• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Harlequins Gardens

Harlequins Gardens

Boulder's specialist in well-adapted plants

We are closed for the season, and will reopen in March 2023!

Gift Memberships & Gift Certificates  – available online!
See our seasonal hours and address, below.

Read our latest e-newsletter!

 

FacebookPinterestInstagram
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Staff
    • Display Gardens
    • Why the Name “Harlequin’s” Gardens?
    • Sustainability
    • Policy on Pesticides Including Neonicotinoids
    • Careers
  • What We Offer
    • Products
    • Plants
    • Gift Certificates
    • Membership
  • Plants
    • Annuals
    • Bulbs
    • Fruits
    • Groundcovers
    • Herbs
    • Natives
    • Ornamental Grasses
    • Perennials
      • Plants for Pollinators List
    • Roses
    • Vegetables
      • Tomato Starts
      • Pepper Starts
      • Other Vegetable Starts
      • Fall Vegetable Starts
      • Garlic
    • Xeriscape
  • Resources
    • Mikl’s Articles
    • Handouts
    • Newsletters
    • Links
  • Garden Tours
    • Virtual Garden Tours
    • Submit Your Garden!
  • Events
  • Classes
  • Blog
  • Wholesale
    • Wholesale Mailing List Sign Up
    • Who Qualifies
    • Wholesale Availability
  • Contact
Home | Blog | Bulbs

Bulbs

! POP-UP BULB SALE at Harlequin’s Gardens !

Friday through Sunday,
October 28, 29, & 30
9am to 5pm

 

We are thrilled to announce that a little miracle has occurred, thanks to our amazing network of friends in the community!

For 3 days, Artemis Flower Farm, located just outside Boulder, will be setting up a tent here, selling high-quality bulbs that their Dutch family imports directly from Holland. Happily, you will notice that there is some overlap with the list of bulbs we had intended to bring in!

We look forward to seeing lots of our customers come out to buy beautiful hardy bulbs and support both Artemis Flower Farm and Harlequin’s Gardens!

And you can still shop our fantastic Holiday Gift Market at the same time!

Here is a list of varieties they will offer:  [Read More]

2022 Bulbs Aren’t Coming

Regrettably, we need to let you know that we have had to cancel our 2022 bulb order. We spoke with the company’s shipping director yesterday and she informed us that the containers were still on the ship and had not yet even been placed on the trucks that would take them to distribution centers. When asked if there was any chance our order would reach us by the end of this week, she said ‘No’. With so few days left to sell our large order of bulbs before we close for the season at 5:00 pm on Sunday, October 30th, it no longer makes sense to bring them in. [Read More]

Declining Daffodils

Have you noticed that your daffodils and narcissus have been struggling and lost their vigor?  Here are several possible reasons why and ways to address reviving them.

FERTILIZER ISSUES

As with perennials, many flowering bulbs do best with fertilizing when planted, as their leaves emerge, and as they bloom, with a slow-release organic fertilizer such as Root Rally, from Age Old. [Read More]

Allium Fluffy Dreams

Allium ‘Fluffy Dreams’
A mix of violet-pink Allium carolinianum ‘Rosy Dream’ and its white-flowered counterpart, both featuring a 3” diameter spherical inflorescence atop 14 to 16” stems. The flower clusters are fluffy-looking because the stamens of each floret extend out beyond the petals. Blooming in late spring, they fill a flower void created by spring-blooming bulbs and summer-opening perennials. Attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Deer and rodent resistant. Plant in full sun, 4” deep and 4” apart. Cold-hardy to Zone 4.

EREMURUS isabellinus ‘Pinokkio’

Description coming soon!

Ready, Set, Plant!

What a storm we had last week!  With the windy conditions and record-setting low temps, everyone’s gardens looks very different this week and may need some attention.  If you haven’t already, this is a good time to review our blog about garden cleanup. The good news is that soil temperatures have cooled down to the optimal soil temperature for bulb planting, ~50 degrees.  And, our current mild daytime temps and above-freezing nighttime temps are ideal for planting perennials, and still good for planting roses, shrubs and trees. Inoculating with mycorrhizae and attention to fall and winter watering are the keys to success.

Bulb Planting and Tulipa ‘Paul Scherer’

Starting with bulb planting:  Recommended planting depths are to the bottom of the planting hole where the base of the bulb rests.  Planting depth can vary depending on how light or heavy your soil is – plant deeper in light soils, shallower in heavier soils.  (If you’re in doubt, a general rule is that planting depth is 3 times the height of the bulb.) 

