Every year the horticultural experts at Bullington Gardens plant bulbs in December for Spring blooms. Spring bulbs should be planted in December. This reason is they need a minimum of 12 weeks chilling period (below 40 degrees) in order to grow and flower.
It’s important to plant bulbs at the correct depth. A bulb planter can be helpful, but at Bullington they tend to dig out a whole section with a shovel and pack it with bulbs.
Daffodils and tulips immediately come to mind for spring bulbs for most people. Daffodils are very reliable coming back from year to year. Tulips though are not. They are a special treat for voles and unless they can be planted in a protected bed or container, they just don’t come back very well. Some gardeners regard them as annuals.
Plant these bulbs in winter for spring displays:- Tulipifera sp. - Tulips
- Alliums - ornamental onions
- Fritillaria - snake’s head lily
- Eremurus - Foxtail lilies
- Iris pumila - dwarf irises
- Hyacinth - Dutch hyacinth
- Narcicissus - daffodils, buttercups or Joniquils
- Chionodoxa - glory of the snow
Foxtail lilies (Eremurus) make a dramatic statement in the garden with long flower spikes of yellow or orange on very tall plants. There are dwarf irises that bloom very early in the spring. Hyacinths are wonderfully fragrant flowers. Chionodoxa, are beautiful low growing flowers of blues, pinks, and whites. And they are many other types.
Thousands of bulbs are planted at Bullington each December. To make it easy for scheduling the work, try to do plant spring bulbs before Christmas or New Years. This way they will have the required chilling to make a beautiful display.
