Your tulips and daffodils have stopped flowering and now you re not sure what to do with them.
Growing daffodils in pots nz.
Three essential ingredients for successfully growing daffodils in containers are.
Store in cool position until buds start to appear through the soil.
Autumn is the best time to plant bulbs in new zealand.
Prepare your soil with organic matter like compost and sheep pellets.
How to plant daffodils.
Where winters are severe make sure there are at least 3 inches of soil covering the bulb.
Fill your container with a high quality potting mix don t use garden soil and plant your bulbs as deeply as you would in the ground.
Planting daffodils in containers daffodils can grow well in containers for up to three years if the pot is deep enough for their roots to fill out.
Plant bulbs 1 to 5 times their own depth.
The deeper the better since daffodil roots like to reach down about 12 inches.
Water and lots of it during the growing and flowering time.
Plant in sunny well drained site starting in late february through till the end of may when the soil temperatures are cooler.
The larger the bulb the better.
Select high quality daffodil bulbs that have not been dried out.
Paul says it s important you remove the flowerheads or any developing seed pods from your tulips and daffodils to stop their energy going into seed production.
Choose a pot that is 8 to 12 inches in diameter and at least 8 inches deep.
Finally the last layer of soil can be added and lightly tamped.
This helps keep the soil acidic.
Naturally these containers are placed outside.
Water your bulbs well after planting.
Add a layer of bulb mix and p lant your bulbs at a depth twice their diameter.
Deep pots to let the roots run.
Since our tap water is alkaline and daffodils prefer an acid soil add about 1 teaspoon of ironite tm for 1 gallon pots and 2 teaspoons for 2 gallon pots.
Plant in free draining soil.
Combine daffodils with perennials or annuals and don t forget to water.
For instance 6 or 7 inches deep for tulips and daffodils and 4 or 5 inches deep for little bulbs such as crocus and siberian squill.
This gives the plant a little added potassium and helps build the bulb for next year s bloom.
Cover the daffodils with a layer of compost and press down firmly.
After blooming add a pinch of 5 10 10 fertilizer to the pot.
Growing daffodil s is easy generally all they need is a good fertile free draining soil and plenty of sun.
Water in well once planted.
The choice of pots is only limited by your imagination but for best results choose a deep pot with sufficient drainage holes.
Feed bulbs when planting when stems begin to appear when starting to flower and when dying down.
If growing in pots plant 4 5cm deep and allow 10 15 bulbs for 15 20cm pots.
Choose a well drained site for your daffodil s as they loathe wet feet.
In case of persistent dry weather they should be watered.