Growing Family

UK home and garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for busy family life, written by Catherine Hughes

  • Home
  • About
    • About Me
    • Contact / PR
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • Garden
    • What to Plant Now
    • Garden Jobs this Month
    • Grow Your Own
    • Gardening with Children
    • Garden Tips
    • Garden Design
    • Houseplants
    • In Season Now
    • Birth Month Flowers
  • Interiors
    • Interior Design Tips
    • Living Room
    • Kitchen & Dining
    • Bedroom
    • Bathroom
    • Family Home
    • Product Showcase
    • Food
  • Nature
    • Exploring Nature
    • Days Out
    • Travel
  • Craft
  • Reviews
  • Giveaways

How to plant a bulb lasagne: easy guide to layering bulbs

September 9, 2020 by Catherine 38 Comments

If you’ve never heard of a bulb lasagne you’re probably raising your eyebrows right now.  It is a real gardening ‘thing’ though!

This post explains what a bulb lasagne is, and why it’s a great gardening project to have a go at. There’s also a step-by-step planting guide, plus advice on the best bulbs to plant, and how to take care of your bulb lasagne so it provides you with months of beautiful flowers.

What is a bulb lasagne?

A bulb lasagne is a clever way of planting bulbs in pots in layers to create a display of flowers that lasts for months.  You might see it also described as layered bulb planting.

Layering bulbs in pots is really easy to do, and will give you a lovely display throughout winter and into spring for very little effort.  What’s not to like?

Can you layer bulbs?

If you’re wondering how to plant bulbs in pots, layering different varieties in the same container is a great option. Flower bulbs will be perfectly happy to be layered up in a pot. The important thing to get right is the order in which you plant them. The ones that flower first should be planted on the top layer, with the ones that flower next on the second layer, and so on.

spring flowering bulbs

When is the best time to plant spring bulbs?

It’s important to plant bulbs at the right time of year, and this varies according to the variety you choose; check the packaging if you’re not sure.  Spring flowering bulbs should be planted in autumn.

If you want to plant a bulb lasagne with summer flowering bulbs such as gladioli and dahlias, you need to plant it in spring.

Can I plant on top of bulbs?

Absolutely. Winter bedding plants are a great way to give your display a head start before the bulbs flower.

How to plant a bulb lasagne

Autumn is the perfect time to plant bulbs for spring, so if you’d like to have a go at planting a bulb lasagne, here’s how to do it.

materials for planting a bulb lasagne in a container

What you need to plant a bulb lasagne

Here’s a list of the things you need to plant your bulb lasagne.

  • *Spring bulbs
  • *Multi-purpose compost
  • *Trowel
  • *Gardening gloves
  • Container
  • Winter bedding plants
  • You might also like to use a *bulb starter to help your bulbs grow and increase their ability to absorb water and nutrients.

You’ll need a variety of spring bulbs that flower at different times for your container.  The aim is to get a lovely display of flowers for as long as possible, so check the flowering month on the bulb packet before you buy.

Prepare your container

When it comes to bulb lasagne planting, you’re going for big impact and wow factor. A great way to achieve this is to pack the container full of bulbs; bear this in mind when choosing the size of your plant pot.

bulb lasagne terracotta pot

It’s a good idea to put some ‘crocks’ (broken pieces of pot) in the bottom of the container to help with drainage.

Once you’ve done this, add general purpose compost to the container until it’s about one-third full.

adding compost to container

Plant your bulb layers

Plant the latest flowering bulbs on your first layer in the container, then cover them over with compost.

planting a bulb lasagne by layering bulbs in a container
Tulip bulbs on the bottom layer

The bulbs that flower before the bottom layer go in next; again, cover them over with a layer of compost.

planting a bulb lasagne by layering bulbs in a container
Daffodil bulbs on the middle layer

The top layer should be the bulbs that flower first.

planting a bulb lasagne by layering bulbs in a container
Crocus bulbs on the top layer

It’s important you plant your bulbs in the right order, and it’s surprisingly easy to get mixed up!  I’ve found that laying out each variety in a line before I start really helps.

Add plants to the top of your bulb lasagne

Your bulbs won’t flower until late winter, so you need to add plants to the top of the container to create a lovely display in the meantime. To do this, cover your top layer of bulbs with compost, then add your plants on top and fill in any gaps with more compost.

