When to plant flower bulbs?
Tulips, daffodils, crocuses and special bulbous plants that bloom in the spring are planted in the autumn. They can be planted in the ground from about mid-September to the end of December.
Dahlias bloom in summer and are planted in spring. Because they cannot tolerate frost, they are only planted in the garden after May 15. After that date, no more night frost is expected.
Gladiolus and Anemone de Caen also bloom in summer. You can plant them from mid-April.
How to plant flower bulbs?
For almost all bulb types, make a planting hole with a depth of approximately 3 times the bulb height. The exception to this are dahlia tubers. Make a wide and shallow hole and plant the tuber so that there is only about 2 centimeters of soil on top.
What is the planting distance between bulbs?
The distance between two bulbs should be equal to about the width of 2 to 3 bulbs.
The distance between two dahlia tubers is 40-50 centimeters.
How do I plant bulbs in a pot?
Fill your pot three-quarters with potting soil and push your bulbs in and fill the pot further with potting soil. You can choose to plant one species in a pot, but you can also plant several species together. The space between the bulbs only needs to be about 1 cm. This way it will be a nice full pot when the bulb flowers bloom. Keep the soil slightly moist.
Lasagne planting: If you want to plant more varieties in one pot, you can also choose to plant them in different layers. First a layer of potting soil, then tulip bulbs, then another layer of soil, then daffodils or hyacinths. On top of this another layer of potting soil and then smaller bulbs (that will come up the first) such as crocuses, blue grapes and glory of the snow. In this way you can enjoy different varieties for a long time.
Note: spring flowers such as tulips, daffodils and blue grapes need a cold period (approx. 9 degrees) of 8 to 16 weeks. So after planting them in a pot, they have to be left outside for a longer period of time. You can then bring them indoors to advance flowering. If it freezes, place them outside in a frost-free place (e.g. garage).
You can pre-cultivate dahlias in a pot and plant them in the garden after frost. You can of course also keep them outside in the pot. Plant the dahlia tuber shallowly, approximately 2 cm below the soil.
What do I do after flowering?
Once your bulb flowers in the garden have finished blooming, you can simply leave them in the ground. Do not cut off the green leaves, as this will keep the bulb alive. Once the foliage has dried, it can be removed.
Many types of bulbs are perennial (like daffodils, crocuses, blue grapes, alliums and other special bulbous plants). If they are placed in a favorable spot, they will bloom again for many years. In many cases they expand slightly. It may also be that they decline somewhat and little is left after a few years. This has to do with conditions such as soil, drought or too wet. But in general, bulbous plants are always a success and easy to care for.
Tulips are a different story. The botanical tulips are perennial. However, tall tulips often only bloom for one year. Exceptions to this are the Queen of Night and the Impression tulips, which often bloom for several years.