Last chance for spring colour

Ruth plants the last of this year’s bedding and bulbs

- Ruth Hages

IF you haven’t done so already and you can still find some in your local garden centres and supermarkets, get your spring bedding plants and bulbs in the ground this week.

We are theoretically still in late autumn so the next few weeks should be warm enough for bedding plants to settle in and send out some new roots before the deep winter weather sends them into dormancy.

Spring bulbs will welcome the cold as they need this shock to their system to flower their best next year. However, they won’t be happy if your soil is heavy and retains water as this can cause them to rot.

If this is the case, you will get better results by planting in containers or opening up the soil by digging in lots of grit and well-rotted compost or manure before planting.