Autumn bulb planting

The bulbs you plant between late September and early December decide what your garden looks like from January through May. Get the timing, depth and selection right and you have continuous spring colour from the first snowdrops to the last tulips, with almost no maintenance for the next six months. This guide covers what to plant, when to plant it, the depth-and-spacing rules that actually work, the technique for naturalising bulbs in grass, the lasagne method for pot displays, and how to keep squirrels off the lot.

Bulb planting is the single highest-return job in the garden year. The cost is low, the labour is one afternoon, and the result is months of colour at a time when the rest of the garden is still waking up. For the wider autumn-gardening context, see our autumn gardening guide.

When to plant: the timing windows

The biggest mistake in autumn bulb planting is treating all bulbs as one job done on one weekend. Different species need different planting windows.

• September: the first window. Plant Narcissus (daffodils), Crocus, Allium, Scilla, Anemone blanda. Soil is still warm enough for roots to establish before winter.
• October to early November: the main window. Continue daffodils, alliums, crocuses; add Hyacinthus orientalis, Iris reticulata, Camassia, Fritillaria meleagris, Muscari.
• November to early December: the tulip window. Tulipa goes in late deliberately. Planting tulips in still-warm September soil increases the risk of tulip fire (Botrytis tulipae), the fungal disease that disfigures and weakens the plants. By November the soil has cooled enough to suppress the spores.
• February to March: the ‘in the green’ window for snowdrops. Galanthus nivalis establishes far more reliably when planted as actively-growing plants in February or March than from dry autumn bulbs.

Planting depth: the rule that matters

The rule is three times the height of the bulb, measured from base of bulb to soil surface. Too shallow and the bulb is stressed by heat and frost; too deep and many species struggle to push through.

• Large bulbs (tulips, daffodils, alliums, hyacinths): 15-20 cm deep. The most common error is planting too shallow.
• Medium bulbs (crocuses, muscari, scillas, smaller narcissi): 7-10 cm deep.
• Small bulbs (anemones, snowdrops, winter aconite, dwarf iris): 5-7 cm deep.
• Spacing: roughly three bulb-widths apart, or closer for naturalistic drifts.
• Orientation: pointed end up, flat root-plate down. If you can’t tell, plant on the side – the shoot finds its way up.

A bulb planter (a tool that cuts and lifts a plug of soil in a single action) is well worth the £20 if you’re planting more than 30-40 bulbs. For larger naturalising work, a bulb-planting auger on a cordless drill is even faster.

What to plant: the reliable cultivars

Daffodils (Narcissus)

• Narcissus ‘Tete-a-tete’. The reliable dwarf yellow, flowers February-March. AGM. Perfect for pots, edges and naturalising in short grass.
• Narcissus ‘Thalia’. Pure white, multi-headed, fragrant, mid-season. AGM.
• Narcissus ‘Cheerfulness’. Cream, double, intensely fragrant. Late spring.
• Narcissus ‘Jetfire’. Bold yellow petals with orange cup, early-flowering. AGM.
• Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus (pheasant’s eye). White with red-rimmed yellow cup, late, fragrant. Naturalises beautifully in grass.

Tulips (Tulipa)

The showy hybrid tulips rarely flower well in their second year on heavy clay; treat them as annuals and replant fresh stock each autumn. Tulipa species (T. clusiana, T. sprengeri, T. turkestanica) and the Darwin Hybrid group are the most reliable perennial choices.

• Tulipa ‘Queen of Night’. Near-black single late, mid-May.
• Tulipa ‘Spring Green’. White with green flame, viridiflora, mid to late May. AGM.
• Tulipa ‘Ballerina’. Orange, fragrant (rare in tulips), lily-flowered, mid-spring. AGM.
• Tulipa ‘Apricot Beauty’. Soft apricot single early, April. AGM.
• Tulipa ‘Purissima’ (white Fosteriana). Large pure white, early, AGM. One of the most reliably perennial tulips.
• Tulipa sprengeri. The latest-flowering tulip (late May to early June), brilliant orange-red, naturalises by seed in light shade.

Alliums

• Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ (A. hollandicum). Deep violet drumsticks 80 cm tall, May. AGM. Naturalises freely.
• Allium ‘Globemaster’. Huge 20 cm violet globes, late May to June. AGM.
• Allium sphaerocephalon (drumstick allium). Small egg-shaped flowers turning from green to burgundy on wiry stems, June-July.
• Allium cristophii. Large airy starbursts of metallic violet, late May. AGM. Seedheads dry beautifully and last into July.

