For British gardeners, the gardening calendar never truly rests, and according to beloved horticulturist Alan Titchmarsh, now is the critical moment to act for a breathtaking spring spectacle. The television presenter and gardening author has issued a timely reminder that to enjoy the vibrant colours of tulips, alliums, and hyacinths next April and May, you need to get your bulbs in the ground before the Christmas festivities begin.
The Tulip Deadline: Why Timing is Everything
In a recent update on his popular YouTube channel, Gardening with Alan Titchmarsh, the expert made no secret of his fondness for one spring favourite. "I make no apology for saying that tulips are my favourite spring flowering bulbs," he declared, praising their vast colour range and versatility in any garden setting.
While tulips are known for their flexibility and can be planted later than many other bulbs, the window of opportunity is narrowing fast. Alan emphasises that gardeners have roughly a four-week window remaining if they aim for an Easter bloom. His advice is clear and direct: "Try and get them in before Christmas and then you'll enjoy a really good display in April and May."
For those gardening on a budget, he suggests bypassing single-colour bags from garden centres and instead opting for ready-mixed assortments, which offer a beautiful variety of colours without a hefty price tag.
Mastering Container Gardening for Spring Blooms
You don't need a vast border to enjoy these spring beauties, as Alan confirms that tulips thrive in containers. The key to an impressive container display lies in the planning. He demonstrated this by planting a modern square container with a mix of purple and white varieties, offering a crucial tip on colour balance.
"You need slightly less white than you've got purple because white stands out more," he pointed out, a consideration that applies to any colour combination where light and dark tones are used together.
When it comes to spacing the bulbs, he advises gardeners not to be overly anxious. Planting them much closer together than traditional advice suggests is perfectly acceptable. Spacing of anything between two and six inches should be fine, with the bulbs planted around six inches deep in fresh, peat-free multipurpose compost, their pointy ends facing upwards.
He strongly warns against reusing old compost from previous tulip plantings due to the significant risk of soil-borne diseases or fungus. To further protect your investment, mix one part grit or coarse sand into every three parts of compost to improve drainage and prevent bulb rot. A top layer of grit can also deter squirrels, while a layer of sharp sand at the bottom of the pot aids drainage.
Choosing the Right Spot and Exploring Alternatives
Alan also recommends matching your tulip variety to its garden location. "If they're in an exposed spot, they can get blown over a bit. So, the shorter varieties are really quite good there," he warned, suggesting that compact types are more resilient in windy areas.
For those who fancy something different from tulips, Alan proposes two excellent alternatives. The first is Alliums, those architectural plants with spherical flower heads that "come up happily year after year with flowers like fireworks on the top of a drumstick stem." The ideal planting time for Alliums is before the end of November, but a December planting can still be successful if the weather remains mild, though earlier is always better.
The second alternative is the wonderfully fragrant Hyacinth. While again, the best results for outdoor blooms come from planting before the end of November, they offer a unique opportunity for indoor colour and scent. By 'forcing' prepared bulbs in pots kept in a cool, dark place for 10-14 weeks, you can cultivate winter blooms indoors.
"The lovely thing about hyacinths," Alan says, "is apart from their early flowering capability, they also have the most glorious scent." This method not only brings life and colour indoors during the colder months but also fills your home with a beautiful, natural perfume, making the effort doubly rewarding.
