Planting Spring-Blooming Bulbs

March 1, 2025

What does one do with thousands of spring-blooming bulbs late in the planting season? Hurry to get them all in the ground at the first sign of a brief winter warm up and thaw.

Every year, I plant thousands of spring-flowering bulbs here at my farm - under my long and winding pergola, behind my Tenant House, in my Summer House sunken garden, in the gardens around my Winter House, and under various allées of trees. This year, I decided to also plant an abundance of bulbs along my stone walls - camassia, crocus, iris, squill, and muscari. Low temperatures and snow cover kept the beds frozen for weeks until just recently when the weather warmed up enough for my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew to get out their dibbers and plant.

Enjoy these photos.

: There is always renewed excitement every spring when the flowers emerge around the farm. Crocus is an early season flower that pops up usually in shades of white, yellow, and purple.

: This is camassia. Camassia is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to Canada and the United States. Common names include camas, quamash, Indian hyacinth, camash, and wild hyacinth. They grow to a height of 12 to 50 inches and vary in color from pale lilac or white to deep purple or blue-violet.

: Squill or Siberian squill, is also known widely by its botanical name, Scilla. It is a spring bulb with green grass-like foliage and arching flower stalks that support one to three nodding blue or white flowers.

: Striped squill is also known as puschkinia. Puschkinia is a genus of three known species of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to the Caucasus and the Middle East. Puschkinia shows off short flowers with six petals that are white with a blue stripe down the middle, which can be seen in the front, the back, and the sides of the blooms.

: And I grow masses of beautiful muscari. Muscari is a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers that look like bunches of grapes in spring.

: Many of my bulbs are from Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs – a third generation flower merchant in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. Late in planting season, Colorblends had a surplus of bulbs available. I was excited to purchase bags of small flowering bulbs I love.

: Bulbs are packaged in batches of 50, 100, 500, and a thousand. They come in these breathable sacks and crates. They are also packed in paper bags, boxes, and plastic pouches depending on the bulbs’ humidity needs. They must be kept moist without being wet.

: I was thrilled to have enough to plant along some of the stone walls of my farm. The first step is to rake the beds, so they are clear of any debris.

: Then my head-gardener, Ryan McCallister, throws batches of bulbs down on the ground. He does this randomly across the bed to create a more natural appearance when they grow.

: For planting smaller bulbs, my gardeners use T-handled dibbers, which are pressed into the soil to make narrow holes.

: Bulbs come in different sizes and forms. Shown here is a crocus bulb, a squill bulb and a muscari bulb. True bulbs can be either tunicate, with a papery covering or non-tunicate without the covering. On many bulbs, it is also easy to see which end is the top and which end is the bottom.

: Each bulb is placed in a hole about three to five inches deep. The dibber is perfect for planting these bulbs.

: Here is a bulb getting placed gently into its hole.

: Bulbs are always positioned with the pointed end faced up, or root end faced down. This is very important, so the plant grows properly from the bulb. Here is a bulb inside the hole – at least several inches deep.

: My foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, also made a long handled dibber from timeworn pieces that had been saved.

: These long handled dibbers are a big hit – allowing the crew to remain standing and make a series of holes more quickly.

: While one or two works low to the ground, others work upright, getting lots of holes made for the bulbs.

: The crew took turns with each function – it was a very efficient assembly line process.

: Once a section is planted, Matt sprinkles fertilizer.

: Always be sure to add the proper food to the bed. It should be a balanced fertilizer. Fertilizing spring-blooming bulbs also helps them fight off diseases and pests. I use Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed All Purpose Plant Food.