Planting Spring Bulbs

GARDEN · GLOBAL

Planting Spring Bulbs

When to plant what, depth and spacing, containers and what happens afterwards

Bulbs are the most reliable thing a beginner can plant, and almost all failures come from timing and depth rather than from anything complicated.

Timing

Daffodils and most spring bulbs go in from September to October, while the soil is still warm enough to root. Tulips are the exception and are best planted in November, which reduces the risk of a fungal disease called tulip fire.

Bulbs planted late generally still flower, just later and sometimes shorter.

Depth and spacing

The usual rule is two to three times the bulb's own height, measured to the top of the bulb. Too shallow is the commonest mistake and produces floppy stems and bulbs that fail to return.

Pointed end up, flat root plate down. Space them roughly twice their own width apart, closer in containers.

Drainage matters most

Bulbs rot in wet soil. Add grit to heavy ground, and in containers use a free-draining compost with drainage holes that actually work.

Containers

Layering different bulbs at their correct depths in one pot — a lasagne planting — gives successive flowering from one container. Largest and latest at the bottom, smallest and earliest at the top.

Afterwards

Deadhead the flowers but leave the foliage to die back naturally over six weeks, since that is when the bulb stores energy for next year. Tying or cutting leaves early is why bulbs stop flowering.

Feed after flowering with a general fertiliser.

Naturalising

Daffodils, crocus and snowdrops spread and return for decades. Tulips are less reliable and many gardeners treat them as annuals.

Squirrels and mice

Tulip and crocus bulbs are regularly dug up. Planting deeper, covering with chicken wire under the soil surface, or planting in pots inside a mesh basket all help.

Daffodils are toxic to rodents and are left alone, which is part of why they naturalise so reliably.

Forcing indoors

Hyacinths and paperwhites can be brought into flower indoors for winter. Prepared bulbs are treated to do this and ordinary ones are not, so check the packet.

Buying bulbs

Choose firm, heavy bulbs with no soft spots, mould or damage, and the largest size you can afford, since bulb size determines flower size. Store them somewhere cool and dry until you plant them.

Plant them as soon as you can, since bulbs left sitting in a warm shed for months deteriorate noticeably.

Safety

Many bulbs are toxic if eaten, and daffodil bulbs resemble onions. Store them away from children and pets, and wear gloves if your skin is sensitive to them.

WHERE TO BUY

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