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Time to think spring, as in bulbs

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUL 22, 2020

These mini jonquils smell as good as they look. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Order Dutch favorites now for fall planting

Bulb houses specialize in unusual varieties
as well as old-fashioned favorites.

Every July, my garden calendar has the same reminder: Order bulbs.

Mail order nurseries that specialize in Dutch-grown favorites traditionally offer midsummer price breaks for early-bird requests. Also, with the recent boon in gardening interest, many of the most popular varieties are likely to sell out.

Ordered now, bulbs will arrive in late September -- perfect time for fall planting.

It's a great opportunity to buy bulbs in bulk at a discount. Create your own mini Daffodil Hill or Tulipmania.

Some suppliers offer hundreds of unusual varieties not found in retail nurseries. Plant a Dutch-inspired spring extravaganza with blooms from February through April.

Where to start? Here are a few of my favorites:

-- Breck's ( brecks.com ): The go-to source for Dutch bulbs since 1818. Breck's now offers 190 varieties of daffodils, 210 different tulips, 25 hyacinth varieties and a lot more. Enough to fill any Dutch masterpiece.

-- John Scheepers ( johnscheepers.com ): This Connecticut-based nursery has been in the bulb business since 1908. It offers scores of species tulips and other unusual tulips and daffodils in bulk with great price breaks. Get naturalizing narcissuses by the hundred.

-- K. van Bourgondien ( Dutchbulbs.com ): Another longtime supplier, this company specializes in mixes and collections. Get more variety for less money.

-- Michigan Bulb Co. ( Michiganbulb.com ): This specialty house offers big discounts through July 31 with readymade mixes for a long season of bloom, such as Three Months of Daffodils.

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Keywords:

fall planting gardening Sacramento daffodils tulips fall gardening bulbs

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Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

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