Smaller spring bulbs

• Crocus tommasinianus. AGM. The best naturalising crocus; carpets lawns and gravel by February.
• Crocus chrysanthus ‘Snow Bunting’. White with yellow throat, early-flowering. AGM.
• Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’ or ‘Katharine Hodgkin’. Dwarf early-flowering iris with intense blue or pale-blue-and-yellow markings. AGM (Katharine Hodgkin).
• Muscari armeniacum (grape hyacinth). AGM. Spreads steadily; brilliant in drifts.
• Scilla siberica. Deep blue nodding flowers in March. AGM. Naturalises in light shade.
• Anemone blanda. Daisy-like blue, pink or white flowers in March. AGM. Soak corms overnight before planting.
• Fritillaria meleagris (snake’s head fritillary). Chequered purple or white nodding bells, April. AGM. Best in damp grass or meadow planting.
• Camassia leichtlinii. Tall blue or white spikes, May. Brilliant for naturalising in damp grass.

Naturalising bulbs in lawns and grass

A drift of naturalised bulbs in grass is one of the most beautiful effects in the spring garden, and surprisingly easy to achieve.

• Choose the right species. The best naturalisers are Crocus tommasinianus, Narcissus ‘Tete-a-tete’, Narcissus poeticus, Camassia leichtlinii, Fritillaria meleagris, Anemone blanda, Scilla siberica, Galanthus nivalis. Hybrid tulips and large showy daffodils look unnatural in grass and rarely persist.
• Scatter and plant where they land. Toss bulbs from a height, mark where each lands, then plant exactly there. Random placement looks dramatically more natural than any pattern.
• Use a bulb planter or auger. Cutting individual plugs of turf is far quicker and tidier than digging holes; the plug goes straight back on top of the bulb.
• Don’t mow until the foliage has died back. Six weeks minimum after flowering. Most clients adopt a ‘bulb meadow’ approach: a defined area of the lawn left long for spring bulbs and the first wave of meadow flowers.
• Plant generously. 50-100 bulbs per square metre for crocuses, 30-50 for small narcissi. Use too few and the effect looks token.

Pot displays and the lasagne method

A single pot can give 12 weeks of continuous flower from February to early May if planted in layers, using the ‘lasagne’ method. Three layers of different bulbs grow up through each other in sequence.

• Bottom layer (about 20 cm deep): tulips. They emerge latest and flower in April-May.
• Middle layer (about 12 cm deep): daffodils, hyacinths or larger crocuses. These flower in March-April.
• Top layer (about 5-7 cm deep): small early bulbs – Iris reticulata, Crocus chrysanthus, Muscari. These flower first, in February-March.

Use a generous-sized pot (30 cm diameter minimum, 40 cm better), fill with peat-free multipurpose compost mixed with around 20% horticultural grit for drainage. Place crocks over the drainage hole. Water once after planting, then leave dry through winter except in prolonged dry spells. Position in a sunny, sheltered spot.

Keeping squirrels off the bulbs

The universal autumn-bulb-planting frustration in Surrey, where grey squirrel populations are high. Tulips, crocuses and lily bulbs are the favourite targets; daffodils, alliums and snowdrops are squirrel-resistant (the foliage and bulbs are toxic to most rodents).

• Lay chicken wire over freshly-planted areas. Pegged down with tent pegs at 30-40 cm spacing. Remove once shoots are 50 mm above ground. The single most reliable deterrent.
• Plant deeper. Squirrels rarely dig deeper than 10 cm. Planting tulips at 18-20 cm depth puts them out of reach.
• Plant among bulbs they don’t eat. Mixing tulips with daffodils and alliums confuses scent-tracking.
• For pots: a sheet of chicken wire cut to fit and pushed 25 mm below the surface stops digging without hindering emerging shoots.
• Avoid using bonemeal in soil mix: it attracts squirrels who associate the smell with food.

Aftercare for next year

• Deadhead spent flowers. Removing the developing seed pod stops the bulb wasting energy on setting seed. Exception: plants you want to naturalise from seed (Fritillaria meleagris, Tulipa sprengeri, Anemone blanda).
• Leave the foliage standing for at least six weeks after flowering. This is when the bulb stores energy for next year. Cutting too early reduces or eliminates next year’s flowers.
• Don’t knot or fold the foliage. Tying daffodil leaves into bundles reduces light to the leaf surface and weakens the bulb. Mask the messy phase with later-emerging perennials nearby.
• Feed. A liquid feed of high-potash tomato food at flowering time and again two weeks later helps build strong bulbs for next year.
• Lift annuals. Showy hybrid tulips that won’t flower well a second year can be lifted in June, dried, and composted. Replace with fresh stock each autumn.

Design ideas for a longer season

A well-planned bulb scheme delivers continuous spring colour over five months by overlapping waves of flowering:

• January-February: Galanthus nivalis, Eranthis hyemalis, Crocus tommasinianus, Iris reticulata, Cyclamen coum.
• March: dwarf Narcissus ‘Tete-a-tete’, Crocus chrysanthus, Scilla siberica, Anemone blanda, Muscari armeniacum.
• April: larger daffodils, Hyacinthus, mid-season tulips, Fritillaria meleagris, Narcissus ‘Thalia’.
• May: late tulips (‘Queen of Night’, ‘Spring Green’), Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, Camassia leichtlinii, Narcissus poeticus.
• June: Allium ‘Globemaster’, Allium sphaerocephalon, Tulipa sprengeri.

