Your planting site should be sunny and well drained. The information on the bulb packages will provide planting depth and spacing for your particular bulb selections. Dig two to three inches below the planting depth since loosening the soil will encourage good root development.
Wait to plant until the weather is consistently cool, but before the ground has frozen. And remember: pointy end up. Lightly dust some bulb food over the surface, as a top dressing, after you finish planting. Top dressing will avoid the possibility of root burn. After the ground freezes completely, cover the planting area with about two inches of mulch to retain moisture and keep the ground frozen during periods of warmer weather. Straw or leaves will work just fine.
When spring arrives, remove the mulch as soon as the flower shoots emerge. Top dress with another application of bulb food.
Once the blooms are spent, dead head the flowers but leave the foliage to die back naturally. It’s a good idea to apply bulb fertilizer again to help nourish the bulb. Remove the foliage only after it has died back naturally. (Cutting the blooms before they die will weaken the bulb for nest year’s blooms.)
Here are some other choices for naturalizing bulbs: Galanthus, Anemone blanda, Crocus, Muscari, Scilla, Camassia, Allium sphaerocephalon, Rockgarden Iris, Puschkinia libanotica, Hyacinth-oides, Ipheion uniflorum, Eranthis hyemalis, Geranium tuberosum, Oxalis adenophylla, Leucojum, Fritillaria meleagris, Ixiolirion pallasii, Chionodoxa, Ornithogalum, and lilies.
Rock your bloomers this season.
