Where are Your Bulbs Planted?

Unlike plants that are visible in the fall, bulbs disappear leaving you to guess where they live. Mark what and where you’ve planted your spring blooming bulbs.

Allium 'Mount Everest'
Item # 14453 		Allium 'Mount Everest'

per bag $12.99
2 to 3 bags $12.49
4 or more bags $11.99

Deer Resistant Spring bloomers- Save 50% $6.49
Camassia leichtlinii'Blue Danube'
Item # 29805 		Camassia leichtlinii 'Blue Danube'

per bag $16.99
2 to 3 bags $16.49
4 or more bags $15.99

Showy addition to your perennial beds. Save 50% $8.49
Fritillaria imperialis 'Rubra Maxima'
Item # 52813 		Fritillaria imperialis 'Rubra Maxima'
Imperial Red Crown

each $22.99
2 or more $22.49

Heirloom variety from the late 1500’s- Save 50% $11.49
  • Topics: Bulbs, Planting Techniques
  • Author: David Salman
  • Keywords: bulbs, locations, markers, Bulbs, spring flowering bulbs
  • Date: November 2004

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There are few garden pleasures more fun and rewarding than planting spring flowering bulbs. Like seeds, bulbs are one of nature’s wonders. They miraculously transform themselves from a seemingly inanimate object into a beautiful flowering plant. Bulbs are a successful way to brighten your garden. But first, you need to remember where you planted them last fall, and the fall before that.

As part of their lifecycle, bulbs go dormant in late spring or early summer, loosing their leaves and waiting patiently below ground before flowering again a year later. Unlike herbaceous or woody plants which are still visible in the fall, bulbs have disappeared leaving you to guess where they live. Thus, it is very important that you take steps to mark what and where you’ve planted your spring blooming bulbs.

Marking Strategies

I have tried various approaches to keeping track of where my bulbs are.

Relying on my memory has been the least successful. As an alternative, I have tried taking photos in the spring when the bulbs are blooming. But this hasn’t worked very well either. If I don’t photograph each flush of new species throughout the course of the season, I don’t get a true picture, literally.

I’ve also tried leaving tags to mark where I’ve planted. But these rarely last more than a season or two. They seem to “evaporate”, but more likely are covered by the stems of growing plants, or are accidentally broken, raked up or pulled up when weeding or cleaning the beds. Not a good long-term solution.

Drawing

I have found that drawing a simple two dimensional diagram of my garden beds to show where I have planted them works best.

You don’t need to use global positioning equipment or a surveyor’s mapping skills to create these maps. Keep it simple. And don’t worry if you don’t have a degree in art. Quick sketches that give good approximations to where your bulbs live, work well.

  • Draw your beds, making sure to include prominent features (shrubs, trees, statuary, boulder, etc.) to use as points of reference.
  • Mark where bulbs are planted by outlining their area. Note the numbers and varieties of each.

After I have finished planting and mapping, I file my maps until next fall when I’m ready to begin ordering and planting my new bulbs. And the cycle begins again.

Planting bulbs somehow makes that long winter stretch more tolerable. Patiently anticipating these glorious flowers next spring helps pass those blustery, snowy indoor days.