Limited number of historic tulips. Proper beds can help you get good results with bulbs pring bulbs are the closest thing to fail-safe flowers you can grow, flower experts says. Even beginners can expect a success rate of close to 100 percent. Unlike a seed, a bulb comes with next year's baby flower already growing inside. That's not to say that a well-prepared bed won't contribute to your success, Schad said.
Gardeners have a choice of ways to create a bulb bed.
Set the bulbs in place, cover with soil. Mulch the bed. This method, while labor-intensive, is recommended if you're planting a large quantity of bulbs, say Brian Mathew and Philip Swindells in The Complete Book of Bulbs, Corms, Tubers and Rhizomes. They contend it is both easier and quicker to dig an area to the overall depth required and plant the bulbs together, rather than dig individual holes. A more popular method, especially when bulbs go into a mixed bed of annuals and perennials, is to rototill the bed 10 to 12 inches deep and incorporate as much organic matter as you have available, Schad advised.