This is that wonderful time of year where maybe you forced some bulbs to bloom inside, or you got some lovely Easter plants. You enjoy them and then wonder, what do I do now? I know it may be confusing sometimes, because you plant Spring blooming bulbs in the Fall. The answer is, plant them now, or as soon as you’re done with them inside! If you plant them after they bloom, just leave the foliage until it turns yellow or brown and flops, then chop it all off. This gives your bulbs the energy they need to bloom again next year. This is also a great time to put plant tags or markers of what variety it is. Or a sweet message like “Easter gift 2024 from Mom” 😃 If you plant in a bed with bulbs and accidently dig some up, just replant. For tulips, you’ll probably have less luck of them coming back than daffodils, but please try anyway, especially if it’s a beautiful tulip you’d love to see again. 🌷 You might get lucky. With tulips, take an additional step of clipping out the entire stem that grew the flower. Do this with tulips in your landscape already after they bloom as well. This way you are removing the spent flower which is trying to make a seed, and diverting that energy back to the bulb. From what I understand, daffodils you may leave the spent bloom stalk. The foliage can be an unattractive thing to see. But you can plant other perennials and shrubs around to hide it. (Yay, more plants 😂) I’ve even seen some folks braid the foliage to make it look a little more tidy and interesting (I don’t have time for all that 😂) Daffodils are an excellent bulb for naturalizing and spreading. They are also deer resistant. Digging and dividing them and planting around the garden every few years will give you more free plants, and healthy bulbs that will bloom more feely without over crowding. Can you tell I love daffodils? 🌼 I could talk about this topic all day. So if you have any questions or want to just gab about plants, let me know! Any time I get bulbs as a gift, no matter what it is, I always plant them. I usually get pretty lucky with them coming back!
