Plant spring bulbs for a succession of colour

Why layering works

There is a particular satisfaction in a pot that gives you five months of flowers from a single afternoon's planting. The trick is layering — sometimes called lasagne planting — where you stack bulbs at different depths so that the ones nearest the surface flower last. Because spring bulbs appear in a fairly predictable order, you can plan a display that opens in late February and is still going in June.

It is also an economy of space. A container 35cm deep and 40cm across holds enough compost to be used three times over: daffodils in the lower third, tulips in the middle, alliums near the top. Nothing crowds anything else, because the bulbs sit at different levels. Plant from September onwards, while the soil is still warm enough for roots to form.

Choosing bulbs for a long season

Think in terms of a relay rather than a single performance. Planted together in autumn, these will carry you from the tail of winter into early summer.

• February to March: snowdrops, winter aconites and crocus. Small, cheap and willing, these suit the front of a border or a patch of lawn you have left unmown.
• March to April: daffodils and narcissi. Choose a mix of heights — compact types such as 'Tête-à-Tête' for pots, taller trumpets for borders — and stagger varieties by their stated flowering weeks rather than buying one named sort.
• April to May: tulips. The workhorses of the spring container, and the easiest place to spend a little more. Species tulips naturalise better; the big Darwin hybrids give the best show for a single season.
• May to June: alliums. Planted shallowly, 8–10cm deep, they send up tall stems after the tulips have gone over, and their seedheads hold their shape for weeks.

Add a handful of small bulbs — grape hyacinths, dwarf irises, fritillaries — to fill the gaps. A rough ratio of half daffodils, a third tulips and the rest split between alliums and small bulbs is a forgiving starting point.

Planting a layered pot, step by step

Start with a clean container with a drainage hole. Skip the traditional layer of broken crocks; a piece of mesh over the hole is enough, and crocks can slow drainage by holding water in the base.

Fill the pot to two-thirds with peat-free multipurpose compost lightened with a couple of handfuls of horticultural grit or sharp sand. Spring bulbs rot in heavy, sodden compost, and this one step prevents most failures people blame on bad bulbs. Mix in a slow-release fertiliser for flowering plants, or plan to use a liquid tomato feed in spring instead.

Set the largest daffodil bulbs on this layer, pointed ends upwards, about two bulb-widths apart. Cover with 5–8cm of compost. Arrange the tulips at the same spacing, cover again, then press the alliums and small bulbs into the top 8–10cm.

Leave at least 3cm between the compost surface and the rim — you will need it for watering, and it stops compost washing over the edge. Water thoroughly, then move the pot somewhere cool. If it sits in an exposed spot, wrap bubble wrap or hessian around the sides to protect the roots without shutting out light.

Layering in borders, gravel and grass

The same principle applies in the ground, with more room to spread out. In a border, dig a trench 20–25cm deep, set daffodils along the bottom, backfill, then plant tulips in the middle layer and alliums nearer the surface. Choose a spot with at least half a day of sun — a bed that is shaded in summer but bright in spring works beautifully.

For gravel gardens and dry, sunny corners, species tulips and alliums are far more reliable than the plumped-up bedding types. In grass, stick to daffodils and crocus, plant them in small drifts rather than rows, and mark the spot. The golden rule is not to mow until the foliage has yellowed and flopped, usually six weeks after flowering. Under deciduous trees you have a head start, since bulbs flower before the canopy fills; scatter them by hand and plant where they land, which always looks more natural than any pattern you can plan.

Aftercare that earns you a second year

Deadhead as the flowers fade, snipping off the seedhead but leaving stem and leaves intact. Those leaves are the bulb's solar panel, and cutting them back early is the most common reason a display disappoints the following spring.

Water pots through dry spells in spring, then ease off as the foliage yellows. Feed every fortnight with a high-potash liquid feed from flowering until the leaves die down. Afterwards, either tip the bulbs out, dry them somewhere airy and store them in a paper bag, or leave them in the pot, move it out of sight and let them rest.

Refresh the compost and replant each autumn. Tulips in particular lose vigour after a season in a container, so treat them as annuals rather than coaxing tired bulbs along. And keep a short note of what you planted and when it flowered — that small bit of record-keeping is what turns a one-off pot into a display you can rely on.