How to Fill Your Pots With Flowers All Year Round
I spent years planning, designing and planting to keep my yard vibrant year round. Part of my success is the careful use of flower pots. If you’re standing at the edge of your yard any time of year, you can tell where a splash of color would help, and that’s where a planter might go.
And while you can continue to replant the contents of the pot as the seasons change, there’s a surefire way to get a month’s worth of blooms while doing very little year after year: plant bulbs instead. Not just a few bulbs—like if you were building a plant lasagne, you’re going to line the pot from top to bottom with bulbs that will bloom at different times of the year.
It’s time to start working on this project. In early fall, you’ll plant snapdragons, pansies, and flowering kale on top of the bulbs to keep the pots looking full until the bulbs emerge.
Choose bulbs for each season.
The bulb season runs from late winter to mid-summer, and all bulbs bloom at different times within this range. Choose bulbs with different bloom times and you can extend the flowering time of your pot. Bulbs are classified into late winter, early/mid/late spring, early/mid/late summer, and early fall. I keep coming back to this incredibly detailed calendar from my local nursery – although the monthly schedule is for the Pacific Northwest, you can stick to the season designations on the left (early spring/late spring, etc.). For example, using this table, you can select snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, lilies and dahlias.
Again, your bulbs will take you from winter to summer when you plant annuals in the fall while the bulbs underneath are exposed to the cold they need to bloom properly. It will be helpful to sketch out the planter and what you will place in each layer, as well as the corresponding flowering time, to visualize the results.
Plant bulbs at a depth three times their size.
It is not difficult to plan the flowering year and plant accordingly. All bulbs live under the soil, in the depths of the pot. Generally, the rule for bulbs is that they should be three times deeper in the soil than the height of the bulb. The larger bulbs should be placed deeper in the pot, and as you move up you will continue to layer smaller and smaller bulbs. Larger bulbs need this depth to get the nutrients they need and have enough room for roots.
Choose an appropriate size container for the bulbs.
To ensure the correct placement of layers, the pot should not be overfilled and it should be of the appropriate depth. For these long-term outdoor pots, I always like to choose ones that are 24 inches tall or more and at least 14 inches wide. Make sure you choose pots that are weather-resistant: terracotta does not overwinter well. The more layers of bulbs you want, the deeper the planter should be.
Planter bulbs need more water and more insulation.
When planting, make sure that the bulbs do not touch each other, but they should not be more than a few inches apart. The smaller the bulb, the more you can plant. Bulbs typically receive a bulb-specific fertilizer each year, so consider adding it to your potting mix when planting. Plant in potting mix, not soil designed for raised beds.
Generally, pots by design dry out faster and provide less insulation than soil, so keep that in mind. Water the bulbs for several weeks after planting while they develop roots. Insulate for the winter depending on where you live. Next, make sure your bulbs have water throughout the growing season—this means the soil should always be slightly moist two to three inches down, but never wet or dry.
Decorate the bulbs with annuals for fall and winter.
Once the bulbs are in place, it’s time to give the pots some color for the winter. Your local nursery will stock flowering kale , pansies and other cold-tolerant fall annuals. Since they are planted in the very top layer of soil, they should not disturb the bulbs and will provide you with color for the next few months, even if they isolate the bulbs.