IT'S almost time to plant your tulips to give you a flush of flowers in spring. Tulips can work in pots too – here's how:
1. Opt for shorter-stemmed types in smaller pots: The varieties which don't grow too tall look best and tend to stay upright in windy conditions. Also, make sure you keep the size of the tulips in proportion to the size of your pot.
2. For a wow factor, go for a block colour: In a small space, one colour goes a long way. Try a single cultivar in a pot – you can become more adventurous with bigger containers. The bigger the container, the more variety of colour you can have.
3. Choose types which flower at the same time: Two types from the same group, such as Parrot, Triumph, or Single Late, should flower simultaneously.
4. Select contrasting blooms to lengthen interest period: If you want earlier flowers add crocuses to the outer edge of the pot, which will provide late winter colour before the tulip leaves cover them up when the crocuses are dying down. Other good foils for tulips include muscari and Anemone blanda.
5. Plant them in groups: Tulips need to be planted in groups of at least three, and in larger containers more, for the best visual impact. You can plant them closer together in containers than you would in beds and borders, but don't let them touch.
6. Don't let the bulbs rot: When planting, line the bottom of your pot with crocks or pebbles and free-draining soil mixed with a handful of grit. Make sure your container is at least 30cm (12in) deep so that the bulbs can be planted at a reasonable depth, as well as making room for the roots. Place your pot on feet to avoid the bulbs getting waterlogged from below.
7. Keep them sheltered in the depths of winter: Tulips like a period of dormancy and they don't want to be saturated, so move them to a sheltered location in the worst winter weather, moving them into their flowering position in spring. Make sure they don't completely dry out, though.
