in the GARDEN
brilliant
s b l u b
Growing bulbs in pots is easy, fun and rewarding. Pots of bulbs are perfect for small gardens, garden spaces that are already full, or to dress up your doorways and entrances.
Sophie thomson gardening media personality
28
The key to success is to choose suitable varieties, which are sturdy and not too tall, and plant them in an appropriately sized and shaped pot. Always use a potting mix that is welldraining or designed especially for bulbs. Bulbs perform best if they develop a strong root system before they attempt to grow leaves or start to develop their flower stems. Encourage this by keeping the pots somewhere cool and shady until the new shoots are about 10cm tall.
To have your bulb pots looking great year after year, it is necessary to replant your bulbs with new potting mix yearly, and to feed your bulbs regularly to replace the nutrients that have been expended in the flowering process. Here are my favourite hardy, trouble-free bulbs which will continue to bloom for a few years if you feed and look after them. These are all low growing and look great when placed on an outdoor table or bench when in bloom or clustered near a doorway.
