Most Gardeners Forget These Winter Bulb Tasks – But They'll Make Your Spring Blooms Amazing, Say Garden Pros
Do planted bulbs need maintenance over winter? Sometimes, they do
Let's kick off with the best news: that most spring bulbs don’t require much maintenance over the winter. When you plant the likes of daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, snowdrops, and more, they can often be planted and left to their own devices to flower. But it is not necessarily always the case.
There are times when you want to water, mulch, or protect your spring bulbs from pests or the winter weather. How much winter bulb maintenance you need to do will depend on your garden, climate, and how you are growing your bulbs, and here we’ve got you covered.
Do Planted Bulbs Need Maintenance Over Winter?
Spring bulbs are easy to care for. I planted thousands of spring bulbs every year while working in public gardens in the UK.
They were planted in flower beds and containers for vivid displays for visitors to enjoy in spring. We had to protect the bulbs from rodents that would otherwise nibble them over winter, and also made sure to protect bulbs in pots from frost damage.
There are four key areas of winter bulb maintenance that gardeners commonly ask about. Common questions cover watering, mulching, stopping bulbs from being eaten, and protecting them from frost. These are the questions I posed to the bulb experts, and they gave the following advice about winter bulb maintenance:
Should You Water Bulbs?
You want to water immediately after planting bulbs in the fall, as this settles the soil around them. After that, they can often be left over the winter, so, unless you have a dry winter, it means one less job for you to worry about.
‘If there is rainfall, you don’t need to add any water yourself,’ says Lotte Berendsen, a botanist from the PlantIn plant care app. ‘However, if the soil is getting dry, manual watering is required.’
When you do need to water the bulbs, the key is to avoid overwatering. It needs moisture to survive until spring, but the bulbs can rot sitting in cold, waterlogged soil over winter. Consider a soil moisture meter (you can get a soil moisture meter at Amazon) to assess the levels in the ground and avoid making watering mistakes that could ruin your bulb display.
Lotte is a gardening enthusiast, writer, and plant expert at PlantIn, where she provides customers with detailed care and treatment plans.
Should You Mulch Bulbs?
Just as it is always recommended to mulch around newly-planted trees, shrubs, and perennials, there are real, tangible benefits to mulching around spring bulbs.
Bulbs don’t absolutely need to be mulched, but bulb expert Peggy Anne Montgomery recommends doing the task, unless they are planted in a lawn.
‘Apply 2–3 inches once the ground has cooled to insulate against temperature swings, retain moisture, suppress weeds, and support strong root development and healthy blooms,’ says the experienced horticulturist.
The ideal time to mulch bulbs is while the soil is cool and before it freezes. Getting the timing right is crucial, as Peggy adds: ‘Mulch also helps deter some critters, but applying it too early (while soil is still warm) can encourage rodents.’
If you don’t mulch bulbs in winter, Helaine Vrana, plant buyer for R.P. Marzilli & Company, advocates for doing it in spring.
‘Do so before the bulbs emerge,’ she says. ‘Adding a bulb fertilizer before mulching in spring is recommended as the bulbs are beginning to activate with the longer days and warming temperatures.’
You can get organic bulb food at Walmart to provide bulbs with essential nutrients and get a great display.
Peggy Anne Montgomery is a horticulturist with more than 35 years of US and international experience. She studied horticulture and apprenticed in the Netherlands, where she raised a family and owned a landscape design firm for 10 years. Today, she represents Flowerbulb.eu, a website designed to inspire and educate gardeners about flower bulbs.
Should You Protect Bulbs From Being Eaten?
Yes, mice, squirrels, voles, chipmunks, shrews, and squirrels are all attracted to spring bulbs and may eat them as they forage for food during winter. If your garden attracts many such pests, you will need to take measures to prevent mice and squirrels from digging up bulbs during the winter.
To prevent such issues, you can plant bulbs deeper in the soil or create a physical barrier. Peggy Anne Montgomery recommends adding a chicken wire barrier (you can get a roll of chicken wire at Amazon) at planting time to make digging for bulbs difficult, which is something I also did in the gardens I worked in.
She says: ‘Cover the planted area with chicken wire or hardware cloth secured with pins or rocks, and remove it in spring as shoots emerge.’
An alternative and natural way to protect bulbs is to mix up the planting and include bulbs that are disliked by rodents, including bulbs that squirrels don’t eat. ‘Pair favorites like tulips and crocus with less-tasty bulbs such as daffodils, fritillaria, or hyacinths, ’ advises Peggy.
Other methods to prevent bulbs from becoming food for pests over winter include laying thorny plant material, such as holly leaves or rose stems, over the area, while some gardeners use a spray made of cayenne pepper to deter squirrels and other rodents.
Should You Move Bulbs in Containers?
When you plant bulbs in pots, they are never as insulated as those in the ground. As there is only the compost in the container between the bulbs and the winter frost, it is advisable to keep the pots somewhere protected to prevent damage.
‘Bulbs in pots are susceptible to freezing solid,’ warns Helaine Vrana. ‘After planting, keep the pots in a cold frame or cold greenhouse and keep temperatures between 35-50°F.
Alternative frost-free places to keep spring bulbs growing in pots over the winter include a shed, garage, or porch. You can also move pots together for winter to insulate them, preferably keeping them by a protective wall and beneath an overhang to protect from excessive winter rain and waterlogging.
You can take the gamble of leaving containers outside over winter, but Peggy advises making sure the bulbs need to be hardy to at least two zones warmer than your own to guarantee they survive intact.
‘For example, if you’re in zone 7, choose bulbs rated for zone 5 or warmer to ensure they survive the colder temperatures,’ she says.
Otherwise, they will definitely need protection. You can do this by grouping pots, as mentioned above, covering them with straw mulch or frost cloth, or using winter pot covers to protect pots and planters from frost, such as these winter plant pot covers on Amazon.
While winter bulb maintenance will help you get the best displays, there are some bulb planting mistakes you must always avoid that could ruin your potential blooms. It includes planting them too early, at the wrong depth, too close together, and overwatering them.
Doing any of these common mistakes will impact your spring displays, whether you get the winter bulb maintenance correct or not. To avoid falling foul, check out our guide to these common bulb planting mistakes so you get the spring blooms of your dreams.
Shop Useful Tools for Winter Bulb Maintenance:
This mulch is 100% organic and peat-free. It is an ideal material to use for mulching your newly-planted spring bulbs and protecting them from winter.
This frost cloth is made of non-woven polypropylene fabric and measures 10 x 30 feet. It can be wrapped around containers of spring bulbs for winter protection.
Landscaping staples can help your chicken wire or cloth protection stay in place over winter and protect bulbs from rodents that may try to eat them.
