What To Do With Those Potted Flowering Spring Bulbs

What To Do With Those Potted Flowering Spring Bulbs

I love the scent of the Easter Lily and the gorgeous potted blue hyacinths that graced my dining room this past week. However, as the blooms fade, I am thinking about planting them in one of my garden beds at home. So many times I intend to plant those same spring-blooming bulbs in the fall (which is the usual planting time) but my garden beds seem too full with daylilies, hostas, and grasses and I neglect to plant. As I look at one bed in particular, I am going to plant the hyacinths and see what happens.

Since the potted bulbs were forced to flower earlier than their natural bloom time, a lot of nutrient value has been taken out of the bulb so it is important to use some bulb fertilizer or booster on top of the soil and I will add bone meal and/or compost to the bottom of the planting area. Normally, when planting bulbs in the fall, you would plant bulbs to a depth that would be approximately 3 times the length of the bulb. My potted hyacinths have been grown in a pot less than the recommended depth; so as I plant, I will allow for some composting mulch to cover the hyacinths after the leaves have naturally died back. The spot that I have chosen will allow the hyacinths to be seen in mid-spring but as the leaves die back, the nearby 'Endless Summer' hydrangeas will grow and cover the leaves. It is important that the leaves be allowed to brown naturally as the sugars and energy produced by the leaves replenish the bulb for the next years bloom. I have seen some creative ways that gardeners use to disguise the leaves such as braiding the leaves, but the best idea is to plant the bulbs where they will be hidden by an emerging summer-blooming perennial or shrub.

Some of the gardening experts have reported inconsistent results when planting forced bulbs, possibly taking 2-3 years to rebloom, but I'm a risk taker and willing to take the challenge.