Tips for Growing Spring Bulbs in Containers
Each fall, we plant thousands of spring-blooming bulbs in our New Jersey trial garden. But we don’t have much experience growing spring bulbs in containers. So we asked Claire Jones, a gardener in Maryland, to explain how she does it. You can follow Claire’s gardening adventures on her blog The Garden Diaries.
If you don’t have a yard or garden for planting spring bulbs, like tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, don’t despair. Just plant them in pots. Planting bulbs into a nice loose potting medium is easier than digging holes in the soil. There are other advantages, too:
• Enjoy seeing the flowers up close and personal
• Add a cheery pot of bulbs to any flower bed that needs sprucing up
• Accessorize your potted bulbs by adding other spring-blooming flowers
• Experiment with new varieties and new combinations of colors and flower styles
• Grow tulips without worrying about deer. Keep the pots near the house where deer won’t dare to tread
What You’ll Need to Grow Bulbs in Containers
I started planting spring bulbs in containers because I wanted an easier way to enjoy them. If you live in a place that is colder than Maryland (hardiness zone 6), growing bulbs in containers may not be an option for you. But in zones 6 and 7 it’s easy to do as long as you remember a few rules.
- Growing Medium. Use a high-quality mix with lots of perlite or vermiculite for good drainage. Do not use garden soil.
- Pots. Use inexpensive plastic or terra cotta pots. Terra-cotta will need some protection from temperature extremes (I use bubble wrap); Make sure they have drainage holes in the bottom.
- Spacing. Plant the bulbs so they are close but not touching. Their tips should be just below the soil surface. Here is your chance to stuff them in and get a huge color show.
- Depth. For best results, try to stick closely to the recommended planting depths for each type of bulb, while leaving as much room as possible under the bulbs for root growth.
- Layers. To get a more abundant look, you can layer different types of bulbs on top of each other. For beginners, it’s best to stick with one type of bulb per pot.
How to Care for Spring Bulbs in Containers
Spring-blooming bulbs must go through a period of cold temperatures in order to bloom properly. This means they need to be kept colder than 48° for most of the winter. A basement is too warm, but depending where you live, an unheated shed, cold frame or garage can work fine.
It’s important to know that bulbs in containers get MUCH colder than bulbs that are planted in the ground where there is soil to insulate them. If the soil in the container is allowed to freeze, the bulbs will die. Read on to see how I provide extra insulation for my containers.
Water sparingly during fall and winter. The soil should stay slightly moist – never soggy. Check the containers throughout the winter to make sure the moisture level is correct. If you live in an area with rainy winters, you will need to cover the pots so they don’t get too wet.
Where and How to Store Potted Bulbs During Winter
I keep my potted bulbs outside on my patio until temperatures are consistently below freezing. In the mid-Atlantic region where I live (Maryland, zone 6), that can be as late as mid-December. Once freezing temperatures are here to stay, I move the pots to a more sheltered position. Since temperature is critical for success, you need to store the pots in an area where the bulbs will get cold enough, but the soil will be protected from cycles of freezing and thawing.
For me, the ideal winter storage space is an unheated mud room attached to my house. I wrap the pots in insulating bubble wrap and place them next to the wall of the house where they get a little warmth. My cold frame is another good place to store pots. I have heard of gardeners who store their potted bulbs in galvanized trash cans with some burlap or other filler stuffed around them. Storing them in cans protects them from the great bulb destructors: squirrels, mice and voles.
Storing bulbs in your garage can be a good option. But the exhaust fumes from an idling car contain ethylene gas, which will kill the flowers inside the bulbs. You’ll get wonderful pots of nothing but foliage. Keeping the bulbs in a backup refrigerator is another option. But unfortunately, ripening fruit also emits ethylene gas. Store the fruit elsewhere or protect the pots in impermeable plastic bags to avoid contamination.
Check on your pots monthly and water only if/when the soil feels dry to the touch. Towards February, you’ll probably start to see the first green shoots. At this point you can ramp up the watering and move the pots out into a protected area (don’t let them freeze). Start with partial sun and gradually acclimate them to full sun for good flower development.
Step by Step Instructions for Planting a “Lasagna” Pot
Lasagna-style planting means layering different types of bulbs to get a 6 to 7-week display from one container.
• Choose a deep container (at least 16″).
• Plant your bulbs almost as deeply as you would in the ground; for instance, 6 or 7 inches deep for tulips and daffodils, and 3 or 4 inches deep for little bulbs such as crocus and miniature iris.
• Put about 4” of high-quality potting mix in the bottom of the pot and firm the soil. Position the first layer of bulbs on top with the growing tips up. Cover each layer with more soil before placing the next layer of bulbs.
• For my layers, I started with 10 daffodils. The second layer was 10 hyacinths; third layer 16 tulips, last layer 50 assorted small bulbs (20 muscari, 20 crocus, and 10 iris reticulata).
After planting the bulbs, you can add some shallow-rooted plants on top. This gives you something attractive to look at while you’re waiting for the bulbs to bloom.
What to Do After the Bulbs Finish Blooming – Two Options
You can either compost all of the bulbs or replant some of them in your garden. If you replant, do it right after the flowers fade. Cut off the spent blooms and gently tuck the bulbs and their foliage into the ground at the correct planting depth. Apply a liquid fertilizer to help replenish the nutrients used during flowering. Second-year flowers are never as spectacular as the first year, so I usually compost the bulbs and start with a fresh batch in the fall.
Learn more about growing spring-blooming bulbs: Growing Spring Bulbs in Containers, How to Plan a Spring Bulb Garden, How to Grow Spring Bulbs in Warm Climates, How to Force Bulbs for Indoor Flowers.
