Evening star., 1946-10-06
Gardening in the Capital Area
Daffodils Must Be Planted Now
For Effective Spring Showing
By w. n. Younomon

Washington gardeners lean rather
heavily on the early. spring flower
ing bulbs for several reasons. First,
most kinds seem to do well under
local conditions. Second, they are
very dependable in providing a
grand show of color. Third, most
bulbs require little in the way OF
protection from insects and dis
eases. When clean healthy bulbs
are purchased and properly planted
they will continue to be healthy for
many years. Several smaller -fiow-
cred, early bulbs produce blooms
before many Of the shrubs.
Daffodils have been the first
choice of Washington area gar
deners because of their relative
permanence, vigor and prolific
growth. A single, choice daffodil
bulb will, In few years, grow into
half dozen or more clulmps, pro-
ducing numerous flowers. Daffodils,
because of their root growth in
the fall, should be planted as early
as possible, preferably in Septem-
Der. However, they will still make
an excellent showing the next
spring when planted as late as the
middle of October.
It is we'll to remove the soil to
a depth of inches. A liberal layer
of bone meal and compost is then
spread on the bottom Of the bed
or trench, to be forked into the soil.
The bulbs can then be placed and
the topsoil spread over them.
Larger daffiodil bulbs should be
planted at a depth OF 6 to inches
and smaller ones from to 6 inches.
One advantage of deep planting
commonly overlooked Is that the
bed can be used for ANNALS during
the summer after the daffodil
foliage has matured. Another ad-
vantage is that deeply planted bulbs
tend to multiply more slowly,
whereas shallow planted bulbs in
crease rapidly and must be dug
and reset at shorter periods.
Allow Plenty of Space.
Space the bulbs 10 to IL inches
apart. This seems rather sparse
the first season, but within year
or two they will have multiplied
sufficiently to produce a mass ef-
feet. If planted more closely they
will soon exhaust the soil and
bloom will be, scattered and small.
Tulips may be planted much later
than the daffodils. They will do
fairly we'll, even when planted as
late as the middle of December.
Most gardeners prefer to plant
them late in october, after frosts
have killed the ANIMALS. Deep
preparation of the bed is just as
important for tulips as for daffodils.
However, the daffodils need slower
acting plant foods, which will last
for several years. Tulips should be
lifted each spring after the foliage
has matured as a protection against
rotting. They need less plant food
at planting time.
Deep planting is even more i'm
portant for tulip bulbs than for
daffodils, as they divide (multiply)
each season. Shallow planting or
excess nitrogenous plant food en-
courages division which means
smaller flowers on shorter stems
from smaller bulbs the next spring.
Our climate is too hot for good
growth, thus the gardener is in
terested in buying as large bulbs
as possible and keeping them from
subdividing through deep planting.
Avoid fertilizers with more than
per cent nitrogen content.
The third most important of the
early spring-fiowering bulbs is the
crocus, the snowy flower which al
ways seems to announce the arrival
Of spring. Whether we put the
crocus in the flower borders or in
the lawn, a sufficient number of
bulbs should be planted to give q
mass effect. This means two or
three dozen should be planted to-
gether. They multiply surprisingly
fast so that what seems sparse
showing the first spring will, in most