Newsletter Articles
How to Plant Winter Bulbs for Spring Flowers
Written by Kelsey W.
The beautiful daffodils, tulips, and irises that greet us in the early spring and throughout the season spend an entire winter living underground in a bulb before their fresh leaves emerge from the soil. In most cases, bulbs go into the ground in the late fall, before the first frost or snow, but it’s also possible to plant bulbs after the snow begins, as long as the soil is pliable enough for you to dig a hole.
But what does that mean for Southern California gardens and the perpetually beautiful weather that rarely results in a frost? When is the best time to plant winter bulbs in SoCal?
Since Los Angeles and the surrounding counties aren’t known for snow unless you’re having fun on the ski slopes in the San Bernardino Mountains, you might assume you can plant bulbs at any time. In fact, you’ll still want to adhere to the general wisdom of planting bulbs in late November or early December.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the right way to plant winter bulbs for spring flowers in Southern California.
Bulbs Don’t Need a Drenching
You may assume that your bulb needs a warm and wet environment, or it will dry out and die underground. In fact, many bulbs originate from Mediterranean climates, which means they really never need a drenching.
One of the best reasons to plant bulbs in SoCal is that they pair wonderfully with drought-tolerant gardens, so you can enjoy your beautiful bulb blooms and not worry about using too much water. Make sure, too, when you purchase your bulbs that they’re not mushy or mildewy because they might not make it through the winter. Your bulbs should be dry and fresh.
If you find a beautiful bulb in September or October and don’t want to miss out on planting it, make sure to store it in a dark, dry cabinet until planting season rolls around. Your un-planted bulbs will easily survive a few months spent resting in a closet.
Plant SoCal Bulbs in late November through January
It’s always a bit of a toss-up as to the weather Southern California will get in the fall, and it’s not really possible to time your bulb planting to match the first frost. Instead, use the calendar as your guide. Late November and all the way through January are fine.
Bear in mind that hyacinths and tulips enjoy sitting in your refrigerator for about a month to six weeks before they head into the ground. Try to keep the bulbs away from ripening fruit, though, because nearby fruit may cause the bulbs to sprout!
Most bulbs you plant should start blooming in late February through March, even if you plant them in January, so don’t assume you can plant the bulbs in a certain week and guarantee that they’ll bloom a certain number of months later. Expect your bulbs to emerge from the ground between late February and March.
Select Healthy Soil and Food for Bulbs
Your bulbs don’t want to sit in soggy, wet soil. One of the reasons bulbs grow so wonderfully in Southern California is that the soil naturally matches the climates of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, which are the ancient origins of most modern bulbs.
You may choose sandy soil or a place in your garden where it doesn’t get soggy. Your bulbs don’t need much water until they sprout. However, they will appreciate a healthy feeding when you plant them in the soil for the first time, as well as again when they first start sprouting, and you can see the green above the soil.
Depth Matters When Planting Winter Bulbs
The bulb you plant should sit anywhere from two to six inches under the ground, and you’ll find more success with your planting when you adhere to the planting depth recommendations for each type of bulb. Here’s a list of winter bulbs and the depths they enjoy when you plant them. Some of these types aren’t “true” bulbs, but you can treat them all the same regarding bulb planting advice.
Six Inches
- Allium (large bulbs)
- Daffodil (large bulbs)
- Hyacinth
- Lily
- Tulip
Four Inches
Two Inches
- Amaryllis
- Freesia
- Ranunculus
The only bulb that you don’t need to plant under any amount of soil is an iris. Place them in a shallow hole where the rhizomes are visible at the surface. You’ll get more blooms and faster growth when you allow the rhizomes to sit at the surface of the soil. The rhizomes are the little balls on one side of an iris bulb.
For all other types of bulbs, all you have to do is make sure the pointed tip faces upward. If the bulb has roots, they need to point downward. Easy, right?
Sometimes, bulbs make it difficult for us to figure out which side they want to face, or they’re shaped oddly or look a little squished. In such cases, planting them on the side is your best bet, as most bulbs will still find their way to the top of the soil, even if they’re planted sideways.
After Your Bulbs No Longer Bloom
One of the best reasons to plant bulbs is that they help us return to a green and thriving spring at the earliest moment possible when many trees no longer have their leaves. Even though it remains fairly green in the average winter garden in Southern California, it’s still nice to greet the spring with a healthy crop of blooms.
What happens when your bulb plants no longer bloom? Will they survive the whole year underground until the next spring? They can definitely survive after the flowers and green shoots are gone, but you can’t water the area where you planted them because the bulb remains dormant for most of the year.
If you have other plants in your garden that you want to water throughout the summer, you might consider planting your bulbs in a container, so you can easily avoid watering them after their top parts shrivel and fade away. Don’t cut away the brown leaves, though.
Try to leave those brown leaves as long as possible because the bulb below the ground takes all the nutrients possible for as long as possible. You have the best chance of more blooms next year when you leave the brown bits and stop watering them once they’re no longer active.
If you want, you can remove your daffodil bulbs from the ground after they’re done flowering and store them until you’re ready to plant again, but it’s not really necessary in Southern California. If you’re interested in storing them, however, make sure you find a cool, dry place, so they don’t get damp.
Do you like what you see? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get content like this every week!