Forum home› Plants

BULBS!!! WOOH!

pokhimpokhim Posts: 210
in Plants

So i'm going to go nuts with bulbs this year... Put them everywhere in my garden...every little nook and cranny that I have... I reckon if i get somewhere in the region of 100-200 then that should cover all my borders...

But, i'm quite new to gardening with bulbs. Shall I just go out and buy one of those big collections you can get from crocus or something which has daff, aliums, crocus, iris, hyacinths?

Or shall I get a selection of each and buy separately?.. 

What are the options with buying c.200 bulbs?

thanks so much!! 

«13

Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,173

    I don't go for mixes. It's Ok if they crocuses and daffs say, you can sort them out. But a mix of different daffs doesn't look as good as a group of one type imo. For one thing they probably won't flower at the same time. Nothing flowers on the same day every year, some are more weather dependent than others. You see a pic of a nice combination on a packet but what you see in the garden is one type, then a couple of weeks later, the other,

    Having said that I bought a pack of reduced mixed species tulips last week



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • pokhimpokhim Posts: 210

    My intention isn't for them all to flower at the same time...but i want a succession of flowering bulbs from Jan/Feb all the way to May... 

    I could get 50 aliums, 50 daff, 50 tulips, 50 crocus with each a different flowering time? Is that something that people normally do?

    What would you do in your garden?

  • pokhimpokhim Posts: 210

    actually i think i understand what ur saying: the bulb mixes that you get..they're actually mixed in a big packet. Therefore you can't separate out all the daffs into different species and therefore you cant block plant and it looks strange with daff dotted around the garden that flower at different times?

  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,397

    I am suspicious of the mixed daff bags.  My experience is that they include some duds that no one really wants or likes; also small undersized bulbs.  Spend a bit more and get those you really like....just my view and I am sure some people will have had OK experiences of the mixed bags

    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,173

    yes, that's what I mean pokhimimage



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 16,724

    I buy single types for my pots, and often get sent mixed bags of something as an extra. I shove any mixes in anywhere there is a gap. Also last years pot bulbs go in gaps. Tulips tend to fade away after a few years. Some daffs get stronger and stronger.  The more choice the daff, the more likely it is to disappear.

    I had a huge bag of daffs for a fiver from Lidl a couple of years ago, and planted them on the grass verge. They brighten the place up in Spring. I'm trying to get neighbours to do the same.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 52,269

    Don't want to burst your bubble pokhim - but 200 bulbs doesn't go far either!  image

    I'm about to get a delivery - any minute in fact. There's circa 50 bulbs in that and they'll just fill a few gaps in one border. The other order still to arrive has about 100 in it and that is for edges and bits and pieces. image

    Update - they've just appeared. Hurrah!

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • pokhimpokhim Posts: 210

    Right!! 200 bulbs wont go that far?!! That will please the wife!!..

    i will see about getting a few more then... maybe 300 or more!??..

  • sanjy67sanjy67 Posts: 1,007

    just a thought if you are planting them in your borders...... that yes they do look nice in blocks but you have to wait 6 to 8 weeks for them to go brown and die down roughly once they have finished flowering before you can cut off the dead leaves or dig the bulbs back up and (i know) it looks a horrible mess going into may and the buggers still haven't died down and you have big floppy long half dead leaves everywhere when you are itching to get summer plants in and divide perrenials etc and that mess is in the way, i have since dug all of mine up (300+) and now they are in pots, layered so i get a succession of flowers as they grow at different rates as some are deeper in pot, this way you can either place the pots into your borders to fill out gaps or put them anywhere in the garden you like, then when they start to die down you just put them somewhere out of sight :) p.s i have ditched quite a lot as i definitely didn't need 300 for pots ;) depends how big garden is if using pots to fill gaps in borders i guess

    Last edited: 14 September 2016 14:12:04

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 52,269

    I've got mainly alliums and the little species tulips on order pokhim. Just checked the other order - it has 180 bulbs on it. I also bought a few the other day when I was out - alliums and crocus.  image

    You can never have too many ...image

    Someone asked about putting bulbs in pots the other day. I have around 60 white Joan of Arc crocus in a 15 inch pot. It's necessary if you want a decent display. You need big quantities of smaller bulbs like crocus to cover any kind of area at all. Less of bigger bulbs like daffs and lilies etc  image

    As sanjy says, it depends how you use them. My bulbs in borders are among perennials and shrubs so the foliage is mostly hidden when dying back.

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sign In or Register to comment.