We decided to make flower beds this year. I have had success with Gladioli over the past two years (in my garden) so I decided to concentrate mostly on bulbs in my beds. Having spent enough money on soil, compost, peat, fertilizer, Myke and garden tools, I bought a bunch of bulbs from Walmart.

Without knowing enough (I realize now) about bulbs, I planted them ALL! My Glads are fine and I had a few Grape Hyacinths from last year come up and flower (one that I had forgotten in the garden to my surprise) but none of the other bulbs that I planted are showing any signs of life.

What should I do? The bulbs, corms and rhizomes I planted are : Lily of the Valley, Mixed Dutch Irises, Mixed Freesia, Stargazer Lilies, Mixed Platycodons, Calla Lilies, Mixed Lilies, and Mixed Hostas. Some of these bulbs were sprouted in the packs, some not. I also planted a Hydrangea bush, that had leaves in the beginning but they seem to have fallen off, and no sign of new ones. They have been mostly planted for about 3 weeks now. Should I be patient and leave them in the beds or pull them up and replant in September? Will leaving them in the beds all summer rot the bulbs?

Which of these bulbs should be planted in the fall and left to winter? I now know that Grape Hyacinths should stay in the ground, that's why they didn't flower the first year. I already know to dig up my Glads and bring them in.

I would be looking for some pretty specific instructions for each type of bulb. I want to get this right. I can fill in the spots (if I dig them up) with other flower seeds and vegetable plants.

Thanks for any help, I guess I'm desparate at this point.