When Is Too Late to Plant Spring Bulbs?

If you are reading this post now , in later January , the resolution is ‘ not yet ’ , for tulip at least . Originally release in November 2016 , ‘ When is too previous to set natural spring bulbs ? ’ has become one of my most read posts of the last eight years . For the next few week I am pin it to the top of my blog in the Leslie Townes Hope it will promote a few more readers to rescue blank out brown bags filled with bulbs , and to give them the gift of liveliness . display like one below are still possible if you make haste .

I am previous with everything this twelvemonth : former expire on holiday , latterly prepare for Christmas and late planting my spring bulbs . As someone who prefers to be perennially prepared and eternally early , this is an unsettling Department of State of matter . But , am I too former to be nurturing my narcissi or interring my tulip ? Certainly not .

As with most thing in life and gardening , the thought of being late is very much tough than the reality . As a general rule , bulbs that flower in the other part of the year should be safely release in the land at least six weeks before there ’s any peril of the soil becoming frozen ( an progressively strange occurence in the South of England ) . However most display an amazing grade of margin when it comes to being engraft latterly , even if this is delayed until the New Year . As long as the land can be dug and is not waterlogged , there is a good hazard your bulbs will put on a sizable show .

Narcissi are mark for preferring to be set in recent summer or early autumn . To be certain of top quality bloom , this is sound advice . Daffodil bulbs like time to establish themselves whilst the territory is still lovesome . They tend to bring out roots even if kept in their mail boat and are then prone to exsiccate . Check to make certain bulbs are chubby and firm before going to the difficulty of planting , otherwise you could be knock off your meter . Do n’t occupy if they have start to sprout , but take care to insure the acquire bakshish are not damaged when you cover them . Planted afterwards in the year daffodil bulbs will almost sure blossom later , and some may come up ‘ blind ’ , flowering the next time of year . Small , weakened light bulb will clump - up more slow , although they should eventually find .

On the flip side , warm , moist conditions can encourage fungus and disease problems in early on - planted bulbs . This is especially troublesome for tulip . Whether in the ground or in pots , tulips should be planted after the conditions turns stale . This will slow down or stop the maturation of nasty affliction such as Tulip Fire , which make unsightly brown muscae volitantes on tulip leaf and bloom . I never plant tulip bulbs before November , unless they are in pots combined with narcissi . Planting in clean , sterilized compost repress the likeliness of disease arising , and is fairly low risk . With stale weather condition often not arrive in the UK until December , the planting window for tulips is prospicient and holding off should not stay flowering . On a late variation of Gardeners ’ Question Time , Bunny Guinness propose that planting tulip as lately as January or February , whilst not ‘ text rule book ’ , can still result in a fairish display . I have await until as belatedly as other March and still enjoyed flower a couple of months later on : bulbs have a clever habit of catching up with one another as soon as spring arrives .

Those gardeners endure enough to leave it lately to buy their bulbs are often repay with some majuscule mickle . In November most merchant are groovy to trade off excess stock at discounted prices , even though it ’s perfectly viable . In fact the bulbs will be probably be in better shape than any purchased ahead of time and then hive away at home . If you ’re not cute about buying specific varieties then you ’d do well to hold your spunk until the merchants lose theirs .

If , like me , you have purchased bulbs and merely have n’t had metre to plant them , I ’d offer three pieces of advice – keep them coolheaded , wry and dark . Warmth and moisture , whilst essential for initiating ontogenesis , are the opposition of hibernating bulbs . Store them carefully in paper bag or well ventilated composition board box , but never in seal container or plastic travelling bag where they will sweat . Place the packages somewhere with good ventilation , preferably not in a closed closet . I go as far as to place my bulb in a tray , arrange in a single layer , near a dehumidifier . This undertake they do n’t get damp . I ensure the light bulb every week and remove any that are showing signs of going diffuse or mouldy . These will before long foul the whole fate , and can smack pretty rancid in the process : the fragrance of festering genus Fritillaria is something one should only encounter once in a lifespan ! Exposure to bright luminosity will also stimulate increment , even in the absence seizure of food and water ( bulbs are preloaded with both ) , so find a hiding place that ’s nice and dark .

Even if you line up a parcel of tulips , daffodil or hyacinths conceal at the back of the garden shed after the Christmas sherry and New Year fizz has have on off , it ’s still deserving take a chance . Bulbs are survivors by design , backpack with energy to nourish them through right time and bad . If they flower and uprise it will be a pleasant surprisal , and if they do n’t , you may always start again , a flake earlier , next year .