English Rose ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’, image courtesy of David Austin Roses.
f you decide to plant your bulbs in containers, try these tips: Bulbs need good drainage so make sure holes in the bottom of pots are not blocked, and that potting medium is a free-draining, sandy mix.Use a bulb container mix or add balanced slow-release fertiliser to a standard mix. Nutrients are washed out of pots more easily than they are from garden soil.Ensure the potting mix is sterile to reduce the chance of soil disease.For a stunning effect, use a deep pot, as shown here, and plant in layers with small bulbs like Freesia on top and larger bulbs like daffodil below.If you plant low-growing annuals such as Alyssum or Lobelia in the same pot as your bulbs, they will disguise leaves as they die back.Feed potted bulbs with liquid fertiliser every fortnight as soon as shoots appear until leaves begin to yellow.Keep potting mix moist while bulbs are growing and in flower.Stop watering when foliage starts to brown off and move pots to a cool, dry spot.Repot bulbs next autumn.
Container Gardening: Spring Container Planting The Daffodils have bloomed in this spring container, but the foliage still adds a nice touch combined with continuing color from trailing Veronica, Violas, Heuchera blooms, and bright lime Selaginella Moss in the center Lush Custom Gardening.
Spring interest - • Hide pots of flowering white daffodils behind the gardenia. Summer interest (shown): • Replace spring bulbs with white cosmos or wand flower (Gaura lindheimeri).
Spring Containers with 'Angelique' Tulips
‘Ice Dance’ Japanese sedge (Carex morrowii ‘Ice Dance’, zones 5 to 9) is a more subtle but equally impressive thriller shown in this pot grouping. The sedge planted in the center of the pots is the star, as it ties into the landscape by mimicking the planting in the raised wood planter behind it. ‘Ice Dance’ is an evergreen sedge that prefers partial shade and moist soil. Its white leaf margins add a touch of brightness, making it the perfect choice for a container in a shady corner. Other plants shown: Coral bells (Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’, zones 4 to 9), creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia, zones 3 to 9)
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