What to do when your beautiful spring blooms start fading?
If you have bulbs planted in pots or beds you do not need to leave them empty for the whole of summer; bedding plants are the answer. They are perrenial and need very little root space so they can be planted on top of bulbs.
Wilting daffodils.
Geraniums make perfect bedding plants and are just so friendly looking.
This is what I needed to plant bulbs and bedding plants:
A fairly deep pot and compost.
Secateurs and trowel.
I have decided to try out expand and grow compost. This is basically dehydrated compost that has the volume of 12 litres but when you add water it expands to a volume of 50 litres. This is perfect for balcony gardening as I don’t have room on my balcony or in my flat to store huge bags of compost.
Fill the pot by one third and then add water until it expands to fill the pot completely.
I then cut off the dead/wilting leaves of my daffodils and hyacinths so I am left with the bulbs.
I then position these quite deep into the soil with the bulbs’ roots facing downwards (important!). Then cover the bulbs with about 6 inches of soil as my bedding plants will be planted on top of the bulbs.
I prepare the bedding plants by breaking the polystyrene and removing each plug carefully. Don’t be tempted to pull the plugs out without breaking the polystyrene as this can rip the fragile roots.
Prepare a hole in the soil for each plug.
Ensure each plug is secure.
A pot that will bloom daffodils in spring and then geraniums in summer.
All done. My bulbs will start to come up mid-winter and bloom in spring and the bedding plants are perennial so they will flower every summer once the bulbs have died back down. Perfect low maintenance pot for my balcony.