Plant bulbs in spring
Can you plant bulbs in spring if you didn't get around to it in the fall?
Yes, indeed, you can, and it's easy because plant sellers now offer bulb plants grown in containers and ready to pop into your garden at normal bulb-blooming time.
Nursery-grown plants can take what Mother Nature dishes out in spring, if you help them acclimatize in a sheltered spot outdoors before you plant them.
When to plant bulbs in spring
To plant bulbs in spring - or rather bulb plants - wait until the crocuses and daffodils are coming up outside in gardens.
That's when it's safe to plant potted bulbs as bedding plants.
I like to plant daffodils, tulips, and smaller bulbs like Muscari (grape hyacinth), crocus and scilla in spring because I can easily see where more spots of color are needed in the garden.
If, by the way, you left a few bulbs you bought last fall lying around unplanted all winter, they're generally not worth planting now. You could try it, of course, but chances are that they're not going to grow successfully.
Planting bulbs in spring
The key to success is to choose potted bulbs that are still green - in bud, but not in bloom. Top candidates include tulips, hyacinths and daffodils, plus little bulbs like Dutch iris (Iris reticulata) and dwarf Narcissi, windflowers (Anemone blanda), grape hyacinths (Muscari) and crocuses.
When you bring them home, water the pots well, then place them in a cold but protected area that's above freezing for a day or so to let them get used to colder temperatures before you plant them outside.
When planting bulbs in spring, slip off the plastic pot and plant the works 'as is' into your garden beds or into a large-sized container, just as you would with store-bought petunias or impatiens in early summer. Once the bulbs are in the ground (or in the container), they won't mind the cold and they can weather even the odd snow shower.
Their blooms will also last a lot longer than they would indoors. For example, a pot of hyacinths indoors at normal room temperature will grow and bloom over a period of about two weeks. However, the same bulbs planted in the garden can last a month or more because outside temperatures are much cooler.
More spring bulb information:
Go from "Plant bulbs in spring"
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Daffodils - planting and care tips
Crocus for early color
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