Michigan Gardener

SIGN UP for our Free E-Newsletter!
We will send you occasional e-mails with valuable gardening tips and information!

Digital Edition

Click cover to read now!
This issue sponsored by:

  • Home
  • Departments
    • Ask MG
    • Books
    • Clippings
    • Garden Snapshots
    • MG in the News
    • Janet’s Journal
    • Plant Focus
    • Profile
    • Raising Roses
    • Thyme for Herbs
    • Tools
    • Tree Tips
  • Garden Event Calendar
    • Garden Event Calendar
    • Submit a Calendar Listing
  • Resources
    • Alternatives to Impatiens
    • Garden Help
    • Soil and Mulch Calculator
    • Public Gardens
  • Web Extras
  • About
    • About Us
    • 2022 Publishing Schedule
    • Editorial Content
    • Bulk Subscriptions
    • Where to pick up Michigan Gardener
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Advertising
    • Print / Web / E-Newsletter Advertising
    • Classified Advertising
    • Material Specs & Terms
    • Make a Payment
Home Ask MG Moving spring flowering bulbs

Moving spring flowering bulbs

April 14, 2009   •   

I want to move and replant many spring-flowering bulbs (daffodils, tulips, and alliums). It seems like a waste to throw them out because they are only 1 year old and looked great last spring. When is the best time to transplant? Any tips on digging the bulbs up without slicing through them?

Moving spring-flowering bulbs can be done anytime after the foliage has died down, following flowering in the spring. It is important to allow this to occur because the foliage is helping to rebuild the stored food reserves used during the flowering process.

Not all spring-flowering bulbs reflower dependably year after year. Many tulips, for example, do not have enough time to replenish themselves before the warmer weather moves in and dries the foliage. As a result, most tulips flower great the first year, not so great the second year, and often not at all the third.

Bulbs that flower earlier or are better able to withstand warmer temperatures are more likely to reflower year after year. Daffodils and alliums fall into this group.

If you move the bulbs when the foliage has dried, but before it detached from the bulb, you can more clearly see where the bulbs are located. Using a spading fork will make it less likely that you will slice the bulb, but there are no guarantees you will not stab an occasional bulb.

Filed Under: Ask MG

Previous Post: Keeping weeds out of natural paths
Next Post: Using multiple fertilizers
Copyright © 1996-2023 Michigan Gardener. All rights reserved.