Britain is bracing for a distinctly wintry spell, with freezing conditions spreading nationwide and snowfall already affecting certain regions. As residents dig out their heavy coats, scarves and woolly hats, the conditions may appear far from perfect for gardening activities.
However, horticulture specialists have confirmed there’s still time to plant bulbs in the soil for a stunning springtime show. On Reddit’s GardeningUK forum, one novice gardener enquired: “Do you think I’m still ok to buy bulbs and get them into the ground this year? If so, where are you guys buying yours from, am thinking daffies, tulips, crocuses and the like.”
One user responded: “Plant away, the soil is still relatively warm despite the current weather. They’ll be fine.”
Another commented: “You can plant them up until mid Jan I’d say and they’ll be fine! The weather is so bonkers now. I’ve planted daffodils in late January and they came up in April.”
A fellow gardener outlined their planting timetable, explaining that snowdrops, fritillaries, cyclamen, crocus, Dutch iris, and lilies should be planted as soon as possible, whilst narcissus, hyacinth, and allium are ideally planted sooner, though can wait until later in the season. They noted “later is better” for tulips, explaining: “They don’t start rooting until it gets cold,” reports the Mirror.
Another contributor advised: “Plenty time, as long as you’re not trying to plant in frozen soil you’ll be grand. I usually plant up to the end of Nov and have a lovely display each spring.”
Another question was raised in the comments section by another user, who asked: “Can I hop on here and ask if I could still plant bulbs in containers at this stage?” A fellow user responded: “Yes absolutely, at worst the earlier spring bulbs just flower a bit later. Anytime up till end of December has never caused me any problems.”
Another person suggested: “Do a bulb lasagne of flowers that bloom at different stages and it’ll look good for months. You plant them at different levels in a pot. Largest bulbs at the bottom. Add a couple of winter pansies to the top of the pot for colour now.”
Yet another user chimed in: “Still absolutely fine to plant bulbs now. Daffodils, tulips, crocus – all good to go in November as long as the ground isn’t frozen. I usually plant tulips right up to Christmas. Garden centres still have plenty and often discounted this time of year.”
BBC Gardeners’ World advises: “Plenty of flower and vegetable seeds can be sown or planted in the UK in November. Sowing in November gives you a head start on the gardening year ahead, bringing flower and vegetable harvest times forward, while taking up soil space that would otherwise remain empty.
“Sowing in November also takes the pressure off spring sowing – spring is a busy time of year, so sowing as much as you can in November will save valuable time when temperatures increase again, enabling you to grow more of what you love. One of the best flowers to sow in November is sweet peas, as they’ll flower earlier than spring-sown sweet peas.
“Spring bulbs can also be planted this month – the best bulbs to plant in November include tulips and alliums.
“November is also a great time to plant bare-root fruit trees. These trees are dormant when planted but have the full season to grow as soon as temperatures increase in spring.
“Trees such as apple, pear, cherry and plum, along with blackcurrant, raspberry and gooseberry, can be planted now.”
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