Do you admire the beautiful daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs that sprout up early spring and wish you had planted some of your own? Daffodils, hyacinths, English blue bells and crocuses all easy-to-grow spring flowers that multiply year after year giving you great bang for your buck. Now is the time to plant these flowering bulbs! For first time bulb gardeners, here are three tips to help you make your bulb planting successful. 

1. Pointy Side Up

Novice gardeners tend to get confused on which side of the bulb is up. Hold the bulb around its round middle, between your two fingers. Move it so that the pointy side is up – this is the end that the bulb will sprout from. If you can’t figure it out, don’t worry too much, the bulb will find its way to the surface.

2. More is Better!

With bulbs, more is always better. Planting just a few bulbs here and there isn’t going to give you a lot of impact. Plant lots of bulbs together in an area to make that impression of a blanket of color come springtime. Try repeating several beds in your yard for even more impact.

3. The Rule of Thumb

Many people also get confused about how deep to plant their bulbs. It is important to plant them at the right depth, or else they may never sprout above the soil level. A good rule of thumb to use is to dig the hole about three times as deep as the width of the bulb. Smaller bulbs need shallower holes; bigger bulbs need deeper holes. Usually though, the bulb packages come with directions that specify a planting depth.

In an ideal world you would till and amend your beds before planting the bulbs, but you can be successful digging small individual holes for each bulb.  Add a little nutrient rich soil like compost or Mr. Natural Complete Landscape Mix. Now through December mid December is the perfect time to plant bulbs.