Planting bulbs in clusters

[SpaghettiMeatballs]

It's bulb planting day here today. It's a reasonably big garden and there are no where near enough bulbs. I bought 150 daffs, 150 mini narcissi, 50 allium, 20 snowdrop and 30 tulips yesterday.

In the past I've always put one bulb in one hole and hoped for the best but I want to encourage them to grow in clusters this year. This will probably sound daft but does that mean putting several bulbs in one, larger hole? I've bought some slow release feed and compost to mix in too.

Also, the snowdrops are for under apple trees and were really expensive compared to the other bulbs so I'm desperate for them to come up. Does anyone have any tips to encourage them please?

Thank you!

I throw the bulbs up and where they land they get planted.

If you put two in the same hole, then they will struggle to bulk up. For clusters, that is after they have been growing a couple of years as they multiply under ground. Then you dig up and split them.

Snowdrops - to encourage them, get them in the right soil. I have no idea what your is so can't comment on the extra feed or compost but I have never ever put either into my bulb holes.

they should be fine, you will find out if they all come up blind though
they do rapid plant kits for lazy pot growers and they are all in one box ready to be buried, so it can not be to bad

Don't put more than one in the same hole - just space them out as the instructions state and don't forget to check how deep they like to be. The show won't necessarily be brilliant in the first year from the snowdrops, daffs or narcissi, but if you let the foliage lie and die back (and feed them once they have finished flowering) then you will get more of them every year! (Apart from tulips, which tend to lose their vim over time).

Next year, if you have a bit of spare cash take a look at Parkers' bulbs wholesale site. You can buy large quantities of bulbs on there (by the 100) much cheaper than elsewhere. For example, 100 allium 'Purple Sensation' are currently around £10.

They are all in! I dropped them as Doreen suggested and they are all in their own hole. I'm trying to move away from just planting in lines which is hard for me!

I decided to just fork through some slow release food and a bit on compost in the areas I was planting.

shovetheholly I'm really hoping to get some come up although I appreciate the point about giving it time. The patience required with bulbs is something else!

spaghetti - I am sure you will get them coming up! I'll be surprised if you don't get at least 80-90% of them, in fact! It's just that they can look a bit 'lonely' and single in their first year, but will bulk up as time goes by.

I hope so! Mine have always looked lonely / never come up but the previous two houses I owned were new builds so as soon as you dug down a few cm you hit all the hardcore the builders had hidden under the garden.

This house is much older with a 'real' garden so even though I feel a bit overwhelmed by it sometimes it does tend to repay the effort you put in.

Oh, it sounds lovely! And agreed about the rubble. It makes life so difficult for people.

Obvious things that you'll already know, but just in case: make sure you deadhead so that the plant puts all its energy back into the bulb and propagates that way. And don't tie the leaves or cut them back before they die back naturally. The plant needs to keep photosynthesizing for a bit and to draw all those nutrients back into itself in its own time.

Something also that I am learning - the season for many bulbs is incredible! Take daffodils. The earliest variety, the rare Cedric Morris (which I am DESPERATE to get my hands on) will be in flower at Christmas. The latest ones will still be in flower in May. By reading up a bit and selecting carefully, you can get a firework show of bulbs throughout that whole period.

Thank you! It is. I had a newborn last year and lots to do indoors so only just getting started really. My 3 year old and 1 year old seemed to enjoy planting bulbs and stuck at it for much longer than I thought they would.

I do usually dead head but I'm never sure when they have died down enough to tolerate cutting. It's generally just when I can't stand the sight of the bedraggled leaves anymore TBH.

A Christmas daffodil sounds very unusual. I had no idea they existed!

I love that the children had such a good time! It seems like furtling around in the earth tends to be quite popular - whether it's bulbs or potatoes!

I don't cut back leaves at all - I wait for the leaves to come away when given a gentle pull. If they don't and are still a bit green, then there is energy in them still that needs to go back into the bulb for the best show the next year. It does mean having some pretty straggly leaves around til June, but the second wave of bulbs and first wave of perennials seem to 'cover' these as my garden gets fuller. Alliums are great for this!

The price of Cedric Morris is about to rocket as MN heads out to buy .

We planted a crocus patch a few years ago and it looked great last year. I can't wait to see it this year. It was a revelation to DH, who had previously planted everything in rows despite my suggestions to the contrary.

some bulbs are poisonous and others like hyacinth have a sap that a lot of people are sensitive too and will cause a mild allergic reaction,

I think your DH and I would be able to talk at length about planting in rows and with even numbers HSM. I'm really trying to change because I can see how much better more random patterns and odd numbers work in the garden.

I shall do what you suggest shovetheholly. Thank you.