Bulb/Tuber Planting Advice

Mofradarshia15

Hello All,

I'm new to the whole gardening 'hobby'..We moved into a new house last summer and i did some planting. I also planted some bulbs in autumn which have started to grow.

I just need some advice on when to plant these bulbs/tubers/plants i've bought (ps we live in yorkshire)

I know it's quite alot but any help and advice would be appreciated. I've never done any summer bulb planting...

Bilje

Do you have a green house, cold frame porch shed garage or just a garden ? The former  would give some protection and affect the planting times. There'll be plenty of help coming. 

Mofradarshia15

Hi, no i don't have any sort of greenhouse or porch atm but i'm planning on getting a small greenhouse in summer.

I was just planning on planting most of them in the ground around the middle-end of march, mixing in some peat free compost. I've had a look online and someplaces tell me to plant (most of them) in March but some say as late as May...

Liriodendron

The Philadelphus (mock orange) is a shrub.  Did it come in a pot, or are its roots bare?  If it's just come wrapped in plastic or paper, you need to get it into a pot of compost, because it won't survive for long otherwise.  You can put the pot in a sheltered spot outside, maybe against the house wall, and plant it out when the weather warms up - if it's big enough.  If it's just a tiny plant it would do better grown on for a season first.

Echinacea and lupins are herbaceous perennials - flowering each year, dying back to the ground each winter and growing again the next year.  Hollyhocks are biennial - they grow a rosette of leaves the first year, and flower the following year.  All these three need potting up asap or they'll dry out and shrivel (unless they're supplied in pots already).

Alliums are best planted in the autumn so I'd get those in the ground any time it's not frozen.

Lilies, dahlias, ranunculus, gladioli, freesias & begonias need to wait until spring.  Plant lilies by early April; dahlias and begonias aren't hardy and will be damaged by frost, so you need to be careful with them - it's a balancing act between getting them into growth and protecting them from cold.  If you have windowsills you can use for starting them off, that's useful.  I've never grown ranunculus, gladioli or freesias - I think ranunculus are sometimes planted in autumn, sometimes in spring.  Freesias and gladioli are planted in spring but hopefully someone more knowledgeable about them will give you some help.  

You'll be glad of that greenhouse when you get it up and running...

Mofradarshia15

Thank you very much for your help! Great advice...