When it comes to planting flower bulbs, things can seem a little tricky to the novice gardener. Our customers love our flower bulbs, and we love hearing their success stories with our bulbs. We decided it would be best to create a bulb planting guide, so any customer can quickly find the answers they need for their newly purchased flower bulbs.
What Flower Bulbs Are Covered In This Guide?
This guide is going to focus on the following flower bulbs:
Geraniums
The Bees and Butterfly collection
Freesia
Double Phlox
Bleeding Hearts
Columbine
Giant Tree Lily
Person Double Buttercup
When planted correctly in your garden, these bulbs will produce an amazing array of colors and smell incredible. However, if you are looking for shaded areas, you may consider our hosta growing guide.
Let's get started!
Geraniums are sometimes kept indoors, but more often than not, people often plant and keep these flowers outdoors during the summer. If given the appropriate amount of light, a Geranium plant can bloom throughout the year.
Geraniums need to be planted in sunny locations; ideally, you want as close to full sun as you can get it. When you purchase bulbs, it is important to make sure the bulbs are healthy with no signs of mold. At Touch Of Eco, we pride ourselves in our quality control and our storage methods of all of our garden bulbs to ensure all of our bulbs are as fresh as possible.
It is important to ensure that your pots always have drainage holes in the bottom of them. This is to prevent water from becoming stagnant and causing "root rot" within your pot.
Critical Tips:
Always allow your Geraniums to dry in between waterings. Once dry, give them a thorough watering to ensure proper hydration.
Dead your Geranium as often as you can. This will help encourage new growth on your plant.
If you find your leaves are turning yellow, this means you are overwatering your Geraniums. If you start to notice the leaves are yellow and dry, it means you are underwatering them. This may also be an indication that your plant is receiving too little sunlight.
The bees and butterfly collection includes the following variety of flowers: 30 Anemone Blanda a flower featuring thin silky petals coming in a variety of colors, 20 Gladiolus Mixed a beautiful flower that grows to over 5ft tall, 20 Allium Moly a tall stalk flower featuring beautiful yellow blossoms, and 30 Ixia Mixed which is similarly shaped like a sword and features dainty petals across the stalk.
Our team of master gardeners curated this mix to attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators to help make your garden thrive. So not only do you receive the pollinator benefit, but you also receive a burst of color for your garden.
Critical Tips:
Plant these bulbs 2-3 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart
Make sure the soil is moist but not drenched and well-drained.
This collection is simple to grow and is often forgiving in less than ideal growing conditions. However, the more sun, the better, and ideally, don't let the soil become too dry.
Freesias can tolerate full sun or shade. Ideally, you want to keep them in an area that isn't in direct sunlight as they prefer cooler temperatures. When you are initially growing your bulbs, direct sunlight can actually stunt the growth of the plant.
Once the bulb has sprouted, you can expect the flower to grow around 12 inches tall with vibrant, colorful petals. The Freesia flower will bloom in late spring or early summer.
Critical Tips:
If you want a full look, plant your Freesias in groups of at least 10 and spread them 1-2 inches apart.
Freesias often require support for their stalks as they grow. A great tool for this is bamboo or green garden stakes.
When first planting Freesias, do not excessively water. Water lightly until they have sprouted. Once sprouted, it is crucial to keep the soil moist but not damp.
The giant phlox plant is known for its double bloom and its impressive height growing up to 40 inches tall. These are perfect for filling out any area of your garden requiring height to create a colorful backdrop. In the variety we offer, you receive red, pink, white, purple, and orange bulbs.
The double phlox requires full sun and will require you to water them at least once a week if you live in an area that receives less than an inch of rain per week.
Critical Tips:
Make sure your Phlox are planted in an area with proper drainage
Phlox should be spaced out at least 9 inches apart
Thoroughly water your Phlox plant once a week to avoid the roots from drying out.
Bleeding hearts are a hardy plant known for their unique petals that look exactly like hearts. The bleeding heart plant will do best in partial shade and moist soil. These plants will last until mid-summer and slowly begin to turn yellow. Once your plant begins to yellow, you can cut down the stem to the ground.
Bleeding hearts are a plant you want to deadhead as often as possible to maintain their incredible appearance.
Critical Tips:
The bleeding heart plant is an early bloomer, so you want to make sure it is in a shaded area to avoid direct sunlight. The heat will turn your plant yellow and shorten the seasonal lifespan.
Keep your plant thoroughly watered throughout the summer. Always provide the bleeding heart with a moist environment that is properly drained.
The columbine flower is known as one of the easier flowers to grow. Each flower produces five stunning petals that produce a colorful bloom. Columbines are a gardener's best friend due to them attracting pollinators such as butterflies.
Columbines will grow best in the sun or light shade. Plant bulbs within 1 - 2 feet apart from each other. This impressive flower will grow between 24-36 inches tall, making it a fantastic flower for the backdrop of any garden looking for a colorful wall.
Critical Tips:
Columbine flowers should be kept moist until the plant is well established. Once established, the plant should be watered weekly.
Deadheading your columbines often will help promote new blooms.
The giant tree lily is truly a spectacular flower. This easy-to-grow bulb grows to an impressive 8 feet tall and produces absolutely stunning lilies for anyone to admire in their garden. The giant tree lily requires sun to partial shade and will bloom mid to late summer. Giant Tree Lily's are also a fan favorite of gardeners who like to make flower arrangements for their home. Simply trim off a few blooms, and you have an absolutely stunning flower arrangement for your table.
Critical Tips:
Make sure the giant tree lily is in well-drained soil to avoid root rot.
Thoroughly soak the soil once you have planted your bulbs
The giant tree lily must receive partial to full sunlight for adequate growth.
The Persian Double Buttercup is a prolific bloomer that will produce a vibrant flower excellent for borders or even arrangements. This plant needs full sun and is one of the fastest bloomers available. The Persian Double Buttercup will thrive best in soil with a medium level of moisture that is also well-drained. If your soil is not well-drained, it is unlikely you see a lot of success from your bulbs.
Critical Tips:
Deadhead your flowers as often as you can. This will help promote new blooms on your buttercup.
Persian Double Buttercups do best in a slightly acidic soil
Mulching around the plant base will help the soil from drying out from the heat throughout the summer.
Closing Thoughts
As you can see, all of these bulbs are simple to grow and produce amazing flowers for your garden. But, remember, all of these flowers mustn't allow them to sit in soil that is not well-drained. This will cause root rot and ruin the plant's chances of growth.
If you follow the simple tips provided in this guide, then you will be well on your way to having an amazing garden this summer. However, if you want to take your garden to the next level, you may even want to consider reading about our insect hotels. These will help attract beneficial insects to your garden and really make your garden explode with growth!
Happy planting!
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