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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

Spring bulbs

19 replies

rockingbird · 18/09/2023 18:18

Decided to purchase some online after seeing a swanky email ad from Farmer Gracy 😆 anyway £40 later I've a whole host of bulbs heading to me .. I'm planning to line the boarders of my garden with some colour for the spring! When is best to plant them? I'm a complete novice and this will be my first of many garden projects-currently I just have a huge garden I seeded in Feb and again in April and it surprisingly grew beautifully.

OP posts:
WhoWants2Know · 18/09/2023 18:32

Watching with interest as I also have a bunch of bulbs to get in.

themez · 18/09/2023 21:12

I've started planting mine already. I'll be putting in about 300 this year, so do them in batches throughout the border.

Squiblet · 18/09/2023 21:14

What bulbs are they , Rocking bird?

Garath · 18/09/2023 21:15

I recommend Darwin tulips. The normal ones only flower decently for one year. Darwins can go on for like 5 years.

Drews · 18/09/2023 21:16

I start planting most things from now-ish till December apart from Tulips which I plant quite late on. I forget the exact reason but I think it's to avoid a fungus they can get if planted too early.

BotterMon · 18/09/2023 21:20

Oh gosh you got off lightly. I am awaiting £72 worth from Farmer Gracy - was taken in by the free delivery offer and a fiver off for my first order....

I think they'll be arriving when I'm on holiday.....hope it rains here so the earth is nice and soft when I get back 😂

cruffinsmuffin · 18/09/2023 21:25

I have just taken in a very expense farmer gracey order - I fell foul to some amazing marketing months ago 😂 tbh the best bit is placing an order in spring, they only ship the bulbs in planting season so it was a lovely surprise!

Second PP about staggering planting if you've got a lot of bulbs to go in. I've just whacked the new crocus and snowdrops in, this weekend will hopefully do the alliums and muscari then next week daffodils and so on. I just plant when the ground is soft enough to get them in and before it's too cold to be in the garden tbh and it's worked so far!

SerotinaPickeler · 18/09/2023 21:53

How do you stop squirrels digging up the bulbs?

Original poster
rockingbird · 18/09/2023 22:09

I really have no idea what I've bought! I went by how pretty they looked 🫣 be a nice surprise when they flower.. I've now ordered a delivery of sleepers and compost/earth/shingle from Homebase to create some raised bedding. I like the lasagna idea!!

OP posts:
PenhillDarkMonarch · 18/09/2023 22:13

Tulip fire is the fungus op is referring to. It's a disease that thrives in warm soil so you normally wait until the soil has gone cold (eg late Oct or Nov) before planting tulip bulbs.

Most everything else can go in now.

KohlaParasaurus · 18/09/2023 22:20

Every year, I say I'm going to sit on my hands until the bulbs are being sold off at half price because it doesn't matter how late the tulips and some types of daffodil go in. Every September I can't resist putting a few bulbs in my trolley every time I go to the supermarket ("at that price you can't go wrong") and finding reasons to visit garden centres "just to see what they've got". And I'll just have a look at Farmer Gracy but I won't buy anything ... Oh! Ice cream tulips! Cream-coloured miniature irises! How much do I have to spend to get free postage? And in spring I'm SO glad I did.

Squiblet · 18/09/2023 22:21

SerotinaPickeler · 18/09/2023 21:53

How do you stop squirrels digging up the bulbs?

I bought some "small Welded Wire Mesh Sheets - 3ft x 2ft" and some plastic-coated metal prongs to peg them down with, a bit like tent pegs but shaped like a U. Then pegged down the sheets over the lawn where I'd put the crocuses. The grass grew up through the mesh. For flowerbeds I cut out smaller rectangles of wire mesh.

BarrelOfOtters · 19/09/2023 07:28

KohlaParasaurus · 18/09/2023 22:20

Every year, I say I'm going to sit on my hands until the bulbs are being sold off at half price because it doesn't matter how late the tulips and some types of daffodil go in. Every September I can't resist putting a few bulbs in my trolley every time I go to the supermarket ("at that price you can't go wrong") and finding reasons to visit garden centres "just to see what they've got". And I'll just have a look at Farmer Gracy but I won't buy anything ... Oh! Ice cream tulips! Cream-coloured miniature irises! How much do I have to spend to get free postage? And in spring I'm SO glad I did.

This is me. I also plant reduced bulbs in random colours on my allotment for cutting for the house. It makes great combinations.

i was out last night planting bulbs in the almost dark in soil that’s too wet really….but trying to get a gap in the weather.

SerotinaPickeler · 19/09/2023 09:36

Squiblet · 18/09/2023 22:21

I bought some "small Welded Wire Mesh Sheets - 3ft x 2ft" and some plastic-coated metal prongs to peg them down with, a bit like tent pegs but shaped like a U. Then pegged down the sheets over the lawn where I'd put the crocuses. The grass grew up through the mesh. For flowerbeds I cut out smaller rectangles of wire mesh.

Show quote history

Thank you 💐

RichardArmitagesWife · 19/09/2023 13:29

For tulips, I tend to plant in November.

CatherinedeBourgh · 20/09/2023 11:03

I'm the same as @KohlaParasaurus and @BarrelOfOtters .

Bulbs provide such good value for effort, it's hard to have too many of them.

BarrelOfOtters · 20/09/2023 16:58

RichardArmitagesWife · 20/09/2023 12:19

Money Saving Expert have an offer from Thompson and Morgan of 243 spring bulbs deliverd for £15 - £8 for the bulbs, £6.95 delivery I think
(just in case anyon's inspired to get bulbs after reading the thread)
WKF6352TM

Damn you they just fell into my basket.

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