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Lasagne bulb planting

Matty2Matty2 Posts: 4,817

Hi 

 I have a 45cm wide, shallow bulb planter I would like it to be really bright and have a long flowering season. I would like to use Iris. 

I am unsure how to go about layering the planting and which bulbs to choose to get a balance d effect

Suggestions please image

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    I tend to do single species planted pots but for this method  I'd decide on a colour and go from there. So, if for instance you wanted a yellowy theme, you could have crocus followed by daffs then tulips. Put the biggest bulbs nearest the base of the pot (tulips) then a layer of compost, a layer of daffs/narcissus, then a layer of compost and put the crocus in so that they're nearest the top. The little reticulata Iris  are beautiful. You  could use them with crocus to compliment or contrast in colour, or use them as previously described in place of the crocus layer.  You can cram them in more tightly than if you were planting in the ground. If you're using  a shallow planter you'll probably only get two layers at most so I'd go for dwarf iris and maybe dwarf narcissus. Anything too tall will tend to make the planter unbalanced.image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • I'm so "green" at some of this. I didn't realise you could literally layer plants up on top of one another. And I find I'm so unbelievably impressed by this (I know, I know I should get out more image ). What a super duper space saving idea that is. I'm gonna have to try that with one or two of my pots next year. *Still learning* image

  • Matty2Matty2 Posts: 4,817

    Thanks FG. I didn't want tall tulips but may go for the shorter ones. I am thinkig now thise iris and crocus mix, but not sure about next layer.

    Will see if there are any more suggestions.

  • I did this with mixed bulbs in shallow planters a couple yrs ago.  I went for coloured themes, some in similar shades and some mixed.  The nicest, I thought, were cream and purple Tulips, daffs and crocus, but all were lovely.  I packed the bulbs in quite tight, and they gave a fantastic display. Then I stole the pots fro something else, so put thwm in my border, where they were really great this yr.

  • 4thPanda4thPanda Posts: 4,145

    I did this last year and it was fabulous! I dubbed it extreme bulb planting! I had crocus in my top layer, daffs in the second and alliums as the bottom layer. I didn't think about colour themes, just planted what I fancied. They were very jolly. This year I'm going to give the colour theme a go, just need to buy some new pots. . . .image

  • Not iris, but thought I'd mention that deep rose pink tulips layered with scilla or muscari, timed to come out at the same time look lovely together. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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