy:
Messelaar Bulb Co. Inc., 160 County Road (Route 1A), Box 269, Ipswich 01938, tulipbulbs.com; 978-356-3737. Local, family retail, and mail-order business with helpful advice.
Brent and Becky's Bulbs, 7463 Heath Trail, Gloucester, VA, 23061, brentandbeckysbulbs.com. Call 877-661-2852 for the free catalog.
Dutch Gardens, 144 Intervale Road, Burlington, VT, 05401, dutchgardens.com. Call 800-944-2250 for free catalog.
John Scheepers Inc, at johnscheepers.com or 860-567-0838. The sister company, Van Engelen Inc., at vanengelen.com or 860-567-8734, offers the same bulbs in large quantities at wholesale prices. The address for both companies is 23 Tulip Drive, Box 638, Bantam, Conn. 06750-0638. The catalogs are free but only Scheepers has photos.
