| Fall's a time to dig in and plant your bulbs, and if you are planting spring bulbs, the only problem is we have to wait until next spring to enjoy the blooms. But, if you plant fall blooming bulbs there is no delayed gratification. In fact, they'll bloom three weeks after they are in the ground.
There are two different types of fall blooming bulbs, colchicums and crocus. Crocus looks similar to their spring flowering cousins. They pop up amongst the fall leaves in shades of yellow and purple. Colchicums look like larger crocus. Both of these will typically bloom in September and October. Fall blooming bulbs are harder to find in garden centers and nurseries, so you may have to order them through mail order catalogues. Typically they are shipped out in late summer, or early fall. Once you get them it is important you plant them right away. They'll appreciate a location that gets at least six hours of sun a day, and well-drained soil is a must.
Back to Autumn Flowering Bulbs
As far as planting goes, the smaller crocus should be planted so the tips of the bulb are two inches below the soil's surface. However, with the larger colchicum, we want to dig a hole so that the tip is four inches below the soil's surface. In either case, remember with any bulbs always the tip looking up at you, the roots facing down on the ground.
Before you put the bulbs in the hole, just sprinkle a little bulb food, scratch that into the soil. Then scatter the bulbs, making sure the points are looking up at you. Then just cover it up and in no time we have another blooming garden! |
Autumn-flowering crocuses are often the garden's last hurrah before winter. Choose several with different blooming times, to last from September through November or even beyond. Plant them in groups and swathes where you can see them from indoors. They like sun to dappled deciduous shade in porous, well drained soil.