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Choose locations to plant fall bulbs now

March 10th, 2010 · No Comments

In January, the snowdrops in the Secret Garden looked like this:

Snowdrops emerging in January

Snowdrops in the Secret Garden January 2010

This Sunday just passed–March 7th–those same snowdrops looked like this:

Snowdrops buried in early March

Those same snowdrops in early March

Such are the vagaries of an upstate New York winter. Since then, the temperatures have been mild and the sunshine brilliant, and the snow is receding. This, my fellow cold climate gardeners, is the best time to decide where to plant your earliest spring bulbs. Look around, no, better yet–grab your camera, and record the places in your garden where the snow melts first.

Snow melting around tree stump

Snow melts first around the base of trees, even stumps

Snow melting near crabapple

The snow melts in damp areas first, though bulbs for this site must tolerate soggy soil.

Snow around lilac shrub

The south-facing areas amongst shrubs are another good place for the earliest bulbs

Corner of the house where snow is melting

Plant some early bulbs by a corner of the house that traps heat.

Snow melting near pavement

South-facing areas near pavement are the best of all. Can you see the snowdrops?

Here I followed my own advice, and in a previous year planted some Galanthus ‘S. Arnott’ in an area that always melts first. I chose this particular snowdrop because it is both large and early. As a matter of fact, a few of them bloomed today, though I didn’t manage to get a picture.

Label Your Images

As you may have noticed, these images don’t look like much. If you don’t rename your images, tag them, write captions for them, or whatever your photo managing program permits, you will look at them in July and wonder, “What was I thinking? Why did I take a bunch of photos of dirty, tired snow?” Put them in a folder labeled Plant Bulbs Here and make a note in your calendar to order them in June, when there are discounts for early online orders.

Which Bulbs Are the Earliest?

Of the commonly available snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii is the earliest. Winter aconites (Eranthis spp.) are reputedly equally as early, though they have not been so for me. I am not sure if they are coming back this year. When they like your garden, they really take off. The small species crocus bloom soon after the snowdrops for me. Two to three weeks after the very first blooms, the larger Dutch crocus, the Siberian squills, and the glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa) are all blooming. By then it’s a whole different ball game.

→ No CommentsTags: Garden chores · What's up/blooming · snowdrops · Plant info · crocuses · crocus · eranthis · galanthus · winter-aconite

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