IT’S not too late to get those spring flowering bulbs into the gardens and pots.

Autumn is the time to ideally plant them giving them the colder months to germinate, sprout and ready for blooming in spring.

Daffodils, freesias, tulips, anemones and blue bells are all classed as spring flowering bulbs, but the best time to plant them is actually in autumn.

The hibernating bulbs will happily go into the cooler soil of autumn and winter and then sprout up to put on a great show in spring before dying back and hiding beneath the ground again in the warmer months.

Great for cut flowers, they require little care and are pretty easy to grow.

If you live in the cool or temperate zones of Australia, such as the Mansfield district, bulbs will do well coming up year after year.

When to plant?

Even though bulbs start appearing in stores from March onwards, it really is not a good time to be planting.

If you are in a cool climate zone, plant in April or later.

Do they need special soil?

Bulbs do like a good free draining soil otherwise they tend to rot when they are in their dormant stage.

If your yard is all clay, try building up the soil in mounds or grow bulbs in terracotta or concrete pots.

Don’t use black plastic as the bulbs close to the edge will overheat and fail to flower.

They do love soil that has good organic matter so adding compost when you plant will make them happy.