Planting flower bulbs

In short: Tulips, daffodils, crocuses and other bulbous plants store nutrients in their bulb or corm for the next season’s growth. Spring-flowering bulbs are planted in autumn, summer-flowering ones in spring.

In more detail: Bulbs are easy to plant and often return for many years. What matters is the right planting depth, free-draining soil and patience after flowering.

In detail

• Spring-flowering bulbs: Snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths go into the ground in autumn, as long as the soil is not yet frozen. They need the winter cold in order to flower in spring.
• Summer-flowering bulbs: Dahlias and gladioli are frost-tender. They are planted after the last frosts, then lifted in autumn and stored frost-free.
• Planting depth: As a rule of thumb, plant about two to three times as deep as the bulb is tall. The tip points upwards.
• Soil: Bulbs rot in waterlogged ground. Lighten heavy soils with sand or grit.
• Plant in groups: Planted in clumps or larger drifts, bulbs look more natural than in single rows.
• After flowering: Cut off the faded flowers but leave the foliage until it turns yellow. The leaves replenish the bulb with nutrients for the following year.
• Naturalising: Crocuses, snowdrops, winter aconites and many daffodils spread by themselves in lawns or under trees and shrubs over the years.
• Voles: Tulip bulbs are a favourite food of voles. Wire planting baskets protect them. Daffodils are usually left alone.
• For insects, and a caution: Early-flowering bulbs are important food for bumblebees and bees. Many bulbs are poisonous, so do not confuse them with onions and keep them away from children and pets (bienenfreundlicher-garten, stauden-pflanzen-und-pflegen, aussaat-und-pflanzzeiten).