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http://www.KillarneyGardenCentre.com Spring bulbs are a really cheap and highly effective way to get masses of colour in your garden with some beautiful Spring flowers such as Tulips, Daffodils and Crocus. When to plant Spring Bulbs? Spring bulbs offer endless opportunities to add highly attractive pockets of colour to achieve colour as early as possible in the new year and at this time of the year (October / early November) you still have time to plant your Spring bulbs. I think everyone gets a sense of amazement and joy when they see the first Daffodils showing their heads in Spring and they act like a 'wake up call' in the garden to wake the garden out of it's Winter slumber. The sight of Daffodils, Snowdrops and Crocus signal that an exciting new phase is about to begin in your garden. Bulbs can be used in a variety of ways for example; you can use them in pots, rockeries, borders, shrub beds, around the base of trees, and also in your window boxes and hanging baskets. I'm a big fan of using pots in the garden and when you plant bulbs in pots, it gives you a really easy and highly affordable way to achieve stunning colour in so many areas of the garden. You can use the pots in the areas that need it most without having to dig the ground and then quite simply remove the pots from their location when they go out of flower. What Bulbs should you plant? Choosing the correct variety of Bulb is very important. Theses days you can choose from so many different variations of the traditional Daffodils and Tulips, it will enable you to spread colour over several months and you can also get creative and use bulbs that grow to different heights so you can create 'layers' of colour. In this case you could plant larger varieties in the back and miniature varieties to the front or use larger ones as a focal point depending on where you want to put the pots. Daffodil Bulbs: I personally like to use Narcissi (Miniature) varieties. Tete-a-tete (yellow) and Jetfire (Yellow with Orange centre) being the most prolific flowering but you can also use Tresamble (Pure white) Or Mixed Narcissi. With daffodils you can combine early varieties such as Mando (Flowers early Feb) to Dutch Master (Flowers March) and to finish Lothario (Flowers April). With a combination like this you can extend the Daffodil flowering period from Feb to April. If you want to layer the colour add some low growing Miniature daffodils to the bed such as Tete-a-Tete, Jetfire and Rip Van Winkle for added depth. Tulip Bulbs: Miniature varieties are great for pots. Tulips flower later than most Daffodils so by including Tulips in your pots you can extend the colour even into the month of May. Tulip Bulb Varieties: Red riding hood (Red), Queen of the night (dark purple),Giuseppe Verdi (yellow and red) and Ancilla (red and peach) will add some hot colour into the garden in late spring. Tips when planting Bulbs in pots: When choosing a pot make sure it has good drainage holes in the base. Place some stones in the base to ensure the pot is free draining, this will prevent the bulbs from rotting Use a good multi-purpose compost Mix through some grit or 'Perlite' to improve drainage further. This will also encourage the bulbs to anchor and root into the soil easier. Mix through some slow-release fertiliser to give them adequate nourishment and you are ready to sow your bulbs. KEY POINT: Avoid planting bulbs directly into the lawn as this will prevent you from cutting the lawn (for 2 months) early in the spring and cutting the stems of the daffodils before they have died back into the bulbs will result in little or no flowers on your bulbs the following season. How to plant Bulbs - Tips for planting Depth & Spacing: As a general rule; plant the bulbs at twice the depth of the bulb and 15-20 cm apart. I say as a 'general rule' as Crocus should be planted 5 cm apart in clusters of 5-10 bulbs for maximum impact. Hyacinths should be planted with the bulb 2/3 covered and the other 1/3 exposed. Always check your packet of bulbs for specific planting instructions. Bulb Aftercare: Feed your bulbs with potash in the spring once the go out of flower this will replenish the bulbs energy and strengthen them for the nest season. If you find the stems of the bulbs unsightly as they go out of flower just roll the stems down and tie with an elastic band, which will allow the stems to die back into the bulbs neatly. Every 3-4 Years dig up the bulbs and remove any dead or diseased bulbs and this will prolong the life of your bulbs and keep them flowering vibrantly year after year. Online marketing by: www.iBusinessConsultants.ie