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

Yes as so many threads are interesting. As I so often quote. Gardening, we all start somewhere. We read and learn, we chat and learn. We soon realise much of what is said etc, is personal experience. So, like bringing up a new family, we listen and learn and take our pick. OK one member's comment may differ from anothers. Both can be correct. Time and tide, location location etc. Gardening, horticulture is a wide and wonderful world, sphere of learning.

 

Very interesting info regarding tulips, I never knew that they could continue to do well if planted deep enough
However..... I’m going to put some in a pot
My current thinking is white tulips with a variegated ivy, heather and a grass ( luzula sylvatica starmaker ) in one pot - see pic-..... could be gorgeous or an absolute disaster I know nowt about grasses!
Got some purple leaved aguga I’m considering for another pot with possibly violas and a fern.
Still plenty of time to plan and plant, loving all the bulby info thanks

 

I do most of my spring containers doing layer bulb planting , normally tulips with daffs then muscari or crocus - dwarf daffs - hyacinths and on top wallflowers - pansy / viola - bellis .

I buy tulips I like and go from there , I save my daffs and match the daffs with the tulips . It doesn't always turn out as good as it does in my head as does when its flowering . I put some pic on if you like @Loki of a few pots from last spring

 

Without doubt. A well planted bowl,pot or tub of bulbs can certainly help us out of the cold dark winter days. I don't know but. Perhaps many share my thoughts and practices with bulbs. Sadly spring bulbs in particular are very short lived. We plant, then up comes the foliage, then the flower and, goodnight Vienna. So unless you or I have a vast chunk of land. Our bulbs have to make do with, pots, bowles etc. There are bowl type planters that can be placed in the garden, and once flowering is over, can be lifted and stored.

There can be some confusion over planting methods, mainly depth of planting. Recalling my early tuition. It was. Plant the bulb double it's own depth. Recently, some members have quoted 3x the depth. I certainly will not dispute this. Why? because. I specialize in growing Lilies. Some lilies do well at the minimum planting depth, others the stem rooters need to be planted deep,the soil/compost added as the stem grows and stem roots appear.

Then another aspect. I recently mentioned having answered questions regarding, Lilies changing colour. Here my reply was NO. Basing this on DNA etc. Continuing my reseach. I learned that, Lilian Stargazer, appeared to be the only affected plant. Finally it came to light. Something in this plant/bulb became affected when planted too deep. Folow-up studies proved the bulb's DNA was intact. Re-planting at the correct depth. The bulb acted up and proved it's self.

Regarding Daffs. Daffs must be the holders of becoming 'BLIND'. Please share with me an experiment. I planted out some 14lbs of Daffs. Planting depth double the bulb size. No top growth, bulbs rotted.
A further experiment. Bulbs planted more than double their size. Fab results. Now some odd results. A patch set aside for Daff research. Bulbs had benn planted and a few seasons, blooms came forth, then, zilch. Digging down and retrieving the bulbs. The bulbs were as expected. Problem solved. Daffs can draw themselve deeper and for whatever reason render themselves non productive.

Tip. Daffs invases are great. Add other blooms and the toxins of the daffs will kill other flowers.

 

I don't pot them. But last spring thought about setting up one of my hanging pots with bulbs to put out by my mailbox in April and have them bloom there. I have a hook thing at my mail box. Have to ponder this.