Bulb tricks and deer-proof bulbs

An article I wrote for the Durango Herald, appearing on Oct. 27, 2005. Thought you might like it. - Mike Smedley


Dig deep and reap a big payoff from spring bulbs

Just be thankful it's not Holland in the 1630s, when "Tulipomania" reached its most absurd zenith. Back then, tulips were the country's highest status symbol, and countless Dutch citizens spent everything they had plus took on massive debt to invest in bulb futures. Such greedy speculation drove prices to obscene levels. One large bulb of the tulip variety, "Admiral van Enkhuijsen," sold for 5,400 guilders, the equivalent of 15 years' wages for the average Amsterdam bricklayer. The bubble burst in 1637. Plunging prices drove the country and many people to near economic ruin. Today you can buy premium tulip bulbs for less than 75 cents.

Four Corners gardeners are just as mad for tulips and other fall-planted flower bulbs. But the impetus is springtime splendor rather than financial gain. Beauty is its own reward, and it's easy to become smitten. Bulbs are among the toughest, most abuse-resistant of flowers, offering waves of bold, bright colors when they’re needed most. All you have to do is four basic things:

• Plant most bulbs three times as deep as the widest part of the bulb, pointy side up.
• Don’t grow bulbs where they will be soggy all the time. Virtually all bulbs hate “wet feet.” However, water the ground thoroughly after planting.
• Give bulbs a proper home. Some prefer shadier locations or “woodland” areas under trees (winter aconites, snowdrops and scilla), while others do better in the sun (tulips and alliums). Daffodils, crocuses and hyacinths will flower in part shade or full sun.
• Don’t braid, fold over or cut off the fading foliage after flowering unless you want to kill your bulbs.

That’s pretty much it. The ridiculous ease of bulb gardening prompted one arrogant wag to call bulbs “the garden equivalent of fast food.” Bulbs are certainly care-free and gratifying. But the color explosion of 1,000 blooming crocuses during March’s early gloom is a far cry from a Happy Meal. I’d call bulbs the ultimate savings account, with minimal upfront investment that offers huge payoffs in outrageous flowers in just six months. And that’s the catch.

In order to have a fabulous spring bulb garden, you have to plant now, when the soil is cooler, but at least six weeks before the ground freezes. In Durango, planting bulbs around Halloween is ideal. I’ve even planted small-species tulips on Thanksgiving Day with success that spring, but that’s really pushing it.

While you want the earth to be soft when you plant, you want your bulbs to be firm. A squishy bulb is a dead bulb. Size matters. Select the biggest bulbs available. Runt bulbs mean smaller or fewer flowers. You also get what you pay for, so it’s best to purchase top-quality bulbs, corms and tuberous roots from knowledgeable merchants like Durango Nursery & Supply, Native Roots Garden Center, San Juan Mountain Nurseries and other professionals.

A quick check of area nurseries showed good last-minute selection on daffodils, crocuses, alliums, hyacinth, iris, grape hyacinth and many varieties and colors of early, mid-season and late-blooming tulips. But stocks are dwindling fast. Make your final bulb run ASAP.

Buy unfamiliar tulips like the green-flowered Groenland or “Viridiflora” variety, the fringe-petaled “parrot” type, a lily-flowered variety or a small wildish “species” tulip. Try the exotics. The tropical-looking Crown Imperial, “Fritillaria imperialis Rubra maxima,” is a showstopper. There’s always a place for a couple dozen squills, crocuses or snowdrops. The globes of alliums would look smashing in a border or amid shrubs. Most bulbs are perennial, which means they come back for years. Ask your nursery pro about bulbs that “naturalize.”

The point is, go crazy with bulbs. Every gardener I know sadly admits in April they should have planted more bulbs. Last season, I planted more than 2,000 bulbs in my tiny townhouse garden. The show was spectacular. This year, I found room for 400 more. I hope that will be enough. We’ll find out in spring.


Oh deer! Tricks to thwart the petal snatchers

Many Southwest Colorado gardeners have to deal with the scourge of deer.These hungry animals can wipe out a garden in one night, and tulips especially are deer candy. But that’s no reason not to plant bulbs. There are several varieties that deer shun. Some are actually poisonous to the four-legged marauders.

Snow drops (galanthus), glory-of-the-snow (chionodoxa), star flower (Ipheion uniflorum), all daffodils, all alliums, grape hyacinth (muscari), large flowering hyacinths and squills (scilla siberica) are the generally accepted "deer-proof" bulbs.

But a starving deer after a harsh winter might eat anything in spring. As bulb expert and author Rob Proctor said, "The only deer not interested in your bulbs is headed down the highway strapped to the hood of a pickup."

Various deer repellants have been effective in protecting my tulips, including Deer-Off and Bobbex. You must apply repellants every third day during spring or deer will eat the top new growth. Caches of predator urine seem to have worked last winter. (Really. It’s available in coyote, bobcat or wolf from legupenterprises.com.) I wouldn’t trust my garden protection to scatterings of human hair and bars of Irish Spring soap, although some say these are effective too. An 8-foot-high fence is the only sure-fire way to keep deer at bay.