Nature's Guide P.O. Box 471549 Fort Worth, Texas 76147

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The Nature's Guide Way for Fall Bulbs

No flowers create a more spectacular display than traditional Dutch bulbs like tulips, daffodils, and fragrant hyacinths. It’s like having a fireworks display in your landscape that can last for several weeks. Most of Texas has relatively warm winters that can play havoc with the internal biological clock of many of these bulbs, especially tulips.

Following these simple steps can assure success in almost any part of Texas.

1. Buy your bulbs in October or early November while there is still a good selection.

2. Like bedding plants bulbs make a better display when planted in clumps or masses. A dozen or so bulbs will look better planted in a small area than strung out over a large area. Tulips should be planted no more than two or three inches apart for best results.

3. After purchase, bulbs should be placed in paper bags or perforated plastic for air circulation. Keep them in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks to ensure proper chilling and avoid moisture. This can present a problem with space but it’s worth it. Make a calendar notation somewhere so you don’t forget them.

4. Daffodils do not normally require refrigeration. They can be planted anytime after the first frost. Schedule tulip and hyacinth planting for the first practical time after Christmas.

5. Prepare soil to ensure good drainage. In clay soils work in a quantity of Nature’s Guide Expanded Shale, Shale and Compost, Lava Sand or Texas Green Sand. The result should be loose and relatively easy to work.

6. Before planting soak the bulbs in a solution of 2 oz. of Nature’s Guide Root Stimulator and cool water. Allow the bulbs to soak for an hour or so. Bulbs, by their very nature, already contain the nutrition they need for flowering. The natural biostimulants in Nature’s Guide Root Stimulator will encourage healthy root growth and development.

7. Mix a combination of one teaspoon of Nature’s Guide Natural Blood Meal and one teaspoon of Nature’s Guide Natural Rock Phosphate with the soil at the bottom of each hole. This will encourage the bulbs to regenerate and prepare to bloom again the next year. Tulips will seldom return especially when subjected to very hot summer weather. Daffodils and hyacinths can often return for years. Smaller flowering daffodils will “naturalize” and become perennial.