Great bulbs for next year

SUMMER may be coming to a close, but there’s little time to put your feet up as it’s almost time to begin planting your spring bulbs.

Christine Skelmersdale, managing director of Broadleigh Gardens, (broadleighbulbs. co.uk) which specialises in smaller bulbs, offers the following advice:

Watch your planting depth – Bulbs should be planted 4-6 inches deep. Put them into a sensible, deep hole away from the vagaries of heat and cold and wet and dry.

Check your soil – Make sure the soil’s not waterlogged. If you plant tulips in light soil, they should go deeper than the conventional depth. I have to plant mine the week before Christmas because I am so busy, but it doesn’t make any difference. They’ll still bloom at the same time in spring.

Care for your containers – Don’t use multi-purpose compost when planting bulbs in pots. Use a large pot and fill it with loam-based compost, as multipurpose tends to dry out. Ensure the pot has good drainage so the bulbs don’t rot.

Try some new varieties

‘Snowy Baby’ – a pale milky coloured daffodil with a tiny dwarf trumpet, grows to around 6 inches high. Plant in the front of a border or in a raised bed or rock garden.

Chameleon tulips, which change colour over time, are particularly unusual. ‘Antoinette’ opens soft yellow before the petals become edged with an orange tinge which gradually deepens and spreads over most of the petal.