Autumn bulbs in Estonia: what to plant from September to November

Planting bulbs in autumn is the most reliable job in the garden: the flower is already inside the bulb, and all you have to do is get the timing and the depth right. Below are the dates for Estonian conditions and the order in which bulbs go into the ground.

When to plant

The general window runs from September to early November. Go by the soil rather than the calendar: plant once soil temperature drops below +10 °C. A bulb needs roughly 2–3 weeks before hard frost to grow roots — make that, and it will winter well.

Order by crop:

• Narcissi — first, from late August to early September. They need soil that is still warm to root, and they stay in one place the longest.
• Tulips and hyacinths — September to November. They prefer to root in cool soil, +5 to +9 °C. Planted too early they may start into growth in autumn.
• Crocuses, chionodoxa, muscari and other small bulbs — all through September and October; timing is not critical.
• Alliums and fritillaries — September to October, with the tulips.
• Overwintering garlic — same timing as tulips: 2–3 weeks before frost.

The three-bulb rule

Depth is measured from the bulb, not in fixed centimetres: the soil above it should equal three times the bulb’s own height. In practice:

• Large bulbs (tulips, narcissi, hyacinths) — 10–15 cm deep, 10–15 cm apart
• Small bulbs (crocuses, snowdrops, chionodoxa) — 5–7 cm deep, about 5 cm apart

Go slightly deeper on light sandy soil and slightly shallower on heavy clay. Planting too shallow is the main reason tulips freeze out or shrink in their second year.

Soil and drainage

Bulbs will not tolerate standing water: in wet ground they rot rather than freeze. The soil has to be crumbly, fertile and free-draining. On heavy ground add sand and a loose growing medium to the hole; on genuinely wet sites, build a raised bed.

Never put fresh manure under bulbs — it causes rot. A phosphorus- and potassium-rich autumn feed is right: phosphorus for the roots, potassium for winter hardiness.

A five-minute routine

1. Dig the bed over a spade’s depth and pull out perennial weed roots
2. Apply autumn fertiliser at the rate on the pack and work it in
3. Make holes at the right depth, bulb base down, without pressing them into the soil
4. Backfill, firm lightly, water if the soil is dry
5. After the first frosts, mulch the planting — that protects against temperature swings, not against cold

Common mistakes

• Tulips planted in August. In a warm autumn they start growing and get frosted.
• Planted too shallow. The bulb ends up in the freeze-and-thaw zone.
• Voles forgotten. Tulips and crocuses are a favourite food; narcissi and fritillaries are left alone. Where voles are a problem, plant in baskets or alternate with narcissi.
• Watered and left in wet soil. Water only if the ground is dry.

Bulbs and what you need for planting

Overwintering garlic is in the same section — bulbs: Germidour and Messidrome go into the ground at the same time as tulips.