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desireeak

tulips in containers?

desireeak
18 years ago

I know it's still way early, but I was wondering if it was possible to plant tulip bulbs in containers? I normally plant a ton of them in my yard each fall, however this year I am pregnant and just won't be able to be hunched over all afternoon planting bulbs! I have 4 very large planters that I keep outside and was thinking of just planting bulbs in them later this fall. Has anyone had any success in getting tulips to come up when planted in containers???

Comments (2)

  • jscanlin
    18 years ago

    I've done it in the past, and it worked just fine. Do you have squirrels, though? In my urban backyard, the squirrels will dig up any bulbs planted in containers, and they especially like tulips! :(

  • meldy_nva
    18 years ago

    I've kinda done it, but as a once-off, not expecting the display to repeat. I used a 24" pot, with 6" of gravel in the bottom. I then layered bulbs, putting 1" sandy soil between layers. The pot had blooms starting in February with aconite and crocus, and continuing through to late May. I used both Tulips and daffodils of early, mid- and late-season varieties, six to nine bulbs of each for each season. I also had hyacinths which I wouldn't bother doing again in this sort of pot. It did make a good, long-lasting show, however it required watering with a weak fertilizer every day, and attention to snipping off discolored leaves (in a pot, the dying leaves are very in-your-face). I found the daffies to be more showy and durable than the tulips, but that may have been due to the warm spring weather that year. I didn't have a squirrel problem, perhaps due to the daffies (at home, I've noticed that they don't dig near the daffy bulbs). BTW, I planted the pot in October, and it wintered over in a corner of an open patio, but near the walls. You do want the bulbs to refrigerate but you don't want them to freeze solid.

    Would I do it again? Yes - if someone else were paying for the bulbs! A pretty pot is a crowded pot, which is not good for nourishing bulbs for a second blooming season.

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