Dig in your daffs!

Now is the time to plant spring bulbs, and the sooner you do it, the better both the quantity and quality of the blooms will be, says Monty Don

Although we can’t see the evidence yet, spring bulbs such as snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths have started growing vigorously already. All this new growth has been underground so far, but the very first signs of life will be appearing above ground in a few months or so. This means that the sooner you can get the bulbs into the ground or in a container, the better they’ll grow and flower.

By delaying planting much longer, we’re limiting the amount of growth that can be made before the flowering season and therefore the strength of the plant and the quality and quantity of blooms. The exception to this rule is tulips. They should not be planted before November, to avoid the risk of the bacterial disease tulip fire. Any time between Bonfire Night and Christmas is fine to plant them.

A bulb is pre-packed with everything the new flower needs. If there is sufficient moisture for the roots, and light for emerging foliage and flowers, it will perform in almost any growing conditions. Hence we can enjoy hyacinths on our windowsills growing and flowering well with their roots just sitting in water.

Some bulbs, like tulips, die back after flowering and next year’s display is created from brand new bulbs. This is why after the first year’s fine display produced from the specially grown large bulbs, subsequent flowering tends to be smaller and more scattered.

The second type of bulb, of which daffodils and snowdrops are the most common example, continues as a perennial, producing new ‘offsets’ clustered around the parent bulbs. This can result in wonderful drifts of flowers but they can become crowded and the flowers might diminish in size or even stop blooming, so then it’s time to lift and divide them.

The critical period for a flowering bulb is between the end of flowering and the final dying back of its leaves. During this time all the goodness for next year’s display is created and stored. The bulb has roots to feed the leaves, which in turn photosynthesise and feed the bulb. These roots and leaves need moisture and many bulbs come from areas with baking, dry summers and cold winters. The only moisture available to them is either from melting snow in spring or a brief rainy season in spring and autumn. So they have evolved to do all their flowering and growing in spring, then lie dor- mant in the hot, dry summer months and to start growing again, protected under the soil, at the end of summer so they’re ready to make the most of the brief spring conditions.

For most spring bulbs, the secrets to success are lots of good drainage and planting the bulb as deep as possible. This is very easy to organise in a container and I always make a bucket of one- third proprietary peat-free compost, one-third sieved garden compost and one-third horticultural grit. If in any doubt be very generous with the grit. This is not only a good mix for bulbs in pots but also for planting bigger bulbs such as daffodils, tulips or imperial fritillaries in the ground – I put a handful in the planting hole and sit the bulb on top of it. This ensures that it will not become waterlogged in our heavy soil and wet winters.

However, two of my favourite spring bulbs relish a little wet. The first is the snowdrop, which is happiest in slightly damp shade, the second is the lovely snakeshead fritillary, which comes from damp meadows so likes full sun as long as it does not dry out in the winter months. If you’d like more advice from Monty, visit mymail garden.co.uk/monty.

Monty with his daffodil bulbs