Creating a Splash Of Winter Colour with Flowering Bulbs

3rd February 2010, by Dan Walford

Sunnier days are encouraging hardy cyclamen, early crocus and snowdrops to open their flower heads and provide a welcoming splash of colour.

Snowdrops may at first sight seem all the same but nurserymen have spent centuries breeding different types and hybrids that provide a variety of singles, doubles, petal shape and distinctive markings. If your garden is short of these flowers, you can buy potted plants in flower at your garden centre to provide an instant display. They move very successfully while ‘in the green’ so as soon as the flowers have faded it’s time to buy and plant new varieties or to lift and separate your own collection.

When moving your own collection, tease the bulbs apart and replant at the same depth 8cm apart. They prefer a humus rich soil, so add a soil conditioner to improve the structure and moisture holding capacity.

All bulbs need to be able to draw nourishment from the soil during the time between flowering and the foliage dying back. Never cut back foliage or tie it in bunches as this will reduce the bulb’s ability to regenerate for future years.

The time in leaf is when the bulb is forming next year’s flower stem and replenishing the food store of the surrounding bulb layers. Help out by applying a specialist bulb plant food which will supply nutrients that are easily available to the roots.

Other shrubs in flower during this mid-winter time include witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis) and Winter sweet (Chimonanthus praecox). Both provide interesting pale yellow flowers and some stunning perfume that will fill the air on a sunny day.

3 comments | Filed under: Flower Gardening | Freshness: 36 days ago

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