Its fall and the plants on my balcony are beginning to look a bit tired. Now is the right time to plan for spring. What I have in mind is a container packed with several layers of spring-flowering bulbs. Hopefully it will turn into an explotion of colours in the spring.
Bags full of spring-flowering bulbs that I'm going to layer in a container.
On a recent trip to Holland I bought several bags of bulbs. Among them are Daffodils, Crocus and of course Tulips which the Dutch are so famous for. The bulbs are a perfect match for a layered configuration because they each require to be planted at different depths. Daffodils at 15 cm, Tulips at 10 cm and Crocus at 5 cm.
Here is how to plant the bulbs step by step.
1. Ensure good drainage
The bulbs can rot so make sure the container has holes in it.
Container with good drainage.
2. First layer: Daffodils
Effectively the Daffodils are planted at a depth of 16 cm from the rim to allow 1 cm free of soil. That last cm will come in handy when watering! :)
Layer of Daffodils 16 cm from the rim.
3. Second layer: Tulips
The tulip bulbs are planted at 11 cm.
Layer of Tulips at 11 cm from the rim.
4. Third layer: Crocus
And finally crocus is planted in the third layer 6 cm from the rim.
Layer of crocus 6 cm from the rim.
Now fill the container with soil almost to the rim and you are done.
The bulbs need 16 weeks of chill to prepare for flowering. During that long cold period the container must be stored such that the soil does not freeze hard and the wind does not dry out the soil. Additionally don't let direct winter sun heat the container and soil. |
