Forgot to Plant Flower Bulbs Last Fall? Here’s How to Still Enjoy Beautiful Spring Blooms!

The best time to plant spring flowering bulbs is in fall, about 6 weeks before the first frost. Any time between September and December is ideal if the ground is not frozen. But sometimes life happens, things get busy and it’s easy to forget about the boxes of bulbs sitting happily in your garage. Never fear! These resilient little bulbs can still be persuaded to bloom. Plant them in late winter, early spring and enjoy a later show of blooms.

Health Check

Before planting, make sure the bulbs are still firm and plump. They should feel solid with no signs of mushiness or rotting. Storing for a period may cause the bulbs to dry out. This is why we recommend planting them immediately despite having missed the planting window. If stored until next autumn, they will most likely dry out and be unusable. If the bulbs are still healthy, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and muscari can all be salvaged if planted right away.

Potting Up

Find pots for your forgotten bulbs and plant them right away. Store the pots in a dark, cool place for the remainder of winter and early spring until shoots appear. A shed or garage would be ideal. This will create the period of dormancy that the bulbs need to bloom. Your bulbs will need approximately 12-15 weeks at 2 degrees Celsius to 7 degrees Celsius. Once you see leaves and stems appearing you can move the pots to a sunny spot in the garden. If you’d prefer to plant them in the garden directly, transfer the bulbs from pots to beds.

Last Chance

If you don’t have access to a cool, dark spot to mimic winter for your forgotten bulbs, you may plant them in your garden once the soil is workable. They will not bloom this spring, but you may notice some green shoots popping up from your delayed plantings. Expect to see blooms the following spring. Life finds a way!

Other Opportunities for Spring Colour!

Create Outdoor Planters with Potted (Forced) Bulbs

Visit your local garden center and pick out your favourites! You can pick tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, muscari or iris! These bulbs have been grown in greenhouses and forced to bloom earlier than their normal blooming time. Select a container that will be large enough to make an impact – likely between 50-60cm (20-24”) in diameter. After planting, make sure to water them well. Usually during the early weeks of spring, you won’t need to water them very much. But if the soil is dry, go ahead and give them some water. For more information on this process plus examples of spring planter templates, visit our blog on creating outdoor planters.

Indoor Spring Blooming Beauty

Did you know that potted (forced) bulbs will bloom inside as well? Once you’ve purchased your favourites from your local garden center, you can place forced tulips, daffodils, hyacinths or muscari bulbs in an area with indirect sunlight. The warmth of inside temperatures and sunlight will trick the bulbs into believing that spring has sprung and will tell the bulb to start sending shoots up.

Kokedama Hyacinth Bulbs

One of our favourite ways to incorporate spring beauty into an indoor space is by way of the traditional Japanese art of Kokedama. Also known as “moss ball”, it is the process of wrapping the roots of a plant in a ball of soil and moss creating a living sculpture that can exist outside of a pot.

It’s an easy and creative way to decorate your home or outside space with beautiful blooms.

• Remove your potted hyacinth bulb from its container and remove the soil from the roots
• Take a scoop of soil that is clay based or bonsai soil and spray with water until the compound can adhere to the bulb.
• Use sheet moss to cover the soil ball around the bulb. Ensure all surfaces are covered
• Use twine, fishing line or flexible twigs to secure the moss by wrapping around the bulb as many times as needed.
• Spritz the moss ball with water.
• If desired, leave a loop of twine for hanging.

You can use hyacinth bulbs, narcissus bulbs, or tulip bulbs for this process. You can even take your favourite potted indoor plant and create a moss ball from its root structure. The possibilities are endless!

If you forgot to plant your fall bulbs last autumn, don’t worry — it’s not too late to enjoy their beauty! You can still put those bulbs to good use by forcing them indoors in pots for a burst of spring color. Not sure you want to go through the effort of forcing yourself? Visit your local garden center and ask for potted bulbs that can be used in a variety of ways indoors and outdoors. Embracing these “late planted bloomers” is a perfect reminder that nature has a way of working with us, even when we miss a step.