Believe it or not … I love those displays on the boardwalk with the biggest of this, or the smallest of that. I wanted to find out the same thing about some of the common – or perhaps uncommon – of the fall-planted bulbs.
Why might this bit of trivial information be useful, you may ask? Well, there’s a planting technique known as layering, where you can fit a lot more bulbs into the same space for greater garden impact next spring.
Fall bulbs are usually planted at a depth of two to three times the height of the bulb. So for instance, a large bulb like a tulip should be planted six to eight inches deep, while smaller bulbs like grape hyacinths (muscari) would be planted only three to four inches deep. Imagine the possibilities in beds and border if you could plant a veritable bulb lasagna to bloom from early spring right through early summer! Better yet, you could pack that much more flower power into container gardens for your patios and decks.
Remember to take into account that smaller bulbs often produce smaller plants, so consider the mature height of the varieties you plant in fall, and you can avoid hiding your windflowers underneath your mountain bells. Bloom time is also important, whether your goal is one magnificent simultaneous floral display or a succession of flowering bulbs for a longer, more colourful bloom season.
One note: I use the term “bulb” loosely to encompass a wider range of fall-planted species, so some “bulbs” may technically be corms or rhizomes.
The Davids: common smaller bulbs include Windflowers (anemone blanda), snow crocus (crocus chrysanthus), winter aconite (eranthis hyemalis), snowdrops (galanthus nivalis), glory of the snow (chionodoxa), grape hyacinths, and many of the recently developed miniatures – tulips, daffodils and iris.
The Goliaths would include standard tulips and daffodils, hyacinths, lilies, allium, Dutch iris and foxtail lilies (eremurus).
These are good lists to start with for now. I’m still searching for the ultimate biggest and smallest fall bulbs – stay tuned!
