Fine Gardening

The winter bulbs are small packages of power which fill an aficionado’s heart with satisfaction. The winter bulbs will reward you with color and aura beyond imagination. The bulbs are dormant just before they are planted and after that they bloom, they store enough food, and become dormant once again. Most of the gardeners are aware about the spring variety of bulbs, but there is some summer and winter bulbs variety which will make your garden look more colorful. You can easily take care of them. Some of the bulbs have excellent foliage which improves your garden looks even before they start blooming.  If the bulb foliage appears early above the ground, do not get disturbed as they can withstand harsh winter.

Even though the winter bulbs are awesome, you should know how to plant them. There are many ways of planting, but for the best appearance you must plant a bunch of flower bulbs together. This is because if you plant them separately they will blend with the surrounding landscape, but if you will plant them in groups they will stand out. For planting winter bulbs you need raised beds which have good quality top soil.

In case the winters are too harsh, you can force the winter bulbs to grow indoors. If you plant amaryllis or paper white narcissus in the fall season, you will be able to get fresh flowers during Christmas holidays. You can add different types of winter bulbs in a cluster for added color and fragrance. These bulbs usually takes 4-8 weeks to bloom and can be reused once blooming is over. They should be planted and watered well but make sure that the water is enough to keep them from drying out. Also the temperature should stay above freezing point.

For good plantation choose a pot 2 times the height of the bulb and fill ¾ of the pot with a potting soil. Plant the bulb with the pointed side upwards. Now water it carefully and add a little more soil around the bulb. When you notice that the shoot has grown 2 inches, bring the plant into sunlight and let it stay there for 10-12 days. You can move the plant to sunny location later. The flowers will bloom in about 3-4 weeks. If you keep the plant in an idea temperature of 55-60 F, then they will bloom for a longer time. Once the bloom is finished, ensure that seed pods are not formed at the end of the stems.

The winter bulbs which are forced indoors cannot be reused but paperwhites and amaryllis bulbs can be reused. The bulbs of daffodils and crocuses have to be divided after every few years. You have to take care that they don’t get damaged or cut. To avoid them from freezing during winters, add lots of mulch around them.

Flowers in your winter garden look beautiful and create tranquility apart from giving fragrances. Additionally, it is very easy to pot winter bulbs. You will love the colorful produce and merriment the flowers that will give you during winter time.