Early Spring Bulb Planting Guide

Early Autumn is Bulb Time

Our gardens are still full of summer colour but it will soon be time to think about spring. There are many colourful spring-flowering bulbs to choose from and if you want the more unusual varieties, you can’t leave it too long!

Daffodils for early spring colour

Daffodils (narcissus) along with small bulbs, like crocus, scillas and snowdrops, are best planted before the end of October. If you were to dig up a daffodil bulb in the garden now you would find it has already started to produce roots. Early planting allows the bulbs to root early and make good growth before flowering which benefits flowering next spring but, most importantly, the following year.

So where can you plant daffodils?

Of course, they will all flower anywhere in the first year because the bulbs come complete with flower buds inside. But for repeat flowering Daffodils prefer a spot in sun or part shade. They will not bloom well in dense shade.

You can grow them in pots, window boxes and even hanging baskets but choose dwarf kinds for this. Daffodils will grow and flower for many years without special care whether in pots or in borders or the lawn. But you must allow the foliage to die down naturally after the flowers fade. You need to leave the foliage for at least six weeks after flowering and do not cut it off prematurely.

The foliage can be unattractive as it dies down so you need to site them with care. In the border it need not be an issue if you plant them in and around herbaceous plants. When planting in grass it is best to choose small and early flowering kinds so you do not have to wait too long to cut the grass. It is best to plant dense clumps of daffodils so you can leave small areas to mow later and NOT scatter them over large areas of lawn.

If you are planting daffs in pots for one season, you can use multipurpose compost, dig them up after flowering replant the pots for summer and put the bulbs in the garden. If you want to plant pots permanently then use John Innes compost. If you have shrubs in pots or fruit trees, you can plant daffodils under them and leave them for years. Again, dwarf kinds are best in this situation.

The perfect daffodil?

‘Tête-à-tête’ is probably the world’s favourite daffodil it does not have the biggest or the most unusual flowers, but it is the one of the easiest and most reliable to grow. It flowers early, increases quickly and is reliable and hardy. Each bulb will produce lots of flowers, depending on the bulb size.

‘Tête-à-tête’ flowers early so is good to plant in grass. It is short so ideal for pots and rockeries and it is such a good grower that it is also one of the cheapest to buy so you can afford to be generous with them. You can plant them almost touching in pots for a dense display the first year.

Another great daffodil is ‘Jetfire’ which has bright, reflexed petals and an orange trumpet. It is an early and bright option that is short but not quite dwarf and perfect for pots and the garden.

Among the last to bloom are the ‘tazetta’ narcissus. They usually have many flowers on each stem and are highly fragrant. They prefer a sunny, warm spot and include ‘Minnow’