Q. Should I fertilize bulbs?
A. If you're planting bulbs for only one year's bloom, fertilizer is not needed. Bulbs already carry a season's supply of food in the moist tissue surrounding the embryonic flower. For bulbs that you will naturalize or perennialize, you have the following options: At fall planting time: for first year's bloom, no fertilizer is needed. for naturalized bulbs after the first season, there are three good options: a good organic compost or well-rotted cow manure worked into the soil when planting, and a mulch of this material, a slow-release bulb food, a combination of bone meal and an 8-8-8 or 10-10-10(NPK), fast-release soluble fertilizer (about one tablespoon per square foot).
In spring: again, for first year blooms, no fertilizer is needed. For naturalized plantings or perennializing plants, fertilizer considerations are: nothing further is needed if last fall you applied well-rotted cow manure or a slow release bulb food if you used bone meal and a fast-release fertilizer, you will want to apply a nitrogen-rich fast-release NPK fertilizer in the spring just as the shoots first emerge from the soil (which would be about 6 weeks prior to bloom).
Q. How do I grow spring-flowering bulbs in warm climates?
A. It's possible to grow spring-flowering bulbs in climates as warm as Zone 9 and Zone 10. However the blooming season in these zones is much earlier than in cooler zones. Some spring-flowering bulbs recommended for Zone 9 can be planted with no pre-cooling. Others will need a special cold treatment before planting. No pre-chilling needed:Amaryllis, Allium neapolitanum, Allium rosenbachianum, Anemone de Caen and Anemone St. Brigid, Brodiaea laxa, Crocus chrysanthus (snow crocus), Dutch iris, Freesia, Ixias, lilies, all narcissi/daffodils, Ornithogalum umbellatum, Ranunculus, Scilla campanulata (wood hyacinth), Sparaxis, Triteleia uniflora and Tritoni.
Pre-chilling needed: tulips, hyacinths, crocus and the other spring-flowering bulb favorites.
Here are some warm winter gardening tips: First, choose cultivars which have proved to do well in warmer climates. Cold-hardy bulbs that need pre-cooling in warm winter regions must be treated as annuals and new bulbs must be planted the following fall. Pre-chill the bulbs for a minimum of six to eight weeks in a refrigerator at a temperature of around 40°F to 45°F (the temperature of most home refrigerators). If you use a refrigerator, be sure not to store any apples or other fruits alongside your bulbs. Ripening fruit naturally gives off ethylene gas which will kill the flower inside the bulbs.
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