bulbs in containers

10 years ago

I plan on ripping out my petunias any day now and replant them with tulip bulbs (lasagna style for the larger containers). All of my containers are plastic.

1) Can they be left out all winter next to my garage?

2) How can I protect them from squirrels. At my old house I planted them in the ground and used chicken wire to cover the ground but for containers I'm not sure that's practical.

3) I used Swallowtail Seeds Company for my annuals and veggies seeds this year. But they don't carry bulbs unfortunately. Can anyone recommend someone as reliable as them?

Comments (4)

jerseygirl07603 z6NJ
10 years ago
I've never done tulips but have planted crocus, daffodils and hyacinths in plastic pots, put them in a sheltered spot next to a stone wall, and dumped a bunch of leaves on them. The squirrels don't seem to notice them. Have also sunk the pots in garden and covered with leaves with success too. Depending on size of pots, I've also slipped plastic milk crates over them so squirrels can't get to them but they're still open to the elements.
njitgrad
Original Author
10 years ago
I have 2x4 raised beds for my veggies. If I bury the pots in the beds so just the lip of the containers are exposed will this be sufficient enough? Or will the soil in the raised beds still freeze?

If this won't work, I'll need another creative way to keep the bulbs from freezing. My garage is packed so that's out of the question and my shed is small and has no source of warmth at all, unless I cover them with something warm put permeable (like burlap) perhaps?

Suggestions? Ideas?
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linaria_gw
10 years ago
I tried bulbs in containers with mixed succes. Last fall, I didn't get around to bury the pots in the soil in time. An early frost turned them rock solid. I buried them anyway and most of the stuff grew this spring.

Ime the real problem is alternating freezing and thawing that makes bulbs rot.

Raised bed sounds fine, any larger earth volume will help.

Use a rather gritty mixture

Protect from sun, wind and full rain ( leaf mulch coul do or screens)

I would chose earlier tulip types, either short species types ( greigii, fosteriana, kaufmaniana), single early or Darwin- hybrids.

You could start with few packs to test your set up and get more bulbs for the following season.

Oh, and I would use labels,cause chances are you dont know which are where after winter...

Have fun and good luck, bye, Lin
jerseygirl07603 z6NJ
10 years ago
I think burying them in the raised beds just so the lip is even with soil level is fine. I think the object is to mimic in-ground planting as closely as possible. Mine are in sun, leaves & snow fall on them just like the regular plantings. Having the lip visible helps when you want to find them in the spring.