Spring bulbs - too late??

Hi fellow gardeners,

I've just stumbled across Chionodoxa luciliae spring bulb, which looks perfect for my dry, shady, heavy clay part of the garden!

The gardening website I went to said to plant the bulbs in September - is it too late to plant them if I buy some?

If you have any bulb suggestions for dry, shady, heavy/concrete clay that would be great too (I find it a miracle that anythings grows there)!

Happy autumn gardening
Fin

 

Thanks Armandii, I'll give it a go :-)

 

@GardeningFin to give the bulbs and yourself a better chance of success see the info below -
Then next spring-summer seeing the fruits of your labor you could add some more bulbs to the area. There are lots of Summer and Autumn bulbs too - have a nosy around the forum there;s lots of advice to be read. If i find a quick link I'll post it for you

Planting in shade
"To give plants in dry shade the best chance, it's a good idea to spend a bit of time improving the soil before planting. Incorporate plenty of organic matter such as leaf-mould or garden compost, to make the soil more moisture-retentive"

 

@GardeningFin
Heres a good thread to post in
2016 Autumn planting for 2017 Spring scent and colour.

 

Very pretty!

Others which are good for dry shady areas:

cyclamen
snowdrops
anemone

In the heavy clay area, as well as adding some compost, try putting a layer of grit for the bulbs to sit on before covering them over. Bulbs tend not to like being waterlogged

 

I've found all 'spring bulbs' have been OK to plant much later than reccommended, such as when they're reduced to 20p per pack at Wilkos.

 

@GardeningFin Another thread
Bulb planting 101. Where to start.

 

(s) folks
Agree with all the above posters - also come the Spring there are lots of ready potted up bulbs on sale - for relatively small cost the advantage is instant effect and also you get to see where the bulbs would look best as you can change them around the border until your happy with the look then plant um up Also many of them get reduced so you can grab a bargain too - Ive bulked my bulbs up this way for many years and it's lovely to see them arrive in the Spring like me old friends ...such cheer they bring
Happy gardening have fun

 

Today I've been reading up on Winter containers. If I can find a big enough pot at the right price I might just give it a go. I like the idea of spring bulbs complementing the feature plant.

G.

 

Have you joined your local Freecycle @Jack Sparrow ? You may get lucky

 

No need to apologise, Our Mandy

 

Did you see last night's Gardeners World, @Jack Sparrow ? Monty was doing something similar with dogwood, tulips, and ornamental grasses. When I have space I'd love to do something similar with a small ornamental holly or olive.

 

Morning @2nd_bassoon I haven't seen it. Weekend evenings are when I'm busiest. I'll have a look on catch up. I've been meaning to keep up with it but I never do. I think I've seen 2 or 3 at the most (and that includes the Snorky episode).



G.