How To Plant Spring Bulbs | Step-by-Step Guide, by Tates Garden Centres on YouTube. 1 min 40 s.
- Video length
- 1 min 40 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Pick a deep pot with drainage holes. Deeper pots let you fit three bulb layers at the right depths.
Put a layer of broken crocks, gravel or stones in the base so water drains freely and bulbs do not rot.
Add compost to about a third of the pot. Press the largest, latest-flowering bulbs such as tulips into it, pointed end up, spaced apart.
Cover the first layer with compost, leaving room for the next bulbs. Do not let the layers touch.
Set the middle layer of bulbs, such as daffodils, on the compost. Cover them again with compost.
Place the smallest, earliest bulbs such as crocuses or hyacinths on top and cover with a final layer of compost.
Plant pansies or violas around the top edge for instant winter colour.
Firm the compost gently and water the pot well so it settles around the bulbs.
Tips and common mistakes
Plant in autumn, roughly September to November, so bulbs have time to root before the cold.
Keep the pot outdoors in a light spot and water when the compost feels dry, but never leave it waterlogged.
Put the biggest bulbs deepest and the smallest near the surface so each layer blooms in turn.
Questions
Which bulbs should go in each layer?
Put large late-flowering bulbs like tulips at the bottom, mid-size ones like daffodils in the middle, and small early ones like crocuses or hyacinths at the top.
Can I use any pot?
Use a deep pot with drainage holes. Shallow pots leave no room for three layers, and pots without holes trap water and rot the bulbs.
When will the pot flower?
Expect the top layer first in early spring, then the middle and bottom layers over the following weeks.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
