Planting depths for bulbs

 The general rule for bulbs is to plant them at a depth roughly twice
that of the bulb itself. Either that or some types have specific
depths recommended for them. But I have up to three inches of coarse
mulch on my flower beds (shredded hedge trimmings etc). Do I include
this when estimating planting depth, or do I ignore it, scrape it
aside and plant at the appropriate depth in the underlying soil? If
the former, then for many smaller bulbs they wouldn't actually be in
the soil at all, but just in the mulch, which doesn't seem right.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

 

Hi Chris,
No, it wouldn't be right.  Any bulb simply planted in the mulch would be a
gift for birds, mice, squirrels, etc.
Ignore the mulch.  Take the soil surface as your working stratum and plant
below it as per instruction for each bulb type.
Spider

 On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 22:19:45 +0100, "Spider"


Thanks Spider. That's what I suspected, but I'm grateful for the
confirmation.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

 

If you have very heavy/wet soil though, a mulch can be a way of growing
bulbs that would otherwise rot.  You simply put small bulbs on the soil
surface, and stick the mulch on the top.  Works very well for crocus, for
example.

I did this successfully,  (though it was not a garden that had problems
with bird or mouse attacks: in fact most of the time I was there, the bird
population was spookily low: it's weird how you notice the absence of
birdsong...)

Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--

 
Chris Hogg Wrote:


I've always heard that it doesn't matter as the bulbs pull or pus
themselves to the correct dept

--
laura