If you want bright blooming bulbs popping up next spring, then autumn is the time to start planting them. Bulbs are the epitome of spring. Daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, and tulips brighten the early weeks of the growing season and inspire us to look forward to summer blooms to come.

What is wonderful about spring bulbs is that they have different bloom times, meaning that as one variety is dying back, another one is filling its spot in the garden or container.

It is this very thing that brings us to the wonderful world of bulb lasagne planting! With a big plant pot or another large container, some soil, a bunch of different bulbs, and a porch or balcony to put your creation on, you can have a pot of color all spring long.

How to Choose Bulbs for Spring Bulb Lasagne

Source: jinxmcc/Flickr

So as to create a staggered blooming situation, you need to select a variety of bulb that blooms in early spring, a variety of bulb that blooms in mid-spring, and a variety of bulb that blooms in late spring.

Early-Spring Bulbs– Crocus, grape hyacinth, iris, and snowdrops are great early boomers. Grape hyacinth is a lovely plant that reaches about 6-8 inches. Irises grow a little taller, and the crocuses and snowdrops can make up your lower level.

Mid-Spring Bulbs– Tulips and hyacinths are good options for mid-spring blooms. Make sure that you buy a mid-spring booming variety of tulips. A mid-spring blooming daffodil would work here, too. Bear in mind the height of these plants as they are all on the taller side.

Late-Spring Bulbs– Late-spring blooming alliums, tulips, and daffodils will work well for this layer. Again, be sure to buy the correct variety of bulbs so as to achieve the correct staggering effect.

As well you should think about the height and space that different bulbs take up when in bloom. You might want a taller and a shorter flower in bloom at the same time, for example. Also, give some thought to color combinations.

Chose two or three bulb varieties from each category.

How to Prepare a Pot for Spring Bulb Lasagne

Source: Farmer Gracy/YouTube

There really is no hard fast rule on how large your pot needs to be, but bear in mind that you want to have space to plant a good few layers of bulbs. A large container will mean that you can plant a larger variety of bulbs without the pot becoming too overcrowded.

First of all, make sure that the pot you have chosen had good drainage holes in the bottom. Then, spread a good layer of pebbles or gravel in the bottom to help with drainage. If you have a really large pot that you don’t want to fill completely with compost and pebbles, put some old plastic plant pots upside down in the bottom and cover them with pebbles and afterward, compost. This will take up some space and leave a good drainage cavity.

How to Layer the Lasagne

You will plant your bulbs in layers based on their size. A general rule of thumb is the larger the bulb, the later it will bloom. At this point, you want to organize your bulbs into rough size order. Mixing the varieties does not matter, but make sure that you know what you are planting.

Your largest bulbs, likely tulip bulbs, need to be planted about 6 inches deep. As a result, start to fill your pot with compost, ensuring that you leave space to plant layers of bulbs at least 6 inches deep.

Find your largest bulbs. Start to layer these across the soil, all the while thinking about the color of the flowers and their height in relation to their placement. Do not plant the bulbs too closely together, but don’t be too sparse, either. Once you have them arranged, cover them with about an inch of compost.

Now, find the next smallest bulb. Arrange these in the compost, again thinking about color combinations.

Continue this until you have planted your smallest bulbs on the top layer. Cover the top layer of bulbs with a final shallow layer of compost. In general, bulbs like to be planted about twice as deep as they are high.

How to Care for Your Spring Bulb Lasagne

Put your pot in place and leave it alone until the spring.  You don’t need to water it. The autumn and winter rain will be enough to keep them from drying out. You needn’t be worried about them sprouting, as the cold will keep them dormant until the spring.

Something to Think About

No matter how hard you try to organize your spring bulb lasagne pot, just know that it doesn’t always grow in the way you envisioned it. However, you can rest assured that it will be bright and colorful and spread the joy of spring.

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