Daffodils, Crocus, and Tulips, Oh My!

     Ever wonder what those beautiful early spring flowers are? The ones that are popping up (finally) right now? Some of their names will probably be familiar to you, but we’ll also fill you in on the lesser known late winter and early spring blooming flowers. Did you know that all of these flowers have something in common (besides blooming period)?

Here are the flowers you may have heard of before:

     There are literally hundreds of varieties of daffodils and tulip as they are hugely popular spring time flowers. They require very little effort to produce wonderful blooms; basically all you need to do is plant them in a full sun/part sun area of your garden in the fall. Something to keep in mind with tulips after the first year – they tend to have decreased performance year after year when they are not in the right environmental conditions (see this article for more info). Daffodils are a bit more hardy in this respect. Hyacinths produce low growing flowers with an amazing scent. If you plan on planting any of these three in your garden, keep in mind that they tend to look best in drifts (plant them close together in bunches) rather than spaced out in rows. 

     Some wonderful spring time flowers you may not know are snowdrops, winter aconite and crocus. These are often the first flowers you see in the new year. Both are low growing and very easy to keep up in the garden. Again, just make sure they aren’t in a shady spot! 

     Now, what do all of these flowers have in common? They are all bulbs. 

 (This image and article can be found here)

     Bulbs have an underground stem from which they grow their shoots. This makes them easy to dig up and move if you decide you didn’t like where you first planted them! 

Planting Tips

     You will often see these bulbs for sale in stores in the spring… but they need to be planted in the fall to ensure success in your garden. All bulbs need to go through a cold period before blooming, and they would be confused, and may even rot, if they were planted in the spring or summer. An easy rule of thumb to remember when you should be planting your bulbs – if it blooms in the spring or summer then plant it in the fall, and if it blooms in the fall, plant it in the spring once all danger of frost is gone (in Indianapolis this is usually around Mother’s Day). Last important thing to note about planting bulbs… ALWAYS plant them pointy side up! The shoots come from this side. It is very possible for your bulb to bloom even if you accidentally plant it upside down… however you will undoubtedly have more success if you plant it right side up. We hope you try growing some of these spring blooming bulbs! :)