First year for me to try potting spring bulbs. Kept them in my unheated garage since November. This past week (2nd week January) I have noticed some sprouting and think this is too soon so took pots outside under my 2nd story decks to slow down the growing process. I live in NEPa (zone 5) so I know more severe weather is coming. Can I bubble wrap them and leave out or should I bring them all back inside?
Thank you for any advise. I’d hate to lose these bulbs after all the work and expense that was put forth.
Carol
Hi Carol – You should definitely bring those pots back into the garage. If the soil in the pots freezes, the bulbs will die. It may be a little too warm in the garage — or did not cool down quickly enough in the fall. After planting, the soil temperature should stay at 35-45°F for the entire “chilling period”. That’s hard to achieve. All you can do is keep them as cool as possible (but above freezing). Darkness is also important. Here are some additional tips: How to Force Bulbs for Indoor Flowers.
Planning to make a Spring Bulb Lasagna this fall. Live in Ohio zone 6. Can I keep the pot on my deck till December. And then in December, cover it with lots of bubble wrap and burlap? Or anything else you recommend to buy to cover the pot ? Planket or frost cloth or use old winter jackets ?
Alternatively if I keep it in my garage, keep the top covered so that gases from the cars don’t get into the pot? Will that work?
Don’t have a shed outdoors. I
Hi – Keeping the top of the pot covered will not protect the bulbs from gas fumes. Insulating the pot with bubble wrap, plus garden fabric or burlap may work well — depending on the severity of the winter. Growing bulbs in containers is always a bit of a gamble, but worth it! Put something over the top of the pots so the soil doesn’t get water-logged during the winter. And snuggle the pots close to the house for some added cold protection. Good luck!
Thanks for this! I’d like to do tulips in Baltimore (Zone 7b) but I live in an apartment and don’t have a yard, garage, or a full size extra fridge. I’m looking to do containers, and I’m up for getting a mini fridge to cool them for the winter, but I don’t think full pots would fit there. Can I do bulbs in the fridge NOT in their pots, and then pot them inside in a sunny window, and move them outside as soon as we’re safe for no more frosts? Or is there another, better way to try to make tulips work with my circumstances?
Hi Susan – Yes, you can chill the bulbs in the fridge before you plant them in pots. We recommend a chilling period of at least 10 weeks (longer than 10 is fine but not shorter). A separate fridge is a good idea as the bulbs should not be stored near fruits or vegetables. Be aware that pre-chilled bulbs may bloom sooner (or later) and be taller (or shorter) than if they were planted in the ground. Good luck and if you think of it, please come back and let us know how it goes. Thanks!
Hi Susan, I’d love to pot up a few containers and my window boxes with spring bulbs but I only have a heated garage to store them in. I live in zone 5a where it snows until early April so keeping pots outdoors isn’t an option. My question is, is my heated garage not the ideal place to store planted containers even if the garage gets very cold
A garage can work if the temperature always stays above freezing and will drop as low as 45 degrees for at least 8-10 weeks. Exhaust fumes will kill the bulbs, so you’ll also need to be careful about that.
Hi Kath,
I’m going to try the container planting of bulbs but I live on Cape Cod (zone 7) and winters can have periods well below freezing or days of high 30/40’s. My question is can I keep them in brown paper bags in unheated garage until mid to late January (with out water of course) and then plant them in pots and keep the pots slightly damp until safe to put out in south exposed area probably late March or April? Do you think this would work? Thank you for your help!
Terrie B.
Hi Terrie – It sounds like this may work, but as with most gardening, no guarantees! Growing spring bulbs in pots is tricky. Every climate and every winter are a little different. Temperature and moisture fluctuations have a big impact on how bulbs grow. When they are planted in the ground, the soil has a moderating effect that helps them overcome most of these variables. So it’s best to approach growing bulbs in pots as an experiment until you arrive at a system that works well for you.
Here are a couple guidelines: 1) the bulbs can’t be allowed to freeze. 2) they need to stay consistently at approximately 40°F for at least 10 weeks in order to initiate proper flowering. 3) whether you are overwintering them in the soil or in a bag, the bulbs should not be too moist (they will rot) or too dry (the plant inside will wither). Give it a try and please report back!
Best way to accurately measure soil temp throughout winter? Storing tulip containers in detached garage (with out heat or car fumes zone 6) thanks for your help!
Hi – Any sort of temp probe should work as long as it goes low enough. No need to invest in something sophisticated. Something as simple as this: Temp Probe or this Soil Dial Thermometer.
Thank you!
Would it be horrible to bring my bulbs in containers into my apartment for this upcoming two week period below freezing? I don’t have any other place to store them and I don’t want them to die!
Thanks!
Hi Peggy – It’s important for the bulbs to stay at a consistently cold temperature. Otherwise they will start to break out of dormancy and that is not reversible. Can you find a chilly but not freezing place to put them temporarily? A cold entryway or garage? In a refrigerator (as long as it doesn’t contain any fruit or veg)? Maybe a friend has a place that would work for a short time. Don’t let them freeze – we are almost to spring!!
Hi there,
I bought some tulips that were blooming at my local supermarket and reported them with muscari flowers which were also blooming. How often should I water them? I know nothing about plants and have been doing alot of research but can’t find this answer.
Forced bulbs need very little water. Keep the soil damp, definitely not wet. Once in bloom, the flowers will last for a week or two. Then you can discard the tulips as you would cut flowers. If you have a garden space outdoors where you can transplant the muscari, they may come back and bloom again next spring. Be sure to leave the foliage on the bulbs until it yellows and dies back.
I live in Florida any advice you can give me
Hi – You’ll find helpful info here:
How to Grow Spring Bulbs in Warm Climates