Now Is the Time to Stock Up on Bulbs

Bulbs begin arriving at nurseries now. The first to go in the ground should be the fall-flowering kinds, including colchicum, saffron and autumn crocus. Others you can buy while the selection is great, then plant in October or even November. Tulips and hyacinths need to be refrigerated for at least six weeks. Buy them now and put the bags in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator until December.

Plant chrysanthemums, available in 4-inch pots, for fall color. When they have finished in late November or December, plant spring colors in their places. The small-flowered bedding chrysanthemums, which come in autumnal hues, are the best bet.

If you act now, you can have bedding plants in bloom by Thanksgiving or the December holidays. Several will survive this month’s heat waves and flower well ahead of the normal spring bloom, including calendula, Iceland poppy, pansy and stock.

From the Los Angeles Times

California Garden Calendar

California Gourd Society’s second annual Gourd Fair L.A., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Arboretum of Los Angeles County, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. Fee: $5. For information, call (626) 821-3222 or visit www.cal gourd.com.

Forum on gardening without the use of chemicals, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Calabasas campus of Soka University of America, 26800 W. Muholland Highway. Free. For information, call (818) 878-3741.

Learn to enrich your perennial garden, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Fullerton Arboretum, Associated Road and Yorba Linda Boulevard. Fee: $7. For information, call (714) 278-3579.

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