Bulbs are some of the easiest and most rewarding plants to grow and gardeners of all ability levels can produce stunning displays – in fact, once planted they pretty much look after themselves! Nonetheless, there are steps you can take to maximise their potential. Find out more below.
All Bulb Guides
General Guide to Bulbs, Tubers & Corms
Bulbs
In most cases, bulbs grow into flowers. These come in such an amazing array of colours and exotic shapes and forms that you are bound to find some that you will love! Below we will take you through several topics, including types of bulbs, what do do when you receive them, planting them and aftercare.
Types of Bulbs
Most bulbs that you can buy can be split into 2 categories depending on when is best to plant them:
Plant from Autumn to winter: Spring-flowering bulbs.
Plant from Spring to early-summer: Summer-flowering bulbs.
If unsure what type that you have, visit the garden centre or product page on the site you bought them from to check for this information. As a general rule, Daffodils, Tulips and Crocus are spring flowering bulbs and Lilies, Freesias and Gladioli are summer-flowering bulbs.
Spring Flowering Bulbs
Bulbs such as Daffodils, Tulips and Crocus herald the arrival of Spring – there’s nothing more exciting than the sight of their bold and bright colours peaking up from the ground marking the end of a long winter and the start of the warmer weather.
Spring-flowering bulbs should be planted in the Autumn for displays next season. Some bulbs such as Tulips can be planted as late as November, but it’s best to get your bulbs in the ground so that they can establish a good root system before the weather becomes too cold. Hardy Summer flowering bulbs like Lilies and Alliums can also be planted in the autumn.
Plant in herbaceous borders, in pots, or leave in the ground to naturalise. If planted in pots be sure to water frequently and keep moist.
Summer Flowering Bulbs
Summer-flowering bulbs are great for filling in gaps in beds and borders and creating colourful displays. We supply as bulbs, tubers and corms and have a range of different varieties available from Begonias to Freesia and Gladioli!
Plant from early Spring, just as the weather begins to warm up, and place in beds and borders or pots and containers. It’s a good idea to plant tender summer-flowering bulbs in pots as these can be lifted and brought indoors over the winter. To lift these bulbs for winter storage, remove any loose soil and carefully remove any dead leaves. Leave the bulbs to dry overnight and then store in a paper bag in frost-free conditions.
“In The Green” Bulbs
Some bulbs, such as snowdrops and aconites, are sold “in the green”. This means that when the plants are in leaf they are lifted from the ground with the leaves still on the plants. These bulbs establish much quicker than dry bulbs so you can expect full flowering displays the season after planting.
They can look yellowing or dying on receipt – this is fine! They will just die back to the bulb and reappear bigger and better next year.
On Receipt
Most bulbs you buy will be packed and delivered in perforated polythene bags, and some may come with sawdust in the bags, to keep condensation at bay. Once received, if you cannot plant them straight away, it is always best to keep them in a cool, dark, moisture-free place and that’ll make sure they keep for a few weeks.
Planting Bulbs
There is a simple rule of thumb when planting bulbs; Plant bulbs at twice the depth of the height of the bulb and four times their width apart. e.g 5cm tall bulbs need to be planted 10cm below the surface of the ground and 20cm apart.
Please check the bag for any additional planting instructions.
They are fine to plant even if a little green growth is showing, they’ll just need a good watering when you plant them, and then only when the soil is dry. Leave them in the ground once they die back – they’ll come back bigger and better each year.
Whilst all the energy that a bulb needs in order to grow is stored in the bulb itself, they will do better if you feed them with fertiliser when in active green growth.
Lasagne Planting
Layer, or ‘Lasagne’ planting is the term used when planting bulbs in layers, just like you would with pasta in the kitchen! Lasagne planting is perfect for creating really dense, vivid displays with lots of contrasting and complementary colours.
Not only that, but by combining the bulbs, you will not only get different shapes, sizes and colours but lots of different flowering times too. You will be able to prolong the flowering period and reward yourself next year with blooms lasting for months.
You could plant some daffodils to spring up in March, and some Tulips that will flower later in April and May.
How to plant a bulb lasagne
First, select the pot you want to use. To get multiple layers of bulbs, you will require a pot that is at least 15cm (6in) deep (possibly a tad deeper, to give your them sufficient space to grow).
Put a few piece of broken crockery, gravel or similar material at the bottom of the pot to stop the drainage holes getting clogged up with compost. This will prevent the bulbs from rotting from overly wet compost.
Add a 5cm (2in) layer of compost in the bottom of the pot, then place the largest and latest-flowering bulbs (e.g. tulips) in a layer on top of the compost. Space the bulbs about 2.5cm (1in) apart.
Cover the bulbs with another 5cm (2in) layer of compost.
Add another layer of smaller, earlier-flowering bulbs (e.g. daffodils) on top of this compost, spaced about 2.5cm (1in) apart so that the bulbs below can find their way past them.
Cover these bulbs with another layer of compost and water well.
Then job done!
Aftercare
Whilst all the energy that a bulb needs in order to grow is stored in the bulb itself, they will do better if you feed them when in active green growth. Your bulbs will die back at the end of the growing season. Leave them in the ground once they die back – and they should come back bigger and better each year!