Fertilizing Spring Bulb Flowers

 Spring will be a glorious season with many flower blooms provided you fertilize.  Fertilization will make sure that the flowers grow strong and thrive in your gardens. 

 

AI created by Sgolis / spring gardening 

My spring bulbs are established in my garden with no new plantings in the fall.  However, I always fertilize in the fall after the flower beds are cut back to the soil line and all weeds are removed from the bed.  I will fertilize with bonemeal. And apply it to the soil where I have planted my spring bulbs. I will top the fertilizer with a layer of soil and water. Then before winter comes I will add a layer of mulch.

 

Then in the spring when I remove the winter season debris and any remaining leaves, and mulch/ If I see that the spring bulbs have broken the soil line I will give the flowers a spring growing boost by fertilizing them with bonemeal topped with soil and replace the mulch around the spring bulb stems to help retain hydration and to prevent weed growth. 

 

Care for your spring flowers by letting the foliage die back naturally.  Do not prune the leaves as the leaves are a way for the plant to replenish energy and nutrients for next spring's blooming season.

 

I use Espoma Organic Bone Meal Fertilizer 4-12-0. An All-Natural Plant Food Source of Nitrogen and Phosphorus and I bought it at Amazon.  bone meal is a slow-release fertilizer that takes 4-6 weeks to start working so apply it as soon as you see new spring growth in early winter so the mid-spring blooms will be beautiful. 

Snowdrop Flowers are Blooming in Garden

Today the weather had warmed to 38 degrees and I thought I would take a walk in the garden. I went into the garden to watch for nature and to check to see if any of the spring bulbs were blooming. To my surprise, I saw that the snowdrop flowers were blooming. A patch of 8 to 12 flowers was in full bloom.

This flower is a perennial in the Amaryllis family. There are 75 different species and varieties of snowdrops. All of the flowers are white in color. The species that grows in my garden and most gardens is the Galanthus Nivalis (snowdrop) Galanthus in Latin means milk-white-flowers.  These milk-white colored flowers have bloomed in my garden for the last 15 years and when I saw that they were in bloom a month early I was delighted but surprised.

People call this flower a snowdrop because it usually does not 
wait for the snow to melt. It usually is the first flower 
to bloom in a winter garden. 

This winter has been very warm, 20 degrees warmer than last year. Although we have had cool to cold weather this past week with snow flurries on Christmas day, prior to that the weather has been spring-like. Overall I think that the spring bulbs are confusing because they normally bloom the end of January - first week in February.

Planting tips:

1. Plant in fall six weeks prior to a hard frost and the snowdrops will bloom the following spring. Grow snowdrops in well-drained clay, or sandy soil in an area that has morning sun exposure with part to full shade in the afternoon. 
   
2. I think snowdrop flowers look nice when grown under evergreens or other trees and shrubs.  These flowers look especially nice when grown in a rock garden with other spring bulbs, such as crocus and daffodils.
   
3. Remember to space the bulbs when planting because they multiply quickly. Snowdrops are deer resistant
   

If you are interested in growing this long-lived spring-blooming flower in your garden then I would recommend that you shop for the bulbs at the following stores;

Brecks.com

Americanmeadows.com

lowes.com

ebay.com

netherlandbulb.com

Learn more about Netherland bulbs by reading my product review.

Gardening on Warm Winter Day

Today the temperature was in the mid '50s and so I took advantage of the warm weather and went to work in my garden. The snowdrops were blooming and this white flower is generally the first flower to bloom in spring.

Snowdrops and purple crocus are the first flowers in early spring

I took some time to remove the mulch from my spring garden beds and saw that the crocus and daffodils were coming up also. Now I know that these warm days is just a break because cold weather is in the forecast for this weekend, but instead of covering the new growth up with a light layer of leaves, I think I will make up my spring fertilizer.

This flower garden fertilizer is one that was passed down from my dad, he would mix 8 lbs of compost with 3 lbs of bone meal and if there was any ash left in the firepit he would add that to the wheelbarrow and mix all the ingredients with a shovel.  Learn more about this spring flower garden fertilizer here

I will put a layer of fertilizer over the flower beds and around the spring flowering shrubs. Like my lilac and forsythia and by doing this I know that when it comes time for the flowers to bloom that they will be beautiful.

I spent three hours in the garden today and really enjoyed getting my flower beds ready for the next growing season.

Protecting Spring Bulb Gardens from Whitetail Deer

 

When I looked out my picture window I saw doe deer and fawn in my yard nibbling in my spring bulb garden.  I ran outside and waved my arms in the air and the deer left my yard. But I knew they would be back and I needed to take steps to protect my spring bulb garden from the whitetail deer.

Whitetail deer doe and fawn in garden

Every spring I have a problem with the whitetail deer because I cannot convince them that my spring bulb garden was not planted to nourish them.  Every doe deer in the forest finds its way to my spring bulb gardens. 

Over the years I have tried to discourage the deer with Contech Scarecrow motion-activated sprinkler s a natural way to scare deer.  This water spray deterrent works well in the summer but is not a good deterrent during winter. 

Other deer deterrents that I have had good results with is a  potent pepper spray and deer scam, however, these products need to be reapplied and depending on your weather; snow or ice these products can get costly. 

Last fall I put down a deer forage plot but that died back due to a cold snowy winter.  I found in the past that if I proved the deer with their dietary needs that they will leave my spring bulbs alone.  

Since it is whitetail deer in garden season and I need to keep the deer out of my garden I went to Atwoods ranch and yard store and bought 40lb bag of natural apple corn for $7.49 and a mineral salt lick.  I set up a feeding station that was downwind from my tulip garden. 

My husband and I waited on the side deck and at dusk, we saw the deer coming up the side yard path.   The doe deer come out of the woods to enjoy the corn and to lick on the mineral block. 

Notes by Sgolis: 

1. This wildlife compromise worked because the deer have stayed away from my spring bulb garden because their dietary needs are being met with the mineral lick and feeding station.  
2. When spring greens up the deer will no longer need to be fed as there is ample forage in the forest.