Spring bulbs..... in pots. What are you all planning?

Anyone got a good recipe to share?
Lots of bulbs on sale at the moment. I want to have pots outside the back door, full of springtime colour.
I have thought of ‘ layering/ lasagne styley ‘ but would love to know if any of you have had a really successful combo.
Do you plant winter bedding on top, so winter pots that carry on into spring ?
Give me some ideas please....
Thank you

 

Hi @Loki , I've just done 4 pots with Winter flowering Violas ( cream/yellow ) ( will post pics tomorrow ) and under planted them with Narcissus Rip van Winkle and Tulipa Tarda.
I've still got 4 wall half-baskets to do. These I usually do with Winter Pansys, Anemone Blanda and Ivy.
All along the side fence in our back garden are half baskets which are full of various Pinks, these are going to have Muscari ( deep blue ones ) in them to contrast with the silver/grey foliage of the Pinks.

I don't do any lasagna type of planting as everything we grow is in pots so generally all our bulbs are over planted with our perennials and shrubs.

 

Nice @KFF , thanks for the ideas. Don’t know why I don’t use more ivy? I love the stuff
Love anemone Blanda, thought they needed to be in the ground though

 

Most bulbs ( especially ) dwarf/smaller types are fine in pots for one season and then they're good to be planted in the garden when you change for the Summer display.
I also put up ( 3 inch pots ) spares of some bulbs so if I have any failures I've just got to pop them in the gaps. Just think about garden centres/shops etc selling pots of bulbs in the Spring.... these have all been growing in their pots all Winter.

 

Please don't get me wrong. Of course I love all plants, but bulbs to me call for some special TLC. Sometimes I relate them to fireworks. A quick flash of colour and it's all over. Whereas most other plants, whatever thier classification might be, treat you to a journey through their life-cycle.

So yes, unless you have a spacious mixed garden including even a semi woodland area. I consider growing bulbs in pots. The planted pots can be plunged in a frame, if required and set in position at the important time, then, job done, can be placed in semi storage. I use that term fo a reason. Bulbs are best stored in the soil. However you must remember to water and feed them..

General rule of thumb when planting bulbs. Plant in most cases double the depth of the bulb/corm. If planting lilies, then about six inches of soil is best above the bulb.
Try not to exceed this.

Especially when planting lilies. Over the past couple of years. Folk have asked. Can lily flowers change colour. This has been a factor with Lilium Stargazer. Some growers have noticed colour changes.

The genetics and DNA dictate the colour etc. What has been discovered is. Some bulbs, if planted deeper than is the norm, can actually produce flowers of a different colour. Next and subsequent re-planting of the same bulb, and the colour is restored. Indicating that the genetics have remained the same.

Over planting in pots and containers can be most effective. Enjoy your gardening.

 

I just plant simple lasagna planters. Crocus , Daffs and Tulips. They give a lovely display from late winter into spring. It's simple but very reliable.

 

Bulbs are resistant little buggers, that’s why I love them.
I’ve had little daffs followed by big daffs, interspersed by muscari in one pot, it looked great for a few years but they need splitting now.
I’ll have a look at work on Monday; working in a garden centre is a bonus. Thanks @KFF
Just read mikes post. Totally agree. Bulbs need to be buried 3 times their size x

 

This is a diagram of typical layer planting bulbs, if you have not tried it before. I use tulips instead of hyacinths.

 

I have pots with 2 different tulips underneath a perennial. The first year everything came out beautifully. The second year was very disappointing. Next year I might try something different.

G.

 

This is an interesting thread . I've got some pots with just Daffs in and a pot with Muscari and Snakesheads in. I would like to have a Spring display in the baths but haven't got around to it and I need to reorganize the baths to make them lower maintenance.

 

Hi @Jack Sparrow , the things you have to remember about Tulips is that for good reflowering they need to be planted at least 12 inches deep ( a lot of experts say 18 inches is better ) and they need to be somewhere where the bulb " bakes " in the Summer. If planted normally ( say 3 times their own size ) the bulbs have a tendency to split after flowering and you end up with lots of little offsets which can take 3 or 4 years to flower, if at all.
I tend to stick with " Botanical Tulips " which are the species such as T. Tarda. Although I do grow some of the larger ones basically to use for cut flowers.

 

I used to do a lot of bulb containers in our previous house where soil was very limited. A 50cm pot can nicely house 10 early Daffs and 15 late tulips in layers. I'm convinced (without any scientific backing whatsoever ) that the layers must be in order of flowering i.e. latest flowering in the bottom, earlier on top.

Tulips are single use in containers, which is a bit sad. But anyways when Wilko's sells the leftovers for 70% discount, the price is more than reasonable for a brilliant display.

One year I shopped in Poundland and had a lovely container with 29 pink tulips and one yellow
Snowdrops do very well in permanent containers, I had a very successful one with an Astilbe on top. The snowdrop foliage contrasts nicely with the red unfurling Astilbe fronds when the flowering is over.

Now I only have one rota-container which houses tulips and daffs in the spring, and a large Dahlia in summer. The timings work well, when the bulbs are over, the Dahlia is ready.

Anemone Blanda is very pretty in pots, and flowers year after year.

J Parker just forced free mixed Muscari on me so this year I will have a doorstep delight with them.

I'm not a big fan of Crocuses but have some (again, a free gift... I'm easy to lure with that...) in my winter container of Hellebore and variegated Vinca minor.

I have experimented in extending the season past daffs and tulips, hardy annuals sown in autumn work ok-ishly. But by far the best solution is to rip the bulbs out after flowering and plant with summer bedding, the soil is just fine for a few years.

 

Hi @Loki



This is what I've done out the front so far.... The Italian Cypress have the Nar issi and the standard Azaleas have the Tulips.

 

Who pinched my " c " then ? ! ?

 

Very nice @KFF
I think I’ll definitely go with some winter interest on top, violas or such like and some greenery.
I’ve got some great tips and ideas so thanks everyone