Monty Don has revealed the ideal month and perfect depth to plant bulbs in your garden as the summer draws to a close.
The TV horticulturalist shared the tips on this morning’s episode of BBC Gardeners’ World (Saturday, August 31) and reminded green-fingered viewers that some plants “do best” if you stick to this specific month.
Monty explained that the types of plants that suit this month include spring favourites like crocus and early irises, with the beloved gardener even sharing one of his best-loved types of daffodil as an example.
He said: “Now we are going into September, I’m starting to think about bulbs and bulb-planting.
“And really, most bulbs are better planted in September, if you can get it done. It’s not essential; you can plant in October, and tulips shouldn’t be planted till November and December.
“But daffodils, muscari and early irises and crocus and fritillaries all do best if you can get them in the ground early autumn because the ground is still warm and the roots can start growing and get good and strong.”
Monty then started planting one of his “favourite” daffodils, a dwarf variety known as tête-à-tête that has a “rich colour” and a small trumpet.
He said they’ll flower in February, last into March and come through as the snowdrops “die back”. However, there still remains one problem associated with September planting.
Monty revealed that September is “often the driest” month of the year, with the ground, especially grass, being tough so he recommended that gardeners use a bulb planter.
He continued: “A good bulb planter, if you’re planting any amount of bulbs, will be worth its weight in gold and will last for years and years because the important thing with bulbs is you do need to plant them at the right depth.”
As he was using the tool, Monty explained that to “get the best result”, gardeners need to plant their bulbs “at least twice the depth of the bulb”.
In 2023, Monty appeared on the Dish podcast to explain to listeners how they could create their own “bulb lasagne”, which involves layering bulbs in pots in a similar manner to making the Italian dish.
He told Nick Grimshaw that you can use a range of different bulbs, including daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, irises, muscari, scilla, and various others.
All you have to do to make one of these eye-catching features is find a large pot or container and add compost to the bottom, ensuring you have adequate drainage.
Next, you need to add a layer of bulbs but make sure they don’t touch each other before adding soil and repeating the process. He explained that the earliest ones will grow and then they will all grow through each other.
However, he reminded people to put tulips and daffodils at the bottom as these will flower last and putting crocus first is a “sort of good recipe”.
