Bulbs in container

[rosie]

I bought a container that has tulip and daffodils in it,.They are done now so what do I do? Can I save until next year or do I have to take them out and plant them?

[Eeyore]

let the foliage die back naturally and then plant them in your garden.

[Gooseneck]

store them in a brown paper bag downstairs or somewhere cool, plant them in the fall for next year.

[Lizcordysmum]

I have a 3 foot by 5 foot wooden box in a corner of the garden...filled with good soil...I put all my container bulbs in there, so I can reuse the containers in the summer.

When I dump them in, I TRY to include labels so I will know what is what, but cats and birds trick me. I DO feed them ONCE, a proper amount of bulb food, or bone meal. Then cover them, leave them...

In the autumn when it is time to replant your containers, lift the bulbs out...any that are squishy aren't any good. a good firm bulb IS good. big ones in the middle...of at the back if your pots go against a wall, and smaller and smaller towards the front, so wee ones don't get lost. However, if you buy some muscari, and/or some snowdrops, you can plant those throughout as they will come earlier than the rest will.

If you can tuck a couple of lily bulbs in first of all, you will have some lovely lilies too...as the spring flowers die off, you can put pretty annuals at the base of the lilies.