Knowing your location helps us recommend plants that will thrive in your climate, based on your Growing Zone.
Posted By American Meadows Content Team on Sep 27, 2012 · Revised on Oct 13, 2025
October 1st - December 1st
8
With long cool, wet winters and springs, followed by dry summers and falls, your region is close to perfect for many spring-flowering bulbs. This climate is about as close to the English countryside as we have in the USA.
After planting, apply slow release "bulb food" fertilizer on the top of the ground to supply nutrients for the second year's bloom. (Fall bulbs are already fully charged with energy for peak flowering performance in their first spring bloom season.) Do not put the fertilizer in the hole with the bulb's tender roots.
Please note: Modern bone meal generally has little value as a bulb fertilizer and often draws rodents and dogs that dig up the bulbs looking for bones!
After the ground cools or freezes, cover your beds with a lightweight mulch (pine needles, buckwheat hulls, straw, or chopped up leaves) 2 — 4 inches thick to help keep down weeds and maintain a consistently cool soil temperature.
Special Note: Begin to plant when the soil cools off but before the weather becomes too wet and uncomfortable, making planting a chore instead of a pleasure. Because your zone 8 looks to be warm on the USDA Hardiness Map, be sure to let mail order companies know you need your bulbs delivered before the heavy rains come. Provide a specific delivery week. Otherwise, they may send your order too late.
