Our favourite Spring bulbs to plant this Autumn | Outdoor & Garden | B&Q (2024)

FAQs

What are the best spring bulbs to plant? ›

Some popular options for perennial bulbs include daffodils, tulips, crocuses, hyacinths, and snowdrops. These bulbs are known for their ability to return year after year and are often the first signs of spring, bringing much-needed color and cheer to the garden.

Sometimes also called summer-blooming bulbs, spring-planted bulbs are planted in the spring and flower in the summer. Fall-planted bulbs, like tulips, daffodils, crocus and hyacinths, are planted in the fall and bloom the following spring.

It is not necessary to soak bulbs before planting, so you can skip this step. However, some gardeners prefer to soak bulbs as they believe it enables them to establish more quickly.

In autumn plant:

Spring-flowering bulbs, in September and October, but earlier is better.

Long-lived bulbs: Many bulbs come back year after year, often spreading out and naturalizing along the way. If you want the most bang for your gardening buck, choose flowering bulbs/tubers/corms like daffodils, crocus, hyacinth, muscari, fritillaria, and iris.

If your spring-blooming bulbs are sitting around somewhere, like mine, or you have not even bought them yet, you will be glad to know that it is not too late. Bulbs can be planted as late as November or December, as long as the soil has not frozen solid, and the bulbs are alive and healthy.

Water the Bulbs well following planting. This will help settle the soil in the planting bed plus provide needed moisture for the bulbs to start rooting. Fall planted bulbs must root before cold weather. Avoid over-watering at planting time since this can result in bulb rot.

After planting the bulbs in fall, top-dress the bed with a balanced, 10-10-10 or 10-15-10 slow-release fertilizer. Lightly cultivate the soil to disperse the fertilizer, or water it in well.

After planting, the planted areas should be evenly raked. To keep the soil from drying out, freezing or panning, it would be advisable to mulch the area with 2-3 cm (1 inch). of organic material (peat litter/compost). Bulbs can also be scattered into a border or naturalising zone to provide a more natural look.

What do you add to soil when planting bulbs? ›

Since bulbs need good drainage, prepare the soil well. Dig to a depth of at least 18 inches, working in compost or sphagnum peat moss to improve soil texture.

One of the most frequently asked questions about planting bulbs is, “Which end goes up?” Most true bulbs, such as Tulips and Daffodils, have pointed tips which should point upward. Corms, tubers and rhizomes like lilies usually show sprouts on their upper sides, and these should be on top when planted.

Spring bulbs can be bought during the spring planting months of March, April, May and June. During the peak planting season of March, April and May it may take several weeks for your order to ship due to increased order volume during this time.

Bulbs also need to put down good root growth before they sprout foliage and flowers. The roots will then be able to supply the tops with water and nutrients from the soil. Waiting until spring to plant the bulbs will not satisfy these requirements, so spring-planted bulbs will likely not bloom this year.

Snowdrops are usually the very first bulbs to emerge. Cold weather doesn't bother them. Even if the ground is frozen, these hardy bulbs manage to push their way up to greet the sun. You need to pay close attention, because snowdrops will often begin blooming before you think to look for them.