Growing Bulbs in Containers

You don’t need a large garden to grow lots of beautiful bulbs.  Try growing bulbs in containers to bring some spring and summer colour to your home!

We have most of our bulbs in containers dotted around the garden close to the house. Personally I find growing bulbs in containers very easy and quite convenient. You can place the bulb containers around the house in positions that suit their needs. Also you can position them for maximum impact. During spring, over the last couple of years we have had a beautiful display of tulips right outside our living room window!

By growing our bulbs in containers we are easily able to lift and divide them if they get overcrowded. It is also easier to control the amount of water that they get. Generally bulbs need to be allowed to dry out once they have died back. By having our bulbs in pots we can water them during the growing season and then move them to where they can be allowed to dry out until the growing season starts again!

I started thinking recently about how many different types of bulbs that we have growing in containers and was shocked when I added them up. I was able to count 10 different bulbs that are growing in containers!

 

10 Bulbs in Containers that are Growing in My Garden

 

1. Tulips

Tulips are one of my favourite spring flowering bulbs. It really feels like spring has arrived when the tulips start flowering! I usually pop the tulip bulbs in the fridge for about 4 weeks before planting. This year they didn’t make it to the fridge because they started shooting very early. It didn’t seem to matter as we still had a stunning display of flowers! Click here for more on growing tulips.

 

2. Hyacinth

Hyacinth bulbs only flower for a short time during spring but their perfume is wonderful – well worth the wait!

 

3. Grape Hyacinth (Muscari)

I think that grape hyacinth look so cute in the garden in spring; just like little bunches of grapes! They are quite small so they would also look lovely if they were planted in a container with other taller flowering bulbs.

 

4. Spring Star

These cute little white flowers are similar to the grape hyacinth in that they are only small. But they look really beautiful when they are a mass of flowers.

 

5. Daffodils

Daffodils are another cheery spring bulb. Make sure not to overcrowd daffodil bulbs in containers though. I have found that they produce fewer flowers when overcrowded.

 

6. Freesias

Freesias are another one of my favourite spring flowers because of their heavenly scent. You know when there are freesias planted nearby because you smell their sweet perfume! You could put a pot of freesias near an open window to allow the smell to drift into the house.

 

7. Dutch Iris

The striking flowers of the Dutch iris bulb look wonderful in the garden. I love the blue ones but we also have some yellow Dutch irises. They also make a wonderful cut flower for arrangements.

 

8. Pineapple Lily

Another summer flowering bulb is the pineapple lily. The flowers of this lily are so cute because they look like little mini pineapples!

 

9. Lily Flower Bulbs

Lily flower bulbs also produce beautiful flowers that are great in floral arrangements. They seem to flower very reliably with little maintenance.

 

10. Hippeastrum

Last but not least is the hippeastrum which produces very large flowers in late spring and early summer. Hippeastrums don’t flower for very long but they are well worth growing just to see their beautiful, almost majestic, flowers!

 

We have had most of these bulbs for several years and they require very little maintenance. You can add some bulb fertilizer when planting or once you see some new growth. I also suggest that you keep an eye out for pests such as slugs, snails, cutworms, and aphids. All of these pests will love to chew on your lovely bulbs!

Check out this link that I found at Bulbs Direct if you would like to know more about growing bulbs in containers.

Also if you would like to see more about gardening in containers check out my Container Gardening board on Pinterest.