LADYBUG: PLANT TULIPS NOW FOR LUSCIOUS TULIPS IN SPRING

"If you think a bulb is an ugly thing, plant it in the fall and apologize to it in the spring."

Whatever poet wrote those words got them right.

That brown, tuberous root you unceremoniously put in a hole in the ground in the fall becomes a fairy princess nodding in dazzling color in spring's breezes.

We've written about narcissus and other bulbs in earlier Ladybug columns. Today let's confine our weekly visit to bright, luscious tulips.

If you can dig a hole in the ground, you can plant tulips and expect a sunburst of color next April and May. There is a caveat, however: Be sure the holes you dig are in well drained soil. Bulbs do not like it soggy. They rot.

Where heavy clay soil is a problem, as at our new place, it must be amended with compost, sand or peat moss. If that is not practical, consider a raised bed. If you raise the bed 6 to 8 inches high you can create a good drainage area. These beds, too, warm quicker in the spring.

Don't be concerned about too much light. Deciduous trees that drop their leaves in the fall won't have grown their summer greenery when spring bulbs flower. Light will be ample.

Frans Roozen of the Netherlands Flower Bulb Center in New York City reminds us that bulbs should be planted in bunches, whether you plant 20 or 200.

"Lonely tulips, spaced far apart in rows like little soldiers, don't have much visual impact," he says. "It's far better to create 'visual bouquets' by planting in groupings of 15 or more."

Another tip we bet some of you didn't know: "The bigger the bulb, the bigger the flower." But, Roozen says, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Location and show have a lot to do with it. Put larger bulbs along walkways (in bunches, not rows) or around a lamp post or other accent point. Small bulbs create cost-effective mass plantings. They are not of lesser quality; they're simply a year or so younger.

Tulips are tricky, though. Over time -- even the second year -- they diminish in number. Sometimes those pesky and perky squirrels will dig them. We're not sure that they eat them, however. We know one friend who planted bulbs in the fall, and in the spring admired them scattered in a neighborhood's yard. Maybe they look like a hickory nut to a squirrel.

The Netherlands center urges buyers to look for the words, "Good for Naturalizing" or "Good for Perennializing" on the package. These give the most bang for your buck. Naturalizing, by the way, means the bulbs will multiply and become a permanent seasonable feature in the garden. This applies to narcissi, crocuses and grape hyacinths, among some others. Perennializing means the bulbs will come back up to three years before they start to diminish.

To judge a bulb's quality, squeeze it. Healthy Dutch bulbs should be firm, not soft. Check for deep scars or cuts and reject those.

Bulbs are planting storehouses of natural food -- all they need for their first growing season. For tulips and the other bulbs, work some composted cow manure, available at all garden centers, or sprinkle some controlled-release 9-9-6 bulb food in the hole and mix with the soil. Do not use high-nitrogen lawn fertilizers. Soak the bed well to get the roots started. It is no longer considered necessary to use bone meal.

Before you plant consider your colors. You can bunch the vivid reds, yellows, oranges and purples together, or pick soft and more subtle tones of peaches, pinks, lavenders, etc.

The Netherlands bulbs people report that America's two favorite tulips are the pale pink Angelique and soft salmon-rose colored Apricot Beauty. There are many, many others, so many you will have trouble making a decision on what is right for you.

Plant your bulbs now and glory over them in the spring.

~Mary Blue is an avid gardener and a resident of Cape Girardeau.