Lightly Tamp Down the Planting Surface
After the bulbs are planted, lightly tamp down and even out the soil surface to remove the indentations of any individual planting holes. This will help to assure good, overall water drainage, rather than have individual planting holes, like so many cups, fill with water during heavy rainfall.
It is also important to tamp down the soil to discourage burrowing rodents from exploring new bulb plantings. One way to 'lock down' a Crocus or Tulip planting is to tamp down the soil, place very fine gauge chicken wire over the planting site and secure it with stones.
We also choose to plant Tulips and Crocus as late as possible, in the hope of ground surface freezing that minimizes the length of time that the beds are open for squirrels, chipmunks or other marauding rodents. You may refer to our section on Deer- and Rodent-Resistant Flower Bulbs.