Keep your container moist, but don’t be tempted to over-water. Bulbs hate sitting in cold, soggy soil.

What to plant with container bulbs

Now your bulb lasagne is planted, you might be thinking ‘What can I plant on top of bulbs in pots?’. There are lots of lovely options here that will make your container look fantastic until the bulbs start to put on a show.

Winter flowering pansies, violas, cyclamen and heather are all great options for the top of your bulb lasagne. I think it’s also worth adding in some foliage plants such as ivy, heuchera or cineraria to really boost the impact.

Great bulbs for planting in a bulb lasagne

Here are some ideas for *spring bulbs which you could use on each layer of your lasagne:

Bottom layer: tulips, hyacinths

Next layer: narcissus, daffodils, anemone, muscari (grape hyacinths)

Top layer: snowdrop, crocus, miniature iris

You can buy bulb collections that are designed for layering bulbs, or make up your own bulb lasagne combinations to suit the size of your containers.

Here’s a short time-lapse video of beautiful crocuses to inspire you to get planting!

What to do with bulbs in containers after flowering

Your bulb lasagne should flower for you year after year, but the bulbs will benefit from a feed after a couple of seasons.

spring flowering bulbs

If you’d rather not leave your bulbs in their container, you can dig them up once the foliage has died back and dry them out, then store them. I have to admit I’ve never bothered doing this though, I like the low-maintenance element of leaving well alone!

I do replace the top layer of compost when I change the bedding plants, to give the whole container some fresh nutrients.

And that’s it – a quick gardening project that will give you lots of blooms to enjoy in the depths of winter 🙂

miniature iris

More garden bulb planting resources

If you’re also planting bulbs in the garden, you might like to check out my post on planting bulbs, which has a step-by-step guide to help you get it right.

And if you’ve got lots of spring bulbs, how about forcing a few of them to flower early for indoor blooms this winter? This is another easy project – and they make great gifts too. My post on forcing bulbs shows you how to do it.

Do you think you’ll have a go at bulb layering by planting a bulb lasagne?  I’d love to hear what you choose to plant, I’ve still got some containers to fill so inspire me!

a year of nature craft and play book by catherine hughes and becky goddard-hill

More nature inspiration for kids

Planting a bulb lasagne is just one of the fun nature projects in my book, *A Year of Nature Craft and Play.  There’s an activity for every week of the year and it includes fun gardening projects, crafts, games, art and science experiments – perfect for inspiring kids to embrace nature play and explore the amazing natural world.

If you’ve enjoyed this post and found it useful, here are some ways you can say thanks and support Growing Family:

🌻 Click here to buy me a virtual coffee.

🌻 Click here to sign up to my newsletters and get regular updates straight to your inbox.

🌻 Join my Nature Crafts & Play Facebook group here where we share lots of great tips and ideas for exploring and enjoying nature with children.

🌻 Follow me on social media: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

🌻 Share this post with your friends via the buttons below.

Pin for later:

Easy step-by-step guide to planting a bulb lasagne in a container - a quick gardening project that will bloom right through winter and into spring.
Tweet
Share
Share
Pin5K
5K Shares

Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Autumn, bulb lasagne, bulbs, container gardening, Containers, Flowers, Garden, Garden tips, gardening, Planting, Plants, small space gardening, Spring, Top Tips, Winter

« Gallery walls made easy with Desenio
Win Charles Dowding’s No Dig Gardening book »

Comments

  1. Crummy Mummy says

    November 1, 2015 at 4:02 pm

    This is such a great idea – I saw Monty Don do it on Gardeners’ World a few weeks ago and thought I must do that, but haven’t yet – you’ve inspired me! #HowToSunday

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      November 1, 2015 at 4:06 pm

      Ooh good! I did it for the first time last year and it’s definitely an annual thing for me now, so much result for so little effort!

      Reply
  2. Sara at Handy Herbs says

    November 1, 2015 at 4:54 pm

    This is such a wonderful idea. I think I am going to do one for my mum as an extra Christmas gift – I know she will love it too 🙂 #HowToSundays

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      November 1, 2015 at 5:47 pm

      I’ve done little pots of forced bulbs as gifts in the past but this would be a lovely long-lasting present for the garden – great idea!

