What Flower Bulbs Do You Plant During the Fall in the Northeast?

Crocus and Daffodil

• In many areas across the Northeast, crocus are the first flowers to appear in the landscape, often before snow has melted completely. The small cup-like flowers emerge from short, spiked bright green leaves that, in some varieties, sport a narrow strip of creamy white down their centers. Crocus flowers are blue, white, yellow, purple or striped, and range in height from 3 to 4 inches. They add brightness in rock gardens, as ground covers and as lawn accents. Also called daffodils or jonquils, narcissus produces trumpet-shaped flowers in an array of hues atop stems surrounded by bright green stalks that grow to 24 inches, depending on the variety. A member of the Amaryllidaceae, or Amaryllis, plant family, the compound flowers are composed of six lower segments and a tubular segment extending outward from the center. Daffodils appear in early to mid-spring and naturalize readily, producing more plants via underground roots.

Tulip and Hyacinth

• Blooming from early to late spring, depending upon variety, tulips, members of the Liliaceae, or Lily, plant family, produce their single saucer-like flowers atop stiff hollow stems that grow to 30 inches. Choice of colors is broad, and includes yellow, purple, pink, red and variegated types. Petal form ranges from the classic smooth-edged to ruffled, emerging from bluish-green basal foliage that grows to 10 inches. Tulips are used in mass plantings and for cutting. A mid-spring bloomer, hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) produces multiple highly fragrant flowers along a single stem, in colors ranging from white to yellow, blue and pink. Hyacinth grows to 12 inches, and does not naturalize; flower quality decreases until the bulbs should be discarded and replaced.

Other Bulbs

• Other bulbs planted in the fall for spring flowering include the giant flowering onion (Allium giganteum), which produces pinkish-purple globe-shaped flowers on stalks that grow to 4 feet. Glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa luciliae) produces small blue star-like flowers with white centers on grass-like dark green plants. Common snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) emerges in very early spring as white drooping flowers on slender stalks, while the common grape hyacinth (Muscari botryoides), a cousin to the common hyacinth, emerges as small drooping urn-shaped clusters of blue or white flowers. It is most effective planted in masses, but can become invasive in some areas.

Culture

• Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and grape hyacinths grow from true bulbs. Crocus grow from corms, which are smaller bulb-like masses of swollen plant tissues used to store plant nutrients. All types should be planted from mid-August through November, or until the soil freezes, depending upon how cold the winters get in your area. Generally, the colder the area, the earlier the bulbs should be planted. Planting sites should be in full sun with some shade to provide protection from midday heat. The soil should be loose and very well-drained, because bulbs planted in overly wet areas grow poorly or rot. Soil pH should measure 6.0 to 7.0, and heavy clay soil should be lightened with compost or peat moss. A complete fertilizer, such as 5-10-10, should be added to every 100 square feet of area. Bulbs should be fertilized again in the spring after flowering, using the same blend and rate of application. Because they are heavy feeders, tulips should also be fertilized as their foliage emerges.