Catch the Fever In Fall

Knowing that some tulips don't rebloom very well, Jerold removes about half his bulbs every fall with a spading fork, then adds compost, straw, manure and leaves as he turns the soil.

After planting bulbs, he mulches with straw and wood chips.

Because you'll want more bulbs than you realize, don't be intimidated by the thought of planting 100 or more, Jerold says. Spread the work over several days. "Just do 25 in the morning, 25 in the evening, and soon it's all done."

Try planting odd numbers of bulbs in eye-pleasing clumps of five, nine or 15, and avoid placing tulips in a straight row, marching like lonely soldiers.

As you're planting, apply a slow-release balanced fertilizer on top of a mulched bed--not beside the bulb itself (fertilizer can burn the bulb). Water well in the fall to get the roots growing.

In spring, don't remove dying tulip foliage until it's completely dead and brown. The bulb needs it to gather strength for the next year. To hide scraggly foliage, Jerold often plants other emerging perennials such as daylilies, or shrubs such as gold leaf spirea and barberry.

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