How to Plant Tulip Bulbs in Pots
Pots of Tulips, 1885, Claude Monet, Public Domain via WikiCommons
Every spring, I fill my home with tulips. They're my favorite flower, and after years of studying their history, growing them, and admiring them in gardens across Europe, I've learned that you don't need a sprawling yard to enjoy a spectacular display.
For years, though, planting tulips in containers seemed intimidating. It felt like something that shouldn't work as well as planting them in the ground.
As it turns out, the process is surprisingly simple. In fact, the Dutch have a tried-and-true method for creating overflowing spring displays in pots. They call it "bulb lasagne."
Plant in Fall
Plant tulip bulbs in containers in late October, November, and December, as you would in your garden. A good rule of thumb is to fill the pot with soil and wait to plant tulip bulbs until the soil is below 60°F.
Tulips need to be dormant for 12-16 weeks before they can bloom, but it’s important to protect bulbs from freeze-and-thaw cycles, which can turn potted bulbs into mush. If you’re expecting unusually cold or warm winters, you will need to bring your pots inside to an unheated garage, basement, or shed—anywhere that stays consistently cold (no warmer than 60ºF), is ventilated, and is dark. The goal is to keep the planted bulbs just above freezing, between 35 and 45°F. With a larger pot, it is possible to leave bulbs out all winter (see #2).
Plant in a Large Container
Tulips need a large container. You want a minimum diameter of 18”, with an outside height of at least 15”. If you use a smaller container, your flowers will have less of an impact, and the bulbs might not thrive. You can purchase plastic, ceramic, or terracotta pots to plant tulips.
If your pots need to stay outside all winter long, you’ll have to go even bigger and get a container that’s at least 24” in diameter. This way, the pot will have enough soil to isolate the bulbs and protect them from freezing.
Use Well-Draining Soil
Tulips hate cold and wet. Soggy soil is death to tulip bulbs. Fill a well-draining container with loose soil. You can use a mix of potting soil and sandy soil to mimic the ground the bulbs came from. Do not use garden soil. Fertilizer is not necessary, but you can mulch with organic matter / peat-free compost.
Make sure your container has holes for water to drain out.
Plant Bulbs with the Pointy End Up, in Full Sun
Tulips like full sun, although in warmer climates partial shade is required. Place the tulip bulbs, pointy end up, blunt end down, same as in the garden.
Go Dutch!
To get dense and flowery spring pot displays, it’s best to layer bulbs in what the Dutch call a bulb lasagne – several layers of bulbs one on top of another with compost in between. The largest and latest-flowering bulbs go in deepest, with the smallest and earliest in the top layer. The emergent shoots of the lower-layer bulbs just bend around anything they hit, sit over their heads, and keep on growing.
Done like this, you need to plant the bulbs slightly further apart than you would in a pot with a single layer, so 2-3 cm (1-1½ in) apart is about right. The first layer can go as deep as 28-30 cm (11-12 in), then cover it with 5cm (2 in) of potting compost before you place the next layer of bulbs.
One idea is to do the display beginning with tulip species that last really well and are less affected by rain and wind. You can also layer bulbs that flower at different times to provide a prolonged display in spring.
Note: If you are planting in a single layer, place the tulip bulbs in a tight, circular pattern so they almost touch. Just ensure they don’t touch each other.
Water Once After Planting. Then Stop.
Please! Once again, soggy soil will rot the bulbs, and the flowers will not grow. Check on your pots in early spring. Water them lightly. When the tulips start peeking above the surface, water as you would any container plant; the tulips will bloom at the same time as those planted in the ground.
Note: If you’ve brought your pots indoors to a cold, dry place for the winter, you may need to give them the tiniest amount of water each week.
HAPPY PLANTING!
Image Source: aopsan via iStock
