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Bulbs/planting bulbs in pots

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Expert: Long Island Gardener - 5/1/2007


Question
I would like to plant tulip and daffodil bulbs in pots.  When is the best time to do this?  Do I have to follow the rule about planting bulbs in the fall, or can I plant them any time in pots?  Is there anything else I should know?  Thanks very much.

Answer
Tulips and Daffodils can be planted, but they do not flower well during the summer.  The heat is way too much for them.

Remember, these plants are built to take below-freezing temps.  How would you like to spend your summer in a winter coat and boots?  That's what Daffodils and Tulips would say.

These plants evolved on the sides of mountains, where summers were cool and dry, and winters were snowy and wet.  They cannot handle a summer bloom schedule, much as many of us would love to do.

For best results, plant them in midfall, in pots light enough that you can carry them around as needed, then place in a cool damp basement room or garage and keep moist.  They must be in temperatures lower than 50 degrees F.  Come spring, put them outside and place in full sun as the leaves emerge.

Then watch the show.

Let me know when you're ready to do this and we'll go over it step by step.

Thanks for writing.

Bulbs

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Long Island Gardener

Expertise

Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.

Experience

Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.

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