      Reply
  3. Jenny says

    November 1, 2015 at 7:22 pm

    I had never heard of a bulb lasagne until I read your post! We have kind of done that by accident as little A was helping me plant them. We decided just to buy lots of different colours and mix them up. Nowhere near as organised as your bulb lasagne!
    Thanks so much for linking up to #HowtoSunday 🙂 x

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      November 1, 2015 at 8:24 pm

      Nothing wrong with a more freeform approach 🙂 Bulb planting is great for little ones isn’t it, I just wish I’d kept better track of what went where in our garden!

      Reply
  4. Becky at PinksCharming says

    November 1, 2015 at 11:32 pm

    This is so cool! I’ve never heard of this before but it makes perfect sense. I’ll be showing that to my head gardener (my husband) as I am totally lacking green fingers! Becky x #HowtoSunday

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      November 2, 2015 at 8:39 pm

      Good plan – there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the results of someone else’s gardening!

      Reply
  5. Andrea says

    September 5, 2017 at 3:17 pm

    Hi, I live in the Northeastern US and wold love to try this. Is the idea to keep the planter in the house over the winter? I wasn’t sure from the post. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 5, 2017 at 6:38 pm

      Hi Andrea, the idea is to leave the container outdoors. Here in the UK we would usually plant spring flowering bulbs in the ground in autumn, and it’s the same principle for a container. I’m not sure how severe your winters get though, so you’d be best to follow the same method as you’d normally use for planting spring bulbs. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  6. TR says

    October 4, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    Hi, thanks for the lovely guide – I’m definitely doing this and will do a couple of smaller ones as gifts at the same time! My question is, you said this will be an annual thing for you now – does this need to be done fresh every year or can’t it be left in the same pot year after year? Maybe changing the topping to make sure it’s nice all year round?

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 6, 2017 at 1:24 pm

      Ooh good question! Mine generally flower year after year, and I do replace the top layer of compost when I change the bedding plants. You can also lift the bulbs once the foliage has died back and dry them out, then store them – I have to admit I’ve never bothered doing this though, I like the low-maintenance element of leaving well alone!

      Reply
  7. Leoma says

    October 18, 2017 at 4:20 pm

    This is so helpful and such a good idea! Planning to plant bulbs this year and a little clueless…x

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 19, 2017 at 11:00 am

      Ah really glad you’ve found it useful 🙂

      Reply
  8. Meera says

    October 19, 2017 at 9:19 pm

    I’d never heard of a bulb lasagne before, what a fantastic idea!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 20, 2017 at 12:14 pm

      It’s one of those things that sounds bizarre but really works!

      Reply
  9. Lins @ Boo & Maddie says

    October 20, 2017 at 2:28 pm

    This has to be the best blog post title ever!! It really caught my attention and I had no idea what to expect but you’ve explained it perfectly and it makes so much sense. In terms of gardening projects it looks like even something I could manage. Thank you for linking up to #HomeEtc X

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 21, 2017 at 3:13 pm

      Yep it sounds weird, but it’s so easy – and it grows again year after year too, you should definitely give it a go!

      Reply
  10. Ollie Oakley says

    September 18, 2018 at 2:22 pm

    Thank you for posting this. I haven’t tried this yet but I’ll most likely do in the next few weeks.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 20, 2018 at 11:15 am

      Ooh do give it a try, it’s very satisfying!

      Reply
  11. Sukri says

    October 17, 2019 at 8:41 pm

    Thank you for the detailed recipe for Spring Lasagne:-)) I’m hoping to set up a pot of mine soon. Meanwhile, what do you do with them after they’ve finished flowering? Do you dig up the bulbs and store until autumn or just leave them in the pot? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 18, 2019 at 2:52 pm

      You can lift the bulbs once the foliage has died back and dry them out, then store them – to be honest I’ve never bothered doing this though, and my bulbs generally flower year after year. I do replace the top layer of compost when I change the bedding plants to give it some fresh nutrients though. Happy planting!

      Reply
      • Nancy says

        October 24, 2019 at 1:43 pm

        After a season or two, is it necessary to put fertilizer on the bulbs? I just planted my first two pots here at my home in Virginia, USA. I plan to plant some ornamental cabbage on the tops.

        Reply
        • Catherine says

          October 25, 2019 at 7:51 am

          I’m sure the bulbs would benefit from a feed after a couple of seasons. I usually remove the top layer of compost and replace with fresh when I change the bedding plants too.

