How to do Lasagne Bulb Planting

Now is a great time to make gardening plans for the spring, and planting spring flowering bulbs is a brilliant thing to do to add colour to your garden after the cold winter months. Lasagne planting of flower bulbs makes it possible to enjoy long lasting colourful flowers for longer.

There are a few things to take into consideration when planting bulbs. First, they need good drainage, so make sure the planter that you have chosen has good drainage holes. When it rains the excess water needs to be able to escape from the container – leaving bulbs in waterlogged soil is a recipe for disaster. Also make sure your chosen pot or container is frost resistant as it will be outside over the colder months.

There are hundreds of different types and varieties of spring flowering bulbs to transform your garden. Keep an eye on the planting depths and spacing, plus the different flowering times as you want your selection of bulbs to be flowering at different times. It’s a good idea to check on the bulb packaging to see if the bulbs are suitable for garden borders or container planting.

If you need some inspiration, take a look at our ‘Easy to grow bulbs for containers and pots’ article with our top bulb recommendations, or alternatively you can visit our Bulb Market in-store and be inspired by the many colourful displays with on hand advice from our Plant Specialists.

Ideally you should use a quality bulb planting compost, but a quality multi-purpose compost would also be perfectly ok.

Here is our simple guide on how to lasagne plant:

First add broken pottery or similar to allow drainage in your container. You could use an old used ‘J’ cloth carefully over all the drainage holes, followed by a layer of grit or small gravel. Once the drainage holes are covered, plant bulbs that want to be as deep as possible into the soil (such as Tulips) in the lowest layer.

For the second layer add a covering of compost before adding another layer of bulbs that flower earlier and suit a shallower depth – such as Hyacinths or similar. When planting your bulbs rotate their position so they are not directly above the previous layer. Even though you’re layering bulbs on top of each other, they will ‘negotiate a passage,’ so don’t worry about blocking the route of the bulbs below.

Add another layer of compost and then choose bulbs such as a Anemone or crocus that require less depth and will flower early. Gently cover with more soil once planted.

Give your pot or container a good watering, until water begins to leak from the drainage holes. Then water periodically after planting. Avoid the pot becoming waterlogged as this will rot the bulbs. Leave the bulbs in reasonably sheltered, sunny spot until the shoots begin to appear. Then place your pot or container wherever you want to display them and enjoy your explosion of colour.

Enjoying your bulbs for even longer.

When you plant a bulb, it contains everything it needs to flower in the spring. However, once they have flowered, they have used up their supplies and need a little helping hand if you want to have good blooms for the next season.  

We recommend feeding them just as the flowers are starting to fade and until the foliage has died back. The best approach would be to recover the bulbs and store them in a dry place out of direct sunlight. If you want to keep them in the pots, move the pots out of direct sunlight, cover and hide away in your garage or shed and give them a feed. When the blooms fade you can also dig them up and plant them in your garden to bloom the following year as well.

So, go on what’s stopping you being creative and playing with colour and combinations? If you would like anymore information about spring flowering bulbs or on how to plant our team of Plant Specialists are on hand for advice and tips. You can visit Our Bulb Market or give us a call on 01664 454309.