You don’t have to dig a single hole for each bulb!  You can dig a large hole, say 8-14″ wide by 16-24″ long, to accommodate a large grouping, or swath of bulbs.  This is a great way to save time, to create a more naturalized look, and to combine two or three types of bulbs in one grouping. 

Single Early, Triumph, Darwin Hybrid, and Multi-flowering tulips should be planted 8″ deep to perform as perennials, and fertilized each year just after bloom. Be sure to allow the leaves and stems to wither naturally before cutting them down.

You may want to sprinkle bone meal in the bottom of the hole so that it can touch the bulb roots.  We love Root Rally, which is a blend of bone meal and Endo/Ecto mycorrhizae spores and plant nutrients, providing mycorrhizae life support for all plants.  (See more on mycorrhizae, below.)  Refill the hole and water well. 

See Eve’s ideas for ways and places to use bulbs that you may not have thought of!

Peruse our complete list of 2019 bulbs and individual images and descriptions 

Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’

Planting perennials, roses, shrubs and trees:  The fall is a great time to plant perennials, roses and shrubs as they can focus solely on root growth instead of trying to reproduce.  After gently removing its pot, gently swish the root ball in a bucket of unchlorinated water with water-soluble mycorrhizae  (let the water sit overnight to release chlorine and add the mycorrhizae later).   Mycorrhizae is a beneficial fungi that attaches to roots, allowing them to better absorb water and nutrients.  This results in faster plant and root growth, and better transplanting success.  If you only have granular mycorrhizae on-hand, sprinkle it on the roots as you are planting.  Read more about mycorrhizae in Mikl’s article, “Mycorrhizae: The Hidden Marriage of Plants and Fungi”.

By gently swishing the root ball in water, the root mass will loose its pot-shape and individual roots will be lengthened.  This allows the ends of the roots to be planted deeper, helping to ensure long-term drought hardiness. 

After late-season planting, be sure to (hand) water deeply and frequently, at least twice a month for woody plants, throughout the winter. 

For specific info on rose planting, see Eve’s rose planting instructions.

Zauschneria garrettii ‘Orange Carpet’

Finally, a quick additional word on garden clean-up.  Some of our Southwestern plants should not yet be cut-back.  Wait until April to do so, which will give them additional time to gather and store nutrients, and keep the crowns of the plants from getting too cold. These plants include, but aren’t limited to, Agastache, Salvia  (S. lemmonii ‘Desert Rose’, S. reptans, S. x microphyllus ‘Royal Ruby’, S. greggii ‘Furman’s Red’, S. darcyi), Zauschneria (Hummingbird Trumpet), Scrophularia macrantha (Red Birds in a Tree), Scutellaria suffrutescens (Cherry Skullcap), Gaura lindheimeri.

Narcissus ‘Princess Zaide’ Small-Cup Tall Daffodil

This elegant Narcissus has broad white overlapping petals and a small white cup. Grows 16–20″ tall and blooms mid to Late Spring. Deer and Rabbit-resistant! Hardy to zone 3.

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

In This Section

  • Blog
    • Bees, Pollinators, and Beneficial Insects
    • Bulbs
    • Eve’s Insights
    • Fruit and Food
    • Groundcovers
    • Herbs
    • Holiday Gift Market
    • Native Plants
    • Ornamental Grasses
    • Perennials
    • Pest Management
    • Plant and Soil Health / Disease
    • Plants
    • Products
    • Pruning
    • Roses
    • Shrubs
    • Soils
    • Sustainability
    • Trees
    • Vegetables
    • Xeriscape

Sign-up for E-Newsletters!

Sign-up for our weekly e-newsletters to receive empowering gardening tips, ecological insights, and to keep up on happenings at Harlequin’s Gardens — such as flash sales and “just in” plants. We never share customer’s addresses!

We do not ship plants!

Our plants are for sale ONLY at our Boulder location. We DO NOT ship plants. Come visit us!

Hours by Season

MARCH HOURS
Thursday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

APRIL-OCTOBER HOURS
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

Mondays, CLOSED

Footer

Contact Us

303-939-9403 (Retail)
staff@nullharlequinsgardens.com

4795 North 26th St
Boulder, CO 80301

Sign-up for E-Newsletters!

Sign-up for our weekly e-newsletters to receive empowering gardening tips, ecological insights, and to keep up on happenings at Harlequin’s Gardens — such as flash sales and “just in” plants. We never share customer’s addresses!

Map

Our Hours

Seasonally, MARCH to OCTOBER.
MARCH HOURS:
Thursday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

APRIL-OCTOBER HOURS:
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

Mondays, CLOSED

The plants we grow are organically grown. All the plants we sell are free of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides.