Spring bulbs: planning & planting
the second instalment into planting those blooms.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an in-depth post about exactly what bulbs I’m planting this autumn for spring blooms. It turned out way longer than I intended (I’m incredibly ardent about bulbs, apparently) so, I broke the second part off for further reading. This second part will cover all the practical parts of planning and planting your bulbs, plus some things I’ve found invaluable over the last few years.
It finally feels like the season is changing, with cooler temperatures, so it won’t be long until even the tulips will be ready to be planted. Exciting times ahead.
If you haven’t started to plant bulbs yet, don’t panic, the first year I planted bulbs I left it quite late and was planting them mid-November. The truth is most bulbs are reasonably hassle-free and will deal with most situations quite well, apart from tulips they do love a cool ground to be planted into. Additionally, sometimes either buying your bulbs early or a little late means you can make some savings. Or you can do what I do, which is think you’re almost done planting bulbs and then continuously buy them throughout the season.
The planning stage
When it comes to gardening I do most things without a plan, I love having a space where I can try out ideas without fear of failure. Bulbs are the exception to me, part of the fun of planting bulbs is being a little intentional about it. Whether you’re planting in pots, your garden ground or creating a specific cutting flower bed - planning brings a whole other element of fun. I promise.
This year I’m planting in pots and my garden borders (and lawn, more on that later) and for once, not a cutting flower bed. Why? Mostly because I only have one raised bed at the moment and I’m finding so much joy in growing produce, I’ve decided to just get all my bulbs in other areas so as not to lose space. I’ll return to cutting flowers next year, and I’ll just take a few from the garden if there’s enough to spare.
So my planning on spaces depends on the situation, previously when I was only planting bulbs for cutting flowers, it was more about maximising space and figuring out what flowers could take what type of position (the raised bed was in a dappled shade). Whereas whilst I do have to think about space somewhat when planting into pots and garden borders, I am concentrating on types of display as the flowers will be staying put in the ground.
So this year, as you’ll see below I made rough estimates of how many bulbs I would need in what spaces and focused on what types not only complement each other but also, emphasised making sure the blooming periods stacked nicely. This felt slightly more important in the pots as I’ve made many bulb lasagnas this year, the idea being that each flower type will be only crossing over with one another briefly.
I managed to find my original plan for a cutting flower bed, I used this book by Bloom* to learn as much as I could before planting out and then drew out this vaguely technical drawing to find out how much space I had to work with. This was so much more about making sure I had used the space in the most efficient way I could rather than the presentation in the bed. I can confirm this worked well, the only thing I’d do in the future would be a little less lenient with spacing, some of it was overkill and I could have planted so much more in!
Planting for purpose
So, noting quickly on purpose, bulbs can be quite versatile. Some types are naturalising so you plant them once and watch them come back year after year gently spreading themselves. Or, you can lift them, store them and move them around for next year.
However, others are only bread to give one beautiful bloom and then you may get one or two more blooms but that will be it sadly. Tulips often fall into this category, that’s why they make great cutting flowers. Depending on where you live also, Tulips need a cold period to drive the next year’s growth and can suffer from disease in warm soil after flowering.
It’s good to consider what your ambition is for bulbs before getting sucked into the beautiful colours presented to you. If you want low-effort spring gardens that return year after year, daffodils and crocus are your compadres. If you want to concentrate on blooms for vases, you don’t have to feel too confined as you’ll be lifting them seasonally anyway. As for making pots with bulb lasagnes, you can lift those that will naturalise and put them in a pot again next year, or pop them in your lawn.
Pots
The first year I did bulb pots, I effed it right up. Insufficient drainage, and a very wet winter = heaps of mouldy bulbs. Only the daffodils broke through, I was a bit gutted but luckily they were just surplus where I’d run out of space in my cut flower bed.
I’ve taken my learnings about how the winters are where I live (not very cold, usually wet, we only had a handful of frosts last year) and come back this year with a solid plan. Extra drainage holes in the pots, a good grit-to-compost ratio and also I’ve held back the wool that comes in my dog’s food subscription box. I’ve been using this like a little hat to soak up some of the moisture so I can manage the rain. I am a little conscious that if we have a particularly wet winter again these pots will need some cover. I refuse to lose any bulbs this time around!
For my pots this year I’ve planned them all as three layers, with tulips at the bottom, daffodils in the middle and a mixture of hyacinths, crocus and muscari at the top. They’re happier being a little closer in pots, you just need to make sure they have a bulb width apart from one another and then don’t let any touch the sides.
Ground
When planting in your borders, you just want to make sure of a few things:
How good is the soil? It’s worth adding a little fresh compost in to make sure the bulbs get a tonne of nutrients.
Think about height, some bulbs are best suited to the back of a border, like an allium, as they get so tall and might take away from some of your other plants that are starting to bloom. Equally, some like Crocus or Muscari might be a little lost anywhere but the front.
Timing, your ground soil keeps its warmth well, so make sure to plant your tulips a bit later to make sure they don’t get tulip fire. Other bulbs will be fine earlier, plus spacing them out gives a better period of blooming.
The ones that I’ve put in this year I will probably keep most in the ground as it’s my first time planting bulbs in this new garden and I’m happy for most to naturalise. I might lift a few so that I can space them out as we develop the garden and add more borders. If you are going to lift, just make sure to let the foliage die back, so that the bulb can have all the energy for next year. Then make sure to store them in a cool dry place until the autumn.
Oh, also I’m excited to try adding Crocus to the lawn this year, they bloom before it will need mowing, so a nice way to add extra colour.
Cut flower bed
The cut flower bed is a lot more strategic, not only do you need to plan to maximise your space, but you also want to concentrate on having flowers blooming throughout spring. Planting only one bulb type means a short flowering period, so balancing that space with diversity is fundamental for vases upon vases of spring flowers.
Other than that, some good fresh compost mixed in is key and you’re good to go. The only other thing to consider is plant supports, some flowers need a little extra to keep them growing up and strong. You can pick these up in garden centres, but I mostly just add some bamboo canes and string supports together as and when needed.
Care
The best thing about Spring bulbs is they don’t need a lot from you, they won’t need watering until Spring hits (dependent on actual weather). Pots might want a bit of protection from rain if it’s exceptionally gloomy, but let’s hope not eh?
I learnt a few things about cutting flowers, when we get closer to spring I’ll pull together a post about that. And of course, keep you posted on how this year's blooms go.
Phew, that’s a whole lot of bulb chat. Thank you for bearing with me and my seasonal obsession. If you’re still on the hunt for bulbs, do stop back at the first post where I talk through exactly what I picked for next spring.
And of course, if you enjoyed this post I’d appreciate you restacking or sharing. Feel free to drop any bulb questions below too.