What should I look for when buying fall planting bulbs?

Step right up to bins and shelves full of Dutch imported flowering wonder, it’s time to choose gorgeous spring blooms. If you wish to make the most of your buying choices, check out these top tips for finding the best flower bulbs.

September kicks off many things for gardeners, but fall planted bulbs is at the top the list. Here is a quick rundown of things to look for to get the best bulbs for your money.

1. Bulb Firmness - Look for bulbs that are firm.  Bulbs that are mushy usually have not been kept in a cool dry place and will rot, and therefore, not flower.  
2. Bulb Sizing- As a consumer it is important to understand bulb sizing. While bigger is not necessarily better, it is important to understand what is and what is not a consumer value. Size is very important, but so is “weightiness”. Especially when looking for some bargains late in the season, the bulbs should not feel light for their size. Storage in heated stores may mean they have lost moisture and are not as healthy. Pick the heaviest ones.
   • For example, top size tulip bulbs have a circumference of 12 centimeters or more. If you are trying to showcase a set of 10 tulips in your yard, look for top size bulbs.
   • If you would like to plant a large bed of tulips for cut flowers or just to display a carpet of spring color, smaller tulips with a minimum circumference of 10 centimeters are perfectly acceptable. The bigger the bulb, the more blooms you get and the larger they will be.  Bulbs will grow larger in the ground after blooming.
3. More is Better - Think big in numbers. This is a case where more is better. A group of twenty to thirty tulips, all the same, in a group has more impact than three times the number spread all over the yard in bitty touches. In the case of daffodils or minor bulbs which have naturalizing capabilities, if you have patience you can divide and multiply. As wonderful as that is, we recommend buying bigger amounts at the outset. It is more satisfying those first couple of Spring seasons.
4. To Plant in Shady Spots - Give shady spots consideration, especially if they have light in the spring before the deciduous plants leaf out. Eranthis, English Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), Wood Hyacinths (Hyacinthoides hispanica), and Wildflower bulbs like Trout lily.
5. Pay Attention to Features - Knowing that deer, squirrels and mice eat bulbs as a main course meal, take steps to repel them by planting bulbs that are repellent to critters. Buy bulbs that are deer and rodent resistant to plant alone or around those they snack on. 
6. Understand the Planting Times for your Zone - For many reasons, it is a good idea to go out and buy your bulbs at the beginning of the planting season for your hardiness zone. (This tip goes double when ordering from a catalog). Better bulbs, greater selections, and the best weather for planting.