          Reply
  12. Rachel says

    October 9, 2020 at 12:44 pm

    Love your post very inspiring. I have done a bulb lasagne before and oooo yes so worth it. I love the idea of planting the top up for winter interest with a heather, heuchera and pansies but do you need to remove them before the bulbs come through? If so is this tricky as you don’t want to disturb the bulbs that are starting to come through?

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 9, 2020 at 1:31 pm

      I’ve never removed the plants, the bulbs always seem to find their way around them. I would say it’s probably worth leaving some small gaps between the plants to make it easier for the bulbs – I would normally fill every available inch but I think it’s a good idea to be a bit more restrained here!

      Reply
  13. Dianna says

    May 2, 2021 at 8:37 pm

    Can you give me some layering ideas for spring to summer bulbs for a spring summer lasagne??

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      May 14, 2021 at 10:04 am

      Not all summer flowering bulbs are hardy, so you need to go for varieties that can cope with being planted in autumn/winter. Alliums, lilies and gladioli are all good options; alliums will probably be the first of these to flower, so if you plant more than one ‘summer’ layer put these on the top one. Then layer up your spring bulbs on top, with tulips at the bottom, daffodils/narcissus/anemone/muscari next, and snowdrop/crocus/miniature iris on the top.

      Reply
  14. Emer Gallagher says

    June 1, 2021 at 9:05 am

    Hi,

    Thanks for the advice. How would you go about layering bulbs that flower from spring through to winter. Would you have to stagger when you plant each layer as they are planted at different times?

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      June 1, 2021 at 10:41 am

      Yes I think you would have to stagger the planting to be sure of a good result. Some summer flowering bulbs (alliums, gladioli, lilies) can be planted in autumn/winter and can go in at the same time as your spring flowering bulbs, but if you want to plant bulbs that flower in autumn/winter (nerines, dahlias, cyclamen, autumn crocus, snowdrops) these shouldn’t be planted until spring at the earliest.

      You could try adding your summer/autumn flowering bulbs to the container in spring, but this might be a bit tricky as your spring bulbs will still be putting on a show. I think the best option would probably be to plant two containers, one with spring and summer flowering bulbs, and one with summer and autumn/winter flowering bulbs.

      Reply
      • Emer Gallagher says

        June 1, 2021 at 10:57 am

        Thanks, I thought as much but hoped you would have some amazing hack.

        Reply
  15. Amelia Baker says

    June 13, 2021 at 7:39 pm

    Oh my goodness! I’ve just come across this article and I can’t wait to try this! What diameter pot would you suggest? I’m a bit of a novice and don’t have much gardening knowledge just yet!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      June 14, 2021 at 6:16 pm

      Good question! The answer really depends on the amount of bulbs you want to plant. A 30cm diameter pot is plenty big enough to create a lovely display, but you could go smaller or bigger if that suits your space better. The important thing is to space your bulbs apart in each layer according to the planting instructions on the packet – this gives them the room they need to grow. If you start with your pot, you can buy the right amount of bulbs to fit it, or do it the other way round and choose a pot that has enough space for the bulbs you have. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  16. Susan Larkin says

    July 26, 2021 at 10:34 pm

    I’m so new to gardening, I’ve this idea and would love to try it this year. Am I to late at staring it this month and what would be the best bulbs . Many thanks

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      July 27, 2021 at 12:12 pm

      No you’re not too late – the best time to plant spring bulbs is autumn 🙂

      Reply
  17. Karen says

    October 7, 2021 at 7:40 am

    I love this idea! I prefer the dwarf variety of daffodils and tulips as they don’t tend to collapse in high winds. Would they work in a bulb lasagne?

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 7, 2021 at 1:08 pm

      Yes they would be absolutely fine 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Sunday Linky #7 - Monkey and Mouse says:
    November 7, 2015 at 11:02 am

    […] Growing Family has a great tutorial on how to make a bulb lasagne, which is great for when you want continuous […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi, I’m Catherine. Welcome to Growing Family, a top UK home & garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

ORDER MY BOOK

Search

VuelioTop10Badge2020

CandideTop10Badge2019

BRAMBLECREST GARDEN FURNITURE

Search

Connect

Catherine Hughes is a home & garden blogger sharing ideas, inspiration & tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
Learn More

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

summer bucket list 40 fun outdoor activities for kids
orange flower border

AMAZON ASSOCIATE

 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright Growing Family 2022. Design by Stacey Corrin.