A bulb lasagne can give you a great display that lasts for weeks. It's nothing to do with food!! It just means planting in layers.
The aim is to position small early bulbs at the surface followed by daffodils and then finally tulips. The bulbs find their way past each other but the biggest bulbs have to go at the bottom (deepest).
Choose a nice wide, deep container (ideally 30cm deep). Put some crocks in the base of the pot. Fill it up with a peat free growing medium to about 1/3rd of the way up. Take the largest bulbs, probably tulips or tall daffodils and position them neatly on the compost (not touching each other) . Cover them with a thin layer of compost. Then do the same with the next size of bulb (probably Daffodils). Cover the daffodils and do the final layer of bulbs with the smallest bulbs, maybe Crocus or dwarf Iris or snowdrops. These will flower first in the planter in Jan/Feb. Then the lower bulbs will flower as the season progresses, daffodils followed by the tulips in May. Really getting your money’s worth for a Spring display.
BULBS
A bulb is an underground food storage organ from which shoots appear when the bulb comes out of its dormant phase. The term 'bulb' not only refers to 'true bulbs', such as daffodils but also corms, rhizomes and tubers. Bulbs are amazing as they contain all the necessary information to make leaves and flowers in a season and then to keep growing and flower in following years.
Great for planting in grass, in beds, in rockeries, in pots and verges.
Snowdrops- Related to Amaryllis. Come from Europe and SW Asia. The name Galanthus is derived from the Greek and means ‘Milk Flower’. Snowdrops love woodland conditions, they are best left to grow undisturbed.
Narcissus- Found in S Europe. Probably the easiest bulb to grow. They thrive in most soils except very wet areas. They can be left to grow undisturbed and will gradually spread in areas if they are happy and have sufficient water and feed. Many varieties like Carlton and the smaller hooped flowered daffodils will grow well in grass that doesn’t get cut too often.
Tulips- From central Asia, these have been cultivated for over 400 years and have a wonderful range of colours. They like a warm, dry summer and are best lifted after flowering in Scotland if you want to try to get future flowers. Store them in a cool dry place before replanting in Oct/Nov. In pots Tulips like to be planted deep. Species tulips will survive if left in the ground year on year.
Muscari – come from hot dry places like Turkey so enjoy warm summers and good drainage. Muscari can spread quickly so bear this in mind when you plant them in the garden. They do well in poor soil. There are some lovely varieties available now in shades of white or pale blue.
Planting - Always plant bulbs with the root plate downwards and the point upwards. They like to be planted at least twice their depth. Deep planting helps them to flower from one year to the next. (Tulips can give variable results). If planting in the ground add a small handful of bonemeal and make sure the soil drains well. Many bulbs will rot if left to sit in water through the winter.
Feeding- After flowering leave the foliage to die back naturally as this takes the energy back into the bulb. A liquid feed with a tomato fertiliser can help at this stage while the foliage is still visible.
Propagation- Many bulbs will produce seeds but it is a long slow process to get a flowering-sized bulb, it may take 3-5 years. Twin scaling- this is a quicker method to multiply bulbs. Carefully cut the bulb in to smaller segments, making sure each segment has a small piece of the basal plate. Dust with sulphur to stop fungal growth and place the cut sections in a poly bag of perlite (a white volcanic material used in growing to improve drainage and aeration). Leave in a warm place and the pieces will produce roots in a few weeks or by the Spring. These small bulbs can then be potted up and grown on.
