I've grown bulbs for many years, and yes, you should have great tulips. However, if they are not of a Darwin strain, chances are you will only have one season of bloom. (Darwins will usually return for many years.) You could also plant, a little above the tulips, other bulbs that don't need so much depth.... snowdrops, regular crocuses etc. and it is not too late to scrape out the soil and do that. Put a good bit of bone meal in with each bulb. Almost any shallow rooting ground cover would do well on the surface and should not hinder the bulbs. Of course, I am only speaking from my experience.... I am sure there are many other opinions. I am sure you will enjoy your spring garden!

In containers I would plan on digging up the bulbs as they finish in the spring and starting over the next fall, with fresh potting soil. Just not enough root space in these little boxes, and you don't want all that dying foliage to look at as they ripen after blooming. They're not that expensive.

If you replant every fall, you should get flowers every spring. To keep tulips as a perennial requires letting the plant stand and wither on its own time after the flowers are done, and that can take a couple of months. Not very attractive when all you have is a couple of boxes on a balcony.

Crocuses do well planted over tulips. So would pansies and violas, and alyssum.

I do have tulips repeat here in the garden with no effort. I have no idea if they are Darwin's or not. I bought them because of the colors. It is possible that they are. Some are close to ten years old.

Crocus are excellent repeat bloomers and they multiply easily too. Ditto Daffodils.

I have pots with tulips, daffs, crocus and mini iris layered in them and I plant annuals on top. Some are several years old.

The dying bulb foliage is distracting. I believe that I will plant them all in the ground next spring as it is much easier to hide the dying foliage among perennials and grasses than in a pot.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Narcissus Collection

Thanks all!

Buyorsell, as usual, your photos inspire me. :0)

Here's my plan - I'll give it a shot and see what happens. If they don't rebloom then they don't rebloom. So be it, right?

Right!

Maintaining soil fertility seems to be important for keeping them going. I was having problems with daffodils being rapidly diminished by narcissus bulb fly until I fertilized, then instead the clump quickly bulked up (more bulbs and flowers, with taller stems) and was great. Speaking of pests, gray squirrels dig and eat crocuses here. To keep crocuses going you must have an area where gray squirrels do not go/do not bother them or screen them out with wire.

C. tomasinianus is so prolific that it is often able to keep ahead of rodents, I planted that one here to get around the squirrel problem. Once they started going for the other kinds (C. sieberi etc.) keeping those in any quantity became doubtful.

My yard is full of Eastern fox squirrels and I've had no problems with crocus being dug up. I have tons of crocus.

Do you have the native Western grays? or the introduced Eastern ones? I have neither here.

Fortunately I haven't had any problems with squirrels digging around in my flower boxes on my balcony!

We have a problem with Steller"s Jay going after newly planted crocus. They don't seem to bother the ones that have become established, so now I cover newly planted crocus with anything handy until January.

A......

Others have had squirrels causing problems on their balconies, and complained of it on the internet. Eastern gray squirrel is the common one in developed areas here. Native Douglas squirrels become scarce when dense coniferous forests are opened up, western gray squirrels have also not prospered in modern times. I did once see them much in evidence on an Oregon college campus.

Oh? Thanks bboy, I'll be on the lookout.

Thank you everyone for your help. I definitely am calling year #1 a success...

My plan is to set the boxes aside in a sunny yet out-of-the-way spot after the flowers fade, and to buy new boxes for my annuals. After the foliage dies out I'll dig up the bulbs and use them again in the fall. I'll probably have more questions then, but for now, I just wanted to say thank you and to show off my beautiful balcony. :0)

Here's a couple more pics, just for fun:

Bravo!

Well done.

Thanks for sharing.

You don't have to lift them if you don't want to. I leave mine in similar pots and they seem to be doing fine. I have some on third year, some on second. DH mentioned a couple years ago that he really liked tulips. they aren't my fave because their leaves are more difficult to ignore when they are dying but I went ahead and planted a bunch for him.

Thanks! I suppose I can just move the boxes if the leaves start annoying me. It's nice that the boxes aren't attached to anything, so they'll be easy to swap out with empty ones. I'll see what I feel like in the fall as far as lifting the bulbs goes!

See this thread:

Here is a link that might be useful: bulbs in containers