Fall is the time to plant bulbs. A small investment of time now will pay off in huge dividends in the Spring, and far into the future. I have great respect for homeowners who take the time to plant fall bulbs, because it involves some careful forethought. It is also demonstrates patience in that the reward for the work comes months later, and not instantly. Surprisingly, most people will not take the time to plant bulbs because of the absence of “instant gratification.” (stay with me folks, there’s a “life” lesson in your future) But first, let’s look at the planting criteria for bulbs.

It’s really a very simple process. First off, the soil needs to be in the range of 55-60 degrees (that’s now if you live in the Midwest). This is the optimum temperature to stimulate the newly planted bulbs to begin to “root,” but not so cold as to freeze them prematurely.

I like to plant my bulbs using a paddle-bit for an electric drill. I find that the 1.5″ bit makes the perfect sized hole for a standard tulip bulb, and makes a clean hole fast.

You should follow the planting directions that come with the bulbs you purchase, but the standard depth for tulips is usually 6″. Place a piece of tape on the shaft of the bit at the 6″ mark to gauge your depth with drilling. Once you drill the hole, be sure to place the bulb in right side up (see pictures) and use the shaft of an old hammer to gently push the bulb to the base of the hole. Next, cover with some top soil and mulch…finish by watering them thoroughly.

As I stated above, planting bulbs, in my opinion, is the mark of the mature and wise gardener. Tulips and other bulbs are interesting because they “naturalize” or spread over time. Most species of tulips naturalize-when unaffected by rodents- via underground stems called stolons, or daughter bulbs. The new naturalized plants are usually identical to the parent plant.

Planting 20 or 30 bulbs now will bring 20 or 30 beautiful early Spring flowers, but the next year, the numbers will double, and grow exponentially year-after-year.

The Life Lesson:

I have noticed something similar with my kids. There are small bits or “bulbs” of wisdom that I’ve buried into them that seem useless to them at the time, but as they have aged, those bits of wisdom naturalized and are now producing some positive outcomes.

A simple, but important one would be how to properly shake a man’s hand. I taught my boys at the ages of 6 and 7 how to properly shake hands: firm grip, stiff arm, look the man in the eye, etc. When the boys were very young, it was kind of a joke to them when they’d practice what I taught them. However, now that they are teenagers, the skill has naturalized and is now second “nature” to them, and they shake hands like men. I can only wonder if as they become adults, the difference between them getting a good job or not will be in the way they shake the interviewer’s hand. It will be interesting to see this one naturalize exponentially over time.

A great place to view and purchase a wide selection of quality bulbs is here:

You guys love DIY lawn care tips. You ask tons and tons of questions about how to winterize a lawn and get read for cold weather, but most of you never think about winterizing your garden and landscape trees and shrubs. Have no fear, it’s not too late to winterize those valuable plants!

Winterizing Your Landscape Trees and Shrubs

So we’ve worked hard this year to keep our landscape plants, ei: trees and shrubs, free from insects, disease and other damaging factors. What should we do to winterize our gardens and landscapes?

Fall is a great time to check out your deciduous trees and shrubs (the ones that lose their leaves) and see if there is any cleanup that should be done. Go ahead and prune out any dead or decaying wood. It’s also a great time to clean and thin out those large trees that are keeping your from growing grass in heavy shade. Let some sunshine in!

Protecting Evergreens from Cold Winter Wind

The other side of the gardening and landscaping coin involves the anchors: the evergreens. Almost all landscapes have evergreens amongst the other plants to provide some substance during the winter (because evergreen stay green in the winter ya know!) The issue to consider here (especially in the Windy City) is that cold winds can dehydrate them, dry them out and kill em’! Have you ever noticed your evergreens looking brown after the long winter? That’s because the wind dried them out!

There are a couple things you can do. First off, you can cover all the evergreen with burlap to protect them. But folks, that just looks funky!

The better method to keep your evergreens from dehydrating is to spray your plants with an anti-desiccant, creating a waxy coating on the leaves and needles to seal in the moisture. These sprays work great while they’re on, but you’ll need to re-apply them again in January when the coldest winds sweep across the Midwest.

Here is a book definition of anti-dessicant:

“A foliage spray that aids against summer scald, transplant shock and winter moisture loss, also called desiccation”

Should You Mulch Your Plants?

People think that mulch is the cure-all for everything and will tell you to pile massive amounts of the stuff around the root structure of your shrubs prior to freezing. In all reality, mulch does little to insulate but does invite mice and other rodents in to make nests. And guess what those little bastards are doing under that mulch? …they are gnawing on the roots!

If you have roses (which are really the only plants the need mulch) then use good old fashioned dirt to insulate around them with just a think layer of mulch on top.

Cutting Back Perennials

This is another topic of strong debate in the green industry, that being “should you cut your perennials to the ground before winter.”

Keep this in mind: in the wild, no one cuts anything back! Every seen tiger lilies growing wild on the side of the road in late spring? Nobody every cut them back!

The truth is, we cut back perennials just because we don’t want dead stuff laying all over our bed rocks. There is some benefit to a good cleaning, but I recommend you wait until spring to do it.

Some perennials, like ornamental grasses provide excellent “winter interest” with their dead carcasses waving in the baron winter wind. I also believe that with many perennials, such as daylily, the extra foliage laying around helps naturally insulate the root ball, especially in raised landscape beds where the soil temps drop lower.

Between your and me, the only perennials in my landscape that I cut back in the fall are hosta. Other than that, I “let it ride until Spring.”

Winterizing Container Plants

Learn a lesson from me here folks: if you have decorative clay pots around your house, take them inside an insulated garage or your basement before night time temps hit the freezing mark.

If you leave them out, the water in the soil will freeze and expand, breaking your expensive pots!

In addition, if you have perennials in those pots, they will more-than-likely freeze to death because the pots give no insulating value.

Watering. The Most Important Winterization Practice!!!!

OK guys, this long article is about done, BUT DON”T MISS THIS LAST TIP: keep watering your trees and shrubs at least once per week all the way until the ground freezes! One of the biggest factors that causes “winter kill” in plants is them drying out. Now we have the anti-dessiccant sprays to help retain moisture in evergreen leaves, but those woody plants will dry out too. Dried-out stems die!

If you let that plant soak up water all the way until winter, it will stand a much better chance of staying healthy during the cold months when you are inside with egg-nog and your Christmas firelight!

Take these tips to heart and go out over the next few weekends and winterize your landscape! You will thank me in the spring when your plants wake up from slumber and greet you with a smile!