How to Plant Bulbs Outdoors

Bulbs provide your garden bed with low-maintenance color. Daffodils and other spring bulbs bloom for a short time early in the growing season, while lilies and other summer bulbs provide season-long color throughout summer and into fall. Planting the bulbs properly ensures they have the nutrients and soil they need to remain productive and attractive throughout their flowering season. Once planted, most bulbs require little care beyond regular watering and yearly fertilization.

Spade
Compost
Tarp or wheelbarrow
Bulb fertilizer
Bone meal

Instructions

- 1
  Spread 1 to 2 inches of compost over the planting bed. Mix the compost into the top 12 to 18 inches of soil.
- 2
  Dig the planting holes to a depth three times the width of the bulbs. If you are planting a large bed, remove the soil from the bed to the required depth, placing it in a wheelbarrow or on a tarp outside the bed.
- 3
  Apply a bulb fertilizer to the bottom of the planting hole, or over the entire bed if you removed the soil. Apply 5 tbsp. of fertilizer and 2 cups of bone meal to every 10 square feet of planting area.
- 4
  Cover the fertilizer with 1/2 inch of soil. Either sprinkle the soil into the hole or reapply a 1/2-inch layer of the removed soil to the entire bed.
- 5
  Plant the bulbs in the holes or set them on top the soil if you used the soil-removal method. Space large bulbs 4 to 6 inches apart and small bulbs 2 to 3 inches apart. Set the bulbs so the pointed end faces up.
- 6
  Replace the soil in the planting holes or over the entire bed. Water thoroughly, moistening the top 8 to 10 inches of soil.

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Bulbs