How to Grow Bulbs on a Budget

How to Grow Bulbs on a Budget Gorgeous spring blooms are a worthy investment, and here are tips on how to grow bulbs while making the most of your budget and time. Enjoy a colorful spring garden with flowering bulbs — even on a budget!

Bulbs are a great way to get lots of beautiful spring blooms. But for the big colorful show that most of us dream of, it takes a lot of bulbs. A big investment of time and money deserves dramatic impact and the knowledge that you won’t have to redo all of it every year!

Flowerbulbs.com horticulturist Peggy Anne Montgomery is a bulb aficionado (she even lived in the Netherlands for several years) and has some tips to ensure you’re doing all you can to maximize your investments.

Many spring-blooming bulbs are Mediterranean natives so they do best with plenty of sun while they’re blooming and a long, dry summer dormancy. One big reason bulbs don’t return, even though they’re cold hardy, is that they rot from too much moisture. Here are some ways to prevent that:

Whether a slope is steep or gentle, water usually drains better there than on flat ground, so it’s the perfect spot to keep bulbs from getting waterlogged and rotting.

Once established, woody plants don’t need a lot of extra water, making them good bulb companions. Besides that, deciduous trees and shrubs often leaf out later, so allow plenty of sunlight to reach the bulbs while they’re growing.

In a perennial border, choose drought-tolerant companions, such as anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) and coreopsis (Coreopsis grandiflora). That way you can mostly leave the entire border alone in the summer instead of watering annuals and