This daily cycle of freezing and thawing breaks roots and weakens the bulbs. Mice, chipmunks, and other rodents can be even more destructive. Most detached garages offer very little protection from the cold, but they may work for some bulbs in some zones. In other words, proceed with caution.
Attached garages are usually a much better place to store potted bulbs — if you keep the doors closed. The warmest areas are typically higher heat rises and next to the wall of the house where heat radiates out. Unfortunately automobile exhaust fumes contain ethylene gas which can cause flower buds to abort, so if you warm up your car in the garage on cold mornings, you may end up with pots of great foliage in the spring but no flowers.
Ethylene gas is also released by ripening fruit, so if you store your bulbs in the refrigerator, seal fruit tightly in impermeable plastic bags and keep it as far away from your bulbs as possible.
Since the dry peat moss in potting soil can be difficult to wet thoroughly, water your bulbs well after planting and then let the pot stand in a saucer of water for an hour or more to allow the potting soil to soak up more water.
Use your finger to check soil moisture at least weekly throughout the winter. Put a reminder in your phone or a note on your calendar. Soil should be moist but never soggy. If your potted bulbs are outside, you may need to protect them from getting too wet in the winter.
During extended wet periods, cover the pots or move them to a sheltered spot. Bulbs that stay too wet for too long, especially tulips, will die. If everything has gone as planned, roots will eventually fill the pot and show at the hole s in the bottom. Foliage will start to emerge above the soil, and as spring approaches and temperatures rise, it will get increasingly difficult to hold this back.
Once the leaves are taller than a couple of inches, move the pot gradually into brighter light and eventually full sun. Water as needed, maybe even daily once flower buds show. When the buds start to open, move the pot wherever you want — and enjoy! When blooms fade, you can either a compost the bulbs, b replant them in the garden immediately, making sure to get their bases as deep as they would be if you had planted them there to start with, or c move the pot into a sunny, out-of-the-way spot ideally buried in the ground to keep the bulbs cool and keep them growing strongly for as long as possible.
When our good customer Jane Baldwin of zone-6a Moreland Hills, Ohio, found herself with surplus bulbs late one fall, she improvised an easy solution that ended up delighting her.
I put a few inches of good potting soil in them and then planted the bulbs right smack against one another with their tips just barely covered by the soil. I watered them at first but eventually the soil froze. At the end of winter when it started to thaw, I brought the baskets out on the patio to a sunny spot where they bloomed to perfection. Even though there were only inches of soil under the bulbs and they were planted right next to each other, they performed just fine and looked exquisite in the baskets for a good long time.
It was really very easy, and even our chipmunks and squirrels left them alone out there. Now they are planted on a hillside along my driveway where they continue to bloom beautifully — and every fall I plant more in baskets. Most spring-planted bulbs are easier to grow in containers than fall-planted bulbs, and very rewarding.
Yes, containers are tiny, cramped, highly artificial worlds where even a small mistake can lead to disappointment, but if you follow our advice carefully, you can have pots full of beauty and fun all summer long!
When choosing pots, keep in mind that a spring-planted bulbs have a much longer growing season than fall-planted bulbs do and b some grow much larger. Some bulbs will also appreciate the cooling protection of a cache-pot. For guidance, see tips 2, 5, and our bulb-by-bulb advice below. To avoid drowning your bulbs, especially those that will sit out in the rain, avoid pots without drain holes, and glazed or plastic saucers.
Potting soil usually works better in pots than garden soil because it holds more moisture and allows roots to penetrate and bulbs to expand more easily.
The goal is to make the most of the limited space, but since spring-planted bulbs have to support top-growth all summer long instead of for just a few weeks in the spring, they need more room. Just discard damaged or diseased bulbs before storing, and do the same with those that have yellow mottled foliage as this usually indicates an incurable virus infection. Some bulbs can become invasive, and spring is a good time to remove those that have spread too far. Other problems that can affect bulbs include aphids , slugs , snails , narcissus basal rot , narcissus bulb fly , tulip fire , and tulip viruses.
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Hot links Browse inspiration articles Buy plants online. Buy tickets. RHS members get reduced ticket prices Join now. Harlow Carr North Yorkshire. Hyde Hall Essex. Rosemoor Devon. Wisley Surrey. Bridgewater Greater Manchester. Environmentally friendly gardening. Many bulbs will naturalize in an area and multiply, coming back year after year, so plan carefully and you can have years of enjoyment from one planting.
Bulbs can be planted in layers by digging up an entire area down to the proper depth, placing the bulbs and covering; or in individual holes dug for each bulb. Individual planting is made easier with a bedding plant auger pictured. Not only good for Sunday dinner, lasagna planting is great for bulbs.
The idea is to plant bulbs with different sizes and staggered bloom times in layers for a continual bloom. This works great in large containers that are deep and wide enough. This planting method can be used in-ground as well for a concentrated area planting.
It can also be adjusted to fewer layers in smaller pots. For all bulbs, after blooming, cut only the flower stem back. Leave foliage intact until it turns yellow and wilts to the ground; the leaves are gathering and storing energy for next year.
If the foliage is cut back too soon, bulbs may not perform well—or at all—the following year. Spring bulbs: In warmer climates bulbs that require chilling can be dug up and stored until pre-chilling time the following fall. For colder climates, they can stay in the ground. Many will multiply and return year after year. Summer bulbs: In warmer climates, bulbs can be left in the ground with a layer of mulch in winter to protect and insulate them. Please read our affiliates FAQ page to find out more.
Planting bulbs in a lawn. Placing bulbs in their planting position. Advice on buying bulbs You can buy spring bulbs at the garden centre from late summer.
Summer flowering bulbs are available in spring Most garden centres have a good range, but for the widest selection, buy online Popular or sought-after varieties can run out, so order early. Subscribe now. Buy now for spring flowers. Order now for spring colour. Ends in: 2 days. Double up for 1P more. Evergreen climbing hydrangea. Buy now for year-round interest.
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