What can I do with my spring flowering bulbs?
Ian Grainger
Posts: 11
Hi all, newbie gardener here, after some advice on what I can do with my springtime bulbs now they have finished flowering.
I grew all of my bulbs in containers this year and have enjoyed a wonderful and colourful spring! I had quite a mix and have enjoyed pots of colour from bulbs including Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinth, Grape Hyacinth, Crocus, Snowdrops and Anemone!
However, now that they are all coming to an end, I'd like to reuse the pots for my summer flowers. Rather than just empty the pots and starting again, I was wondering if there were any way I could salvage the bulbs and save them for next year?
Would it be possible to dig up the bulbs, trim back the leaves and store them indoors, ready to be planted out again in the late autumn?
I'd particularly like to keep the Hyacinth and Tulip bulbs if at all possible!
Posts
You can but its best to keep them growing for around 6 weeks till the green foilage dies back or yellows - as that is now providing food for the bulb ready for next year.
Once they have died back you can dry them off.. store them in a dry place in some wood shavings or animal bedding.. re plant in the autumn
If your snowdrops are still in the green you can lift them, split them and plant them now.
you either leave them or dig them up and put in a pot or tub and cover with soil (to prevent drying out and wet occasionally and leave in shed till autumn but its best to leave them if you can and divide if need be.
Hi Ian and welcome, I'm also a fairly newbie to this and have learnt loads already this year.
I dug up all my daffs from their pots as they were in the same one as my Lillie's and I wanted to sow annuals direct. I have planted them in a spare big plant pot and put them in my 'spare' area to die down in peace
My tulips/crocus that are in the same pots will stay there as I don't need those pots but I will just move them and replace with my dwarf beans in pots in a couple of weeks.
Hope this help.
I have a trench on my allotment set aside for container bulbs. I take them out carefully leaving the root structure as intact as possible and lay them in the trench, add some BFB cover them and water copiously for a week. When they die back I lift and store them. I lose some but not many. Others I pop into spaces in the garden to flower next year. It works for me, but others will have different views.
You could do a spot of that commando style gardening (or whatever it's called) and put them in a communal space so that next spring lots more people will be able to enjoy them.
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
Would commando style gardening not be similar to what Chalie Dimmock did?? LOL, I'm sure my OH would be well impressed
Thank you all for your answers! I'll wait for the leaves to die back before doing anything! Then I think I'll move them to old pots in an 'out of the way' place if I can find one!
I've just read on the What to do now section to feed spring bulbs with a liquid feed, I've never done this before but if the experts say then I'd better do it
Is liquid feed like tomato feed or is there something else??
I always feed my bulbs with Tomato fertiliser as this has a higher level of potash which is good for underground bits and doesn't encourage an overgrowth of green growth. Keep pots well watered and I use the feed every 10 days. Keep the leaves on until they die back naturally, if I need the pot I empty them out then store the bulbs in a cool garage, although I have left them in pots too. Tulips need sorting as they produce small bulbs around the parent I haven't space to grow the babies on. Strangely they get popped into the compost bin end up on a border and often set up a little colony...love it.
I also grow my spring bulbs in containers. Feed them with tomato fertiliser and let them die back naturally. You can either leave them in the container or place them in a trench or pot, covered with soil/compost while they gradually die down.
What I have found works well is (1) label them! You think you'll remember what they are but . . . (2) remove the dead foliage and put the bulbs into the legs of old tights. Don't pack them in too tightly, but then hang them up (an airy cool shed or garage is ideal) and the air will circulate and prevent mould forming on the bulbs. Then, in the autumn, they can be re-planted.
Be aware that some tulips are better at this than others. Queen of the Night is, I believe, rather difficult to keep year on year - and I've never had real success with it. But Negrita, also a dark burgundy/black is more likely to succeed.
Good luck!