AND
AND WINTER IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER, BUT SPRING IS ONLY FIVE
MONTHS AWAY, AND
NOW IS THE TIME TO
START THINKING ABOUT
PLANTING FLOWER BULBS
SO YOU'LL HAVE THOSE
BEAUTIFUL SPRING
FLOWERS TO ENJOY.
TODAY ON "YOU CAN
GROW IT", OUR
METEOROLOGIST AND
MASTER GARDENER JIM
DUTHIE SAYS NOW IS THE
PERFECT TIME TO PLANT
THOSE
THOSE BULBS BEFORE COLDER WEATHER FREEZES THE GROUND.
IT'S ALMOST THE
MIDPOINT OF FALL, AND
THE
THE DAYS
THE DAYS ARE GETTING SHORTER, AND COOLER. BUT THE GROUND ISN'T
FROZEN YET, SO IF YOU
WERE CONCERNED THAT
IT'S TOO LATE TO PLANT
FLOWER BULBS FOR NEXT
SPRING, DON'T WORRY.
IT'S STILL A GOOD TIME TO
GET THOSE HYACINTHS,
DAFFODILS AND TULIPS IN
THE GROUND.
THEY'RE ONE OF THE
WELCOME SIGNS OF
SPRING... COLORFUL
FLOWERS POPPING UP
OUT OF THE GROUND,
EVEN WHEN THERE'S STILL
A LITTLE LAYER OF SNOW.
THESE EARLY BLOOMERS
GIVE US HOPE THAT THE
GLOOMY, COLD DAYS OF
WINTER WILL SOON GIVE
WAY TO THE SUNSHINE
AND WARMER WEATHER
OF SPRING.
MOST GARDEN CENTERS,
AND EVEN SOME
GROCERY STORES, HAVE A
BIG SELECTION OF FLOWER
BULBS RIGHT NOW.
PLANTING THEM IS EASY,
BUT WITH COLDER
WEATHER AHEAD, DON'T
PUT IT OFF TOO MUCH
LONGER.
SPRING-BLOOMING
LONGER. SPRING-BLOOMING FLOWERS, LIKE DAFFODILS
AND TULIPS, HAVE SPENT
ALL SUMMER STORING UP
FOOD IN THEIR BULBS FOR
THE NEXT SEASON. THOSE
BULBS
BULBS NEED TO SLEEP FOR AWHILE IN A COLD PLACE, LIKE THE WINTER SOIL,
BEFORE THEY WAKE UP
AGAIN AND START TO
GROW WHEN THE SOIL
WARMS UP IN THE
SPRING.
WHEN YOU BUY BULBS,
LOOK FOR BIG, HEALTHY
LOOKING ONES. OFTEN,
THE LARGER THE BULB,
THE LARGER THE FLOWER
AND THE STRONGER THE
STEMS. THE FLOWERS ARE
MORE LIKELY TO HOLD UP
LONGER IN THE
CHANGEABLE SPRING
WEATHER.
IF YOU ALREADY HAVE
BULBS PLANTED IN YOUR
YARD, NOW IS A GOOD
TIME TO DIG THEM UP
AND DIVIDE THEM. THAT
WAY YOU GET MORE
BULBS WITHOUT
SPENDING MORE MONEY.
I DUG THESE UP A FEW
WEEKS AGO TO MOVE
THEM TO ANOTHER PART
OF MY GARDEN. SOME OF
THEM HAVE DOUBLED
AND CAN BE DIVIDED.
SOME GARDENERS LIKE
THE SYMMETRY OF
STRAIGHT LINE PLANTING,
BUT A MORE NATURAL
APPROACH IS SCATTERED,
OR CLUSTER PLANTING.
YOU CAN EVEN JUST TOSS
THE BULBS AROUND THE
FLOWER BED, AND THEN
PLANT THEM WHERE THEY
LAND.
BULBS WILL GROW IN
ALMOST ANY SOIL. THE
MAIN KEY IS HOW DEEP
YOU PLANT THEM. SOME
BULBS ARE BIGGER THAN
OTHERS, SO THEY NEED TO
BE PLANTED DEEPER. THE
RULE OF THUMB IS TO
PLANT THE BULBS TWICE
AS DEEP AS THE WIDTH OF
THE BULB. SO IF THE BULB
IS TWO INCHES WIDE,
PLANT THEM IN A HOLE
THAT'S FOUR INCHES
DEEP.
IF THE SOIL IS LOOSE, A
SIMPLE HAND TROWEL
WORKS JUST FINE. OR USE
ONE OF THESE BULB-
PLANTING TOOLS, WHICH
MAKES THE JOB A LITTLE
EASIER. IT'S MARKED LIKE
A RULER ON THE SIDE, TO
HELP YOU DIG A HOLE THE
RIGHT SIZE AND DEPTH
FOR THE BULB. FOR
BIGGER JOBS, USE AN
AUGER THAT ATTACHES TO
YOUR POWER DRILL.
ONCE YOU'VE DUG THE
HOLE, PLANT THE BULB
WITH THE ROOT FACING
DOWN, AND THE STEM
FACING UP, SORT OF LIKE
A GARLIC CLOVE. THEN
JUST BACK-FILL WITH DIRT.
THERE'S NO NEED TO
PACK IT DOWN.
THESE BULBS WILL
HIBERNATE IN THE COLD
GROUND UNTIL THEY GET
THE SIGNAL TO START
SENDING SHOOTS UP TO
THE SURFACE OF THE SOIL,
AS WE START HEADING
TOWARDS SPRING. NOT
LONG AFTER THAT, YOU'LL
HAVE THOSE BEAUTIFUL
BLOOMS THAT MEANS
SPRING HAS FINALLY
ARRIVED.
OH, AND BY THE WAY, IF
YOU'D LIKE A SHOWY
INDOOR
INDOOR FLOWER IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO PLANT
AMARYLLIS BULBS.
AMARYLLIS BULBS.
THE
THE AMARYLLIS IS ONE OF THE SHOWIEST FLOWERS AROUND, BLOOMING ON
A TALL STALK FROM A
SINGLE BULB. YOU CAN
BUY AMARYLLIS BULBS
NOW, EITHER LOOSE IN A
BOX, LIKE THIS, OR
ALREADY POTTED AND
READY TO GROW. THEY
DON'T NEED THE LONG
COLD PERIOD LIKE SPRING
BULBS DO.
PLANT THEM IN A POT
WITH THE TOP OF THE
BULB JUST ABOVE THE
SOIL. JUST PUT THEM IN A
WARM PLACE, KEEP THEM
WATERED, AND BY
CHRISTMAS YOU COULD
HAVE A REAL SHOW
STOPPER, IN A VARIETY OF
DIFFERENT COLORS.
IT'S HARD TO THINK
ABOUT SPRING WHEN
WE'RE JUST HALFWAY
THROUGH FALL, BUT A
LITTLE PLANNING, AND
PLANTING, NOW WILL
BRIGHTEN UP YOUR
GARDEN AFTER A LONG
COLD WINTER. AND YOU
CAN GROW IT. FOR
IDAHO'S NEWS CHANNEL
SEVEN, I'M JIM DUTHIE.
TULIPS AND DAFFODILS
ARE
ARE THE
ARE THE MOST POPULAR SPRING BULB FLOWERS, BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF
OTHERS THAT BLOOM
FROM MID-WINTER
THROUGH MID-SUMMER.
JIM HAS A LIST OF HIS
FAVORITE SPRING