When to plant daffodil bulbs for the best blooms

Narcissus 'Peach Cobbler' from T&M

These daffodils look good in containers or as cut flowers
Image: Narcissus ‘Peach Cobbler’ from Thompson & Morgan

For the best spring blooms, plant your daffodil bulbs in autumn. That way they have plenty of time to settle in and grow strong root systems to support healthy foliage and brilliant, vibrant displays. Here we take a look at how to plant daffodils for maximum wow factor, and present some of our favourite varieties to try.

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My spring garden

It’s been a busy few months and I thought I’d share a few pictures from my own spring garden with you…

A premium selection of daffodils I’m trialling.

My spring garden

Carnation-flowered daffodils

These carnation-flowered daffs have big, voluptuous blooms with a fragrance to match!

My spring garden

Amazing fragrance

This mix of tulips lasted weeks as different colours appeared.

My spring garden

Long-lasting tulip display

T&M’s very own tulip ‘St. George’.

My spring garden

Tulip ‘St. George’

The double-flowered indigo hyacinth ‘Manhattan’ is one of my favourites.

My spring garden

Hyacinth ‘Manhattan’

Fritillaries make unique little cut flowers for indoors.

My spring garden

Fritillaries…indoors

The view from my bedroom!

My spring garden

My garden

Summer’s over, what next? Michael Perry asks

Tulip Everlasting Mixture

Tulip Everlasting Mixture

I think it has happened.

When leaving the house today; the feeling of autumn seemed to have descended. Although bright and sunny, the temperature was cooler and there were misty windows. Darn, I’ll have to start wearing socks again!

So what do we do now summer’s ‘over’?

In terms of summer bedding, there’s no need to hurry, just enjoy it while it lasts, trimming and dead-heading here and there. You might want to clear some areas to make way for bulb plantings though…

Now’s the ideal time to plant a tapestry that will burst into life next spring- just at the point where you’ve forgotten you planted it! Think colour, think fragrance and think non-stop interest. Plant up a lasagne of bulbs such as tall tulips (‘Everlasting’ Mixture is great as it comes back year after year, each time as good as the last), sprinkled with the newest and best rainbow daffs (‘Rainbow Butterflies Mixed’, and in the foreground some of our newest and rare crocus cancellatus.

Primrose Primlet Berryblossom Mixed

Primrose Primlet Berryblossom Mixed

And, bedding isn’t just for summer – there are some fab winter and spring varieties you can try too! Save £££s by planning and buying now; the world really is your oyster. There’s as much to choose from as there is for summer! Pansies, primroses, polyanthus, wallflowers, double daisies, violas… the list goes on! A couple of my favourites are pansy ‘Frizzle Sizzle Yellow Blue Swirl’ and the lovely primrose ‘Berryblossom Mixed’.

And if you’ve wanted to try fruit for a bit, now’s the ideal time to give it a go! Strawberries planted in the autumn will actually give 50% more fruit than those planted in the same year. And <a href=”/fruit/fruit-trees”>fruit trees</a> are best planted as bareroot right now – so get out with your spade!

Follow me on twitter @gardening_greek keep up to date with all the latest plant developments!

See you for now,

Michael

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