If you could locate a plant nursery that actually grows their own stock then you would really get honest help. So many nurseries by their stock from other sources and sometimes the workers aren’t very knowledgeable. Look in your yellow pages or call your County Extension Service for names of locally grown nursery stock. I know we have many in our area; hopefully you will have at least one close by.

Soil conditions are extremely important to keeping plants and bulbs through the winter. You should incorporate lots of organic matter and compost into your soil. This will keep the roots and bulbs from being soggy. You should plant your bulbs deeper than most packages call for. I always plant my tulips at least 8 inches deep, sometimes 10. Make sure the soil beneath the bulbs is loose and fertile. If you only amend the soil in the hole and it doesn’t have good drainage than you would essentially be planting your bulbs in ‘bucket’ that will hold water.

I have had excellent results with using pine boughs for mulching perennials and in your case bulbs. I get them from discarded Christmas trees or go to a Christmas tree place and ask for their ‘trimmings’. We just wait until after Christmas and then cut up the branches. You should mulch after the ground is frozen. Just lay branches on top of the area. This regulates the temperature of the roots and bulbs. Most of the time plants are lost to the freeze/thaw cycles happening over and over again.

If any of you out there have a favorite perennial guide that could help Elvera please post it here.

Happy Gardening,
Diane