Do's & Don'ts of Daffodil Planting

DAFFODIL PLANTING 

It's October! Now Autumn has firmly set in, it is time to plant your bulbs for a pop of Springtime colour next year. 

September & October are the months to start planting out Daffodils, Crocus and Hyacinths, but it is best to wait until November for Tulips! 

Daffodils (Narcissus) are one of the most popular spring-flowering perennial bulbs that can be planted now, for a little springtime cheer in March. They also make perfect cut flowers to fill your home with in Spring and add to bouquets. 

Daffodils are a perennial bulb, which means they come back year after year despite remaining dormant for a large proportion of the year and requiring very little maintenance. 

Whether you have a large garden or small balcony, you can always have a go at planting daffodils!

How to plant bulbs in a container? 

Below I will take you through a few very simple steps of how to plant bulbs in containers. 
When planting in pots, bulbs can be planted less deeply and closer together. Bulbs will always grow best in free-draining soil and add perlite or leaf mould for optimal results. 
Pots can also be used to layer bulb planting, creating a pro-longed display of a variety of bulbs! 
Note: for best display, bulbs in pots are best replaced annually. 

Step 1 
Make sure you add some crocks/ broken pots at the bottom of your container to improve drainage. 

Step 2
Add some compost at the base of the pot. If you're planting up a large pot, a depth of around 10cm is ideal.

 

Step 3 
Add your bulbs, make sure they are placed pointed end up and approximately 1-2cm apart. 

Setting out bulbs - second layer! 

The bulbs were then covered with a good layering of soil. Note: you can add multiple layers of a variety of bulbs to extend the seasonal interest of your containers or borders.  See the recommendations of mixes below. 

Step 4 
Top up with compost and water well 

Looking forward to seeing the final result in  Spring  :-) 

Layering Bulbs
When potting up layers of bulbs it's best to include Tulips first, which will pop up in April,  a layer of Daffodils for interest in March and finally a layer of dwarf Iris' to provide early interest in February. Additionally, to provide interest now viola's or pansy's could be planted on the surface to provide interest during November and December. One container could bring different displays of interest for almost 7 months! 
Want to layer your containers with bulbs but not sure what works will each other? Consider the combinations below that I have tried this year! 

Mix 1: Tulip 'White Emperor' and Narcissus 'Pink Charm and Mount Hood' (this one is inspired by Farmer Gracy's Fish and Chip Collection) which provides drifts of light white flowers. 
Details can be found here: Farmer Gracy 

Mix 2: Narcissis 'Thalia' bulbs & Muscari armeniacum - (when in bloom results in white daffodils drifting above a sea of blue hyacinth, which is just beautiful in any garden! 

 Mix 3: Iris danfordiae, Iris reticulata, Narcissus ‘Tête-à-tête’ - this provides a early interest of blue and purple Iris in February, with the addition of a delicate, bright yellow daffodil to follow. 

For further inspiration, consider my favourite 10 Daffodil Bulb varieties to plant this season:  

• Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus 

•  Narcissus ‘Hawera’

•  Narcissus ‘Jack Snipe’

• Narcissus ‘Minnow’

• Narcissus ‘Geranium’

• Narcissus ‘Jetfire’

• Narcissus ‘Rip van Winkle’

• Narcissus cyclamineus

• Narcissus ‘Tête-à-tête’

• Narcissus ‘Thalia’

Don't forget to tag @emmaatkinsongardendesign_ on instagram - I love seeing all of your planting techniques and ideas! 

Emma :-)