A relay of blooms: 9 bulbs to plant right now

Bulbs flower in turn, and with the right selection a bed stays in bloom from April to July: crocuses and glory-of-the-snow straight after the snow, then a daffodil, three tulips one after another, the crown imperial and finally the round heads of ornamental onions. All of them go in now, in October, before the ground freezes: a bulb needs a few weeks to put down roots before the frost.

The flowering order

In Estonia the exact dates shift by a week or two depending on the spring, but the order stays the same.

• Crocus ‘Blue Ocean’ — April, as soon as the snow melts. An early crocus about 10 cm tall, violet-blue with orange stigmas, that spreads by itself over the years.
• Glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa luciliae) — April, with the crocuses or just after. Blue stars with a white centre, 10–15 cm; it spreads by offsets and seed.
• Daffodil ‘Carlton’ — late April and May. Large-cupped, yellow all over, about 40 cm.
• Tulip ‘Sunny Prince’ — May, the first of the tulips. A single early tulip, soft yellow and short, about 35 cm.
• Tulip ‘Mystic van Eijk’ — May, right after. A Darwin hybrid with a pale pink cup on a 40–60 cm stem.
• Tulip ‘Purple Doll’ — late May. Lily-flowered, violet-purple, with pointed petals, about 40 cm.
• Crown imperial ‘Lutea’ — May, alongside the tulips. A plant about a metre tall with a ring of yellow bells under a tuft of leaves.
• Allium ‘Gladiator’ — June. Violet globes up to 15 cm across on stems of about a metre.
• Giant onion (Allium giganteum) — June and early July. The tallest of the set at 1.5 m or more, with a lilac-pink head of 12–15 cm. It closes the relay.

How to arrange them: short crocuses and glory-of-the-snow at the front, tulips and daffodils in the middle, crown imperials and alliums at the back. Allium leaves start to yellow while the plant is still in flower, and perennials in front hide that nicely.

When to plant in Estonia

You can plant as long as the ground is not frozen. Here it usually freezes in November, later in a mild autumn, but there is no point waiting for the last day: the bulb has to root while the soil is still warm.

• Daffodils and crown imperials first. Daffodils need longer to root, and crown imperial bulbs store badly out of the ground and dry out. If they are not in yet, plant them in early October, before everything else.
• Crocuses, glory-of-the-snow and alliums — during October.
• Tulips root in cool soil, around +5…+9 °C, so they can go in last — in October and November.

A practical rule: as long as a spade still goes into the ground, you can plant. But a bulb planted in mid-October gets further than one that waited on the porch until December.

Depth: three times the bulb’s height

The working rule is to dig the hole about three times as deep as the bulb is tall. A 5 cm bulb sits at the bottom of a 15 cm hole, roots down. Leave at least two bulb widths between bulbs.

• Crocus, glory-of-the-snow — 7–8 cm deep, 5 cm apart
• Daffodil ‘Carlton’ — about 15 cm deep, 10–15 cm apart
• Tulips — 15 cm, up to 20 cm in light sandy soil; 10–15 cm apart
• Alliums ‘Gladiator’ and giganteum — 15–20 cm deep, 25–30 cm apart
• Crown imperial is the exception: about 30 cm deep and the same distance apart

Planting too shallow is the most common reason tulips get smaller every year and a crown imperial flowers once and then produces only leaves. The crown imperial bulb has a hollow on top where water can collect, so it is often set slightly on its side with a handful of sand underneath.

What mice and voles leave alone

Tulips are what mice and voles eat most readily. In Cornell University trials rodents were offered around 30 kinds of bulbs: tulips were the favourite, and crocuses were eaten too when food was short. Daffodils, glory-of-the-snow and crown imperials were left alone: daffodil bulbs are poisonous and crown imperials have a strong smell. Ornamental onions are usually of little interest, but in a hungry winter they get nibbled as well.

What to do if your garden has mice:

• Plant tulips among daffodils — in a ring around them or mixed in the same group
• Put crocuses and tulips in a bulb basket or in a hole lined with fine metal mesh
• Don’t mulch too early — loose mulch on warm soil gives voles shelter; cover the bed once the surface has frozen

Tulip or daffodil

Tulips look their best in the first spring. Most varieties flower less well in the second and third year, which is why people add new ones every autumn; Darwin hybrids such as ‘Mystic van Eijk’ last longer than most. Daffodils are the opposite: they stay in one place for years, the clump gets wider every year and mice don’t touch them. It makes sense to plant both.

Planting in one evening

1. Choose a sunny spot where water does not stand after rain
2. Dig the soil over to a spade’s depth and add sand to heavy clay
3. Dig one wide hole for a group or separate holes at the right depth
4. Set the bulbs roots down, without pushing them into the soil
5. Cover, firm lightly and put in a label with the variety name
6. Water only if the soil is dry

What not to do

• Don’t plant shallow. The bulb ends up where temperatures swing the most, gets smaller and stops flowering.
• Don’t plant into a hole full of water. If water stands in the hole after rain, the spot is wrong for bulbs: they rot in wet soil. Pick higher ground or make a raised bed.
• Don’t skip the labels. In spring you won’t know which variety is where, and when digging in autumn it is easy to slice through bulbs you had forgotten about.
• Don’t wait until December. Tulips survive late planting but flower less well, and daffodils and crown imperials need time to root.
• Don’t buy three. Three tulips get lost in a bed. A group starts to show from about twenty bulbs, and crocuses and glory-of-the-snow are bought in larger numbers still and scattered.

Frequently asked questions

How late can you plant bulbs in Estonia?

Until the ground freezes, usually into November. Daffodils and crown imperials are best planted in early October; tulips can go in last.

How deep should tulips be planted?

About 15 cm to the base of the bulb, which is three times its height, and up to 20 cm in light soil.

Which bulbs do mice not eat?

Daffodils, glory-of-the-snow and crown imperials. Tulips are their favourite food, and crocuses often suffer too.

Why did my crown imperial flower once and never again?

Most often it was planted too shallow or in a wet spot. It needs a depth of about 30 cm and soil where water does not stand.

When can I cut the leaves after flowering?

Once they have turned yellow on their own, about six weeks after flowering. While the leaves are green, they build up the bulb’s reserves for next year.

From our catalogue

All bulbs for autumn planting are in the bulbs section; a marker for labels and other planting supplies are in planting supplies.