Bulb planting 101. Where to start.

Aster Frikartii Monch Gary.......just opening out and will flower until mid or late autumn

 

I have been busy clearing my flower bed and it now looks something like this.



I have pulled out all the green ground cover and now have a carpet of brown undergrowth. Sorry, the picture doesn't show it clearly. Is there any benefit in digging this undergrowth into the soil or does it all have to go first?

G.

Ps A couple of weeks ago my hedges looked like this.

 

Today I looked into perspective bulbs. I saw a few combination packets that might be interesting.



I also thought Instead I could pair up the Purple Sensation with this




It's a bit shorter but the different colours and heights might make a nice contrasting display.

The other combination I saw, which I had already seen elsewhere was this one



I thought I could put something like that in the back yard in front of my paving with a few clumps of snowdrop.

I haven't read up on muscari yet so I am not familiar with its attributes.

Of course I'm aware that I can buy all these bulbs separately.

Once I get the bulbs in I can move on to something else.

G.

 

I seem to be continually pouring water over your flames of enlightenment Gary......sorry.
Muscari is a weedy thing. Took me years to eradicate it here and despite my efforts it still survives. Lovely blue colour but spreads and seeds everywhere. It will smother your snowdrops.
For blues consider anemone blanda.....go for the blues. It is a lovely plant.

 

@Verdun. Not at all. That's why I came here.

G.

 

Great minds think alike ( only joking, I don't have a great mind), but I just sat down to start a new thread called bulbs 101, and it was here already!

I have a query about spring bulbs. In previous years I have had variable luck with snowdrops, daffs and crocuses (croci?). I just chucked bulbs in just below the surface. My daffs were fairly ok - mainly tête-à-tête which I love - and the crocuses weren't too bad either. However the snowdrops got fewer and fewer until this year I only had 2!

In recent weeks I have dumped about another 4 inches of topsoil on top of the existing bulbs, and today I put in 20 snowdrop bulbs and 40 crocus (unlike you, Verdun, I love them :rasp. I have been very good and planted them according to their instructions. I also have more daffodils and 10 tulips I bought in Holland this year to put in. My question is that I don't want those areas to be empty for the rest of the year, but there isn't enough depth to plant things on top. I'm really stuck about what to do. Any advice very gratefully accepted .

 

Is there a time limit to planting spring bulbs. The way things are going around here it could be a while before I get the chance to do it. Even if I do get the chance the bed I cleared of ground cover will need weeding again.

G.

 

@Jack Sparrow
Read up on Muscari before planting they can become a problem. I removed buckets of them from a rockery when I moved here 20 years ago and I still have the odd one. However some varieties are less weedy and less prone to spread.
Anemone blanda is lovely and the leaves aren't too messy after flowering.
As for planting depth I tend to follow the general guideline of about 3 times the bulb height, but I've noticed that they tend to adjust their depth over time; so I have snowdrop bulbs an inch below the surface down to 6 inches.

 

This is the blanda is it not? It does like a nice plant. Aldi are selling mixed anemone bulbs. They looked interesting too.

I am hopefully creating a spring bulb border around the outside of my lawn. There should eventually be plenty of room to dot things about. That will be another job on my list for next year.

G.

 

I have recently ordered 200 blue anemone blanda. I prefer the blues. I pot up into 9cm pots and plant out in spring when growing well and can plant exactly where they look best.
The trouble with mixed colours is they often look "confused" to me. Besides, a patch of blue near daffs or primroses look great.
Muscari need a warning on the packet! To repeat, they spread alarmingly by seed and by bulb/corm and before you realise it you are cursing the existence of them. Crocus are lovely in flower but are equally as weedy and invasive. I have masses of crocus, despite yanking them out, yet have not planted any for several years now
No Gary, they are not anemone....fritillarias. (Not using bad language there Gary)

Irmemac, why not plant a hardy geranium or two or brunnera (hadspen cream is delightful) and plant your bulbs under and around them. Your bulbs will perform and perennial foliage and flower will take over from spring to
autumn? snowdrops are best planted "in the green" by the way. Cheaper too. Bulbs often fail to grow in my experience. Look for offers in spring when you can buy snowdrops often still in flower and they will continue to do so when planted

 

Thank you @Verdun. I love hardy geraniums, but have never heard of brunnera. Just going to go and check it out now. I have followed your kind and wise advice on other plants, and my garden is coming along well. The slugs are getting hungrier too, as there is so much less that they like to eat now . Gary, I just bought some snake head frittilarias this evening in B and Q. £3 for 15, so you got a super deal. I am very excited to try them as I love these unusual plants. When I was a child they were endangered, so it is especially lovely to see them around so much now.

 

You are welcome Irmemac....kind words indeed
I too will grab those fritillaries tomorrow. Could use a few more of these enchanting flowers here

 

I bought 100 Fritillaries from amazon for £14 with free delivery. I love them , amazing little plants.

 

Even better lucius . Think I will google some now

 

Jack I plant my bulbs , daffs and tulips , up to the middle of December. As Nigel said spend a little time googling bulb depths. Lots of great charts on this. Also for planting in flower beds, buy a bulb planter , worth million pounds
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