I have a handy little bulb digger tool and I just make the hole and drop them in. I fill the hole with the dirt that came out of the hole, I don't use any special soil. I don't feed them at the time of planting. I only have daffodils and would love to hear if anyone has positive experience with hyacinths.

I don't have clay soil so I don't know if you should plant bulbs in it or not. Anything I want coming back over and over I try to ammend the soil when I plant but I don't go crazy with it either because I have found that most bulbs only come back strong for a few years and then fade away. Crocus and Muscari are tough as nails and should require nothing special. They are often found growing in lawns and seem capable of competing with turf grass which is amazing. Daffodils are reliable repeaters that will spread over time - though poisonous some deer will taste them or yank them out of the ground, they get left alone for the most part. They would enjoy better soil than clay but I've seen them surviving just fine in it with no fertilizer ever. Hyacinths can be tricky - I've had the best luck planting them in good dark soil in part shade. They come back but never as strong as the first year after being planted. They start looking like a wild flower within a few springs (which can be kinda nice). Anemones work best for me if I soak them in warm water overnight and then plant them in really good soil that stays kinda dry. Some years they come back strong and others they don't do much.

I have never used bulb fertilizer. I think the bulb you buy has all that it needs for the first spring, you may want to feed them as they leaf out to prepare for the next spring.

When Miracle Grow first started selling the soil blends they were some of the worst on the market but they've seen the light and now offer pretty mixes. Bulbs are pretty tough and don't require anything special except being able to dry out between waterings.

Good luck.

Thanks, John.
Is this weekend too early to plant these bulbs here in Raleigh/Durham?

I usually wait until we've had a big cold spell. It always seems to happen on Thanksgiving weekend for me so I think of turkey and bulb planting around that time.

If you buy any tulip bulbs this early I would keep them in the refridgerator. You kinda havta buy them this early because the good ones get sold out fast. I think I would try to keep everyone cold and dry until you plant. Warmth and dampness will cause them to either sprout too early or rot.