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bulb-planting-tips

Creating a garden with us is very much a long term investment. Bulb planting is a classic example. Many hours were toiled in the Autumn last year planting 1000’s of bulbs, which were a joy to behold in the spring. Indeed in my garden I planted 750 Narcissi Sailboats, Pheasants Eye and  Actaea. Its true that there is nothing to show until the Spring but I now have an annual wash of colour.

 

These before and after pictures illustrate just how effective mass bulb plantings can be.

 

 

My Favorite bulbs (or some of them) and how to make them thrive:

bulb plantingPreparation and planning are the key to getting your plants to flourish next year. Start off by removing any weeds, and mixing in a good compost/organic matter mix. Make sure any bulbs that are planted in pots have plenty of drainage.

Most bulbs are best planted in holes two to three times their size, for example, if you have a 3cm bulb, it should be planted 6-9cm below soil level. Place bulbs with the shoot facing upwards, and at least twice the bulbs width in between in each one.

Keep them regularly watered at the beginning, tailing off over the winter period, although making sure they do not dry out completely.

The winter bulb flowering season kicks off with the bright yellow aconites. An acid yellow can be a touch jarring but with these appearing as early as December, their yellow can bring great cheer. Don’t buy these bulbs from a garden centre or on line as they are so small they often dry up whilst in storage and hence lack viability. Instead plant ‘in the green’ in January. They love  being planted at the base of trees where they naturally become dormant later in the Spring.

Snowdrops follow on and for the same reason should be bought ‘in the green’ when frankly they are far cheaper than shop bought bulbs. Plant early in January and they will flower this year.

Meanwhile wood anemones are the ultimate answer to shady woodland situations, rapidly colonising otherwise gloomy conditions, though are best grown on in 9cm pots to get established before being planted out.

Below – Narcissus cheer up a
threatening April storm cloud.

Narcissus or daffodils will flower for a staggering 12 weeks, if you chose varieties that flower in succession. Current favorites of mine are Narcissi Sailboats, (flowers in April) the scented  Actaea ( April-May) with the late flowering Pheasants Eye often flowering into June.

Resist the temptation to succumb to bargain basement clearance packs at this time of year for they are unlikely to thrive. Instead chat to me about what you want, remembering we buy  only the best quality bulbs at wholesale prices, with orders being placed as early as June for the following Autumn and now for bulbs to be planted ‘in the green’.

If you’d like to talk to us about planting bulbs in your garden, please do get in touch.


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