Plant in generous groups of at least 25 of each variety; smaller numbers read as token rather than designed. Repetition through a border (groups of 25-50 of the same cultivar repeated four or five times along the border length) reads as confident design.

What to avoid

• Planting tulips in September. Too warm; risk of tulip fire. Wait for November.
• Planting too shallow. The single most common mistake. The depth rule is three times the height of the bulb.
• Planting in heavy waterlogged soil. Most bulbs rot. Improve drainage with grit, raise the planting position, or plant in pots instead.
• Knotting or cutting daffodil foliage too early. The foliage feeds next year’s flowers. Wait six weeks minimum.
• One of every variety. Looks like a pick-and-mix. Groups of 25+ of the same cultivar, repeated, reads infinitely better.
• Using bonemeal as a planting amendment. Attracts squirrels and adds little the bulb needs.
• Hybrid tulips in grass. They look wrong and rarely persist. Stick to species tulips for naturalising.

Frequently asked questions

When should I plant spring bulbs?

Most spring-flowering bulbs go in between late September and the end of November. Daffodils, alliums, crocuses, hyacinths and snowdrops can all go in from late September. The exception is tulips, which prefer November or even early December: late planting reduces the risk of tulip fire (Botrytis tulipae), the fungal disease that affects bulbs planted into still-warm soil. The rule of thumb is to plant bulbs at three times their height in depth, in well-drained soil.

How deep should I plant bulbs?

Three times the height of the bulb, measured from the base of the bulb to the soil surface. So a 5 cm tulip bulb goes 15 cm deep; a 2 cm crocus goes 6 cm deep. Practical depths: large bulbs (tulips, daffodils, alliums, hyacinths) at 15-20 cm; medium bulbs (crocuses, muscari, smaller narcissi) at 7-10 cm; small bulbs (anemones, snowdrops, dwarf iris) at 5-7 cm. The most common mistake is planting too shallow. Point end up; if you can’t tell, plant on the side.

How do I stop squirrels digging up my bulbs?

The most reliable method is chicken wire pegged over freshly-planted areas with tent pegs at 30-40 cm spacing, removed once shoots are 50 mm above ground. Planting tulips at 18-20 cm depth puts them below the level squirrels typically dig. Mixing target bulbs (tulips, crocuses) with squirrel-resistant ones (daffodils, alliums, snowdrops) confuses scent-tracking. For pots, push a sheet of chicken wire 25 mm below the soil surface. Avoid using bonemeal as a planting amendment: it attracts squirrels.

Why are tulips planted later than other bulbs?

To reduce the risk of tulip fire (Botrytis tulipae), a fungal disease that disfigures and weakens the plants. The fungal spores are most active in warm, moist soil; by November the soil has cooled enough to suppress them. Tulips planted in September or October are noticeably more prone to the disease than those planted in November or early December, especially on heavier soils that retain warmth and moisture.

What is the lasagne method for bulb pots?

Layered bulb planting in a single pot, giving 12 weeks of continuous flowering from February to early May. Three layers: tulips at the bottom (20 cm deep, latest to flower); daffodils, hyacinths or larger crocuses in the middle (12 cm deep); small early bulbs like Iris reticulata, Crocus chrysanthus and Muscari at the top (5-7 cm deep). The early layer flowers first; as they fade, the middle layer emerges and flowers; finally the tulips come through. Use a pot 30-40 cm diameter minimum and peat-free compost with 20% grit for drainage.

Will my tulips come back next year?

It depends on the variety and the soil. Many showy hybrid tulips (Triumph, Single Late, Lily-flowered, Parrot, Fringed) rarely flower well in their second year on UK heavy clay soils; they are best treated as annuals and replaced each autumn. The most reliably perennial tulip groups are species tulips (Tulipa clusiana, T. sprengeri, T. turkestanica), Darwin Hybrids, Fosteriana (‘Purissima’), and most Kaufmanniana and Greigii cultivars. Improve drainage with grit, plant deep (18-20 cm), and avoid wet positions to maximise return rates.

Let’s plant your bulbs

If you would like us to plan and plant a significant bulb display for your garden (borders, naturalised lawn drifts, container schemes or whole-garden succession planting), we’d be glad to help. Flourish Landscaping designs and installs planting schemes across Kingston, Surbiton, Richmond, Esher and the wider Surrey area. See our planting design and installation service for the way we work, or our autumn gardening guide for the wider seasonal context.

Contact us to arrange a consultation and start the conversation.