Can I plant spring bulbs in spring?
At this time of year as the days get longer and new green life starts to push its way out of the soil I inevitably wonder - is it too late to plant spring bulbs? Can I plant them in spring?
So maybe in the seasonal rush you forgot to buy your spring bulbs in September… Its such an easily overlooked job and yet here we are in spring watching everyone’s daffodils, crocuses and snowdrops coming into bloom and regretting their lack in our own garden.
Chinodoxa forbesii ‘Blue Giant’
But now is the perfect time to plan… look around your garden where are the gaps?
Where would a burst of bright yellow daffodils brighten the space?
Is there a shadier spot where a clump of delicate white snowdrops or the beautiful blue of Chinodoxa would lift the spirits?
Is there a sunny spot where you like to sit and enjoy the early spring sunshine? Perhaps that’s the perfect spot for some heady scented hyacinths!
Write your list now and take photos of your garden showing the spaces you’d like to fill.
Write your list now and stick it in Septembers page in your diary or attach it to September in your calendar.
Then as the seasons turn and the months pass you are already prepared, you know what you’d like and your ready at the right time to buy what you need.
Scilla mischtschenkoana ‘Tubergeniana’
But if like me you just can’t bare to wait. Why not buy pots of spring bulbs in the green or in bloom and plant them in the perfect spot?
Maybe a more expensive way of achieving your perfect spring garden… but instantly satisfying results.
Growing tips
Snowdrops are most easily transplanted in the green after flowering.
Do you have an established clump of snowdrops? Now is the time to dig it up and divide it into smaller clumps perfect for replanting around your garden.
All bulbs absorb nutrients through their leaves throughout the growing season storing energy in the bulbs for the following year so the best way to guarantee a good quantity of flowers the following season is to dead head any faded blooms and leave the green leaves alone until they starts to die back and turn yellow.
At that point remove the top growth.
If you want your flowers to set seed leave a few faded blooms allowing them to develop into seeds.
Narcissus ‘Thalia’