How To Plant Bulbs In Pots - Lasagna Style

Planting bulbs in containers is an easy way to create a gorgeous spring porch arrangement, especially when you use the lasagna method.

What Is Lasagna Planting?

Lasagna planting means planting layers of early, mid, and late spring blooming bulbs on top of each other. One benefit of growing bulbs in containers is that you can plant them later than you would in the garden. You don’t have to worry about the ground freezing and if the weather gets too cold, you can always store pots indoors.

To get started all you need are your favorite bulbs, potting soil, and a pot. 

First, pour a couple inches of soil into your pot. Then start with the larger bulbs, like daffodils, that need to be planted deep. Make sure the pointy end points up. Cover the bulbs with an inch or so of soil and that completes your first layer of lasagna.

Next are tulips. Again, make sure the pointy end is up. You can place bulbs closer together for a fuller display, but make sure to leave at least half an inch of space between them. