Winter is the perfect time to pot up leftover bulbs for a vibrant spring patio display. Learn how to use simple materials and steps to ensure stunning results.
DENVER — Food, family, friends. All lovely traditions and I’ve got one more: this is the time when I pot up bulbs to bloom on my patio in the spring.
If you haven’t managed to plant the bulbs you bought, here is your alternative: pot them up! Remember, you cannot store bulbs under your bed all winter. They are living things and won’t survive.
We’ve used pre-used potting soil and we’re mixing in a bit of bone meal. Bone meal is high in phosphates, and that promotes good bulb performance. You can use an ordinary gallon pot or reuse one of your patio pots. Some of my favorite pots for this project are simple plastic pots that were dollar store finds several years ago.
Plant them just like you would in the ground, about 5 inches deep – pointy end up! We fit 6 to 7 bulbs in each pot. It’s easy!
We’ve concentrated on daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. If you’re handling hyacinth bulbs, use gloves. They are treated with a fungicide that can make your hands itch. I always buy Grade “B” hyacinth bulbs. They’re cheaper and they make a shorter stem with less flowers.
Why is this good? Because the flowers of the Grade “A” bulbs always fall over. They’re too heavy so you’ve got to try to tie them up, which is extra work.
Double tulips are a perfect choice for this project. These aren’t great garden tulips, but they are glorious in spring pots. They’re like one-hit wonders.
Once we get all these potted, I’ll haul them downstairs into my dungeon. I used to call it by its proper name, my root cellar, but nobody even knows that a root cellar is anymore. All you need is a completely dark, very, very cool place that doesn’t drop much below freezing.
But it should be quite cool to simulate winter for the bulbs. That’s part of their life cycle. So, a garage, shed, or crawl space – anywhere that they get a winter chill but not like -5. That’s too cold for potted bulbs that are exposed on all sides of their pot.
Water them regularly and by early spring they will be ready to go outside on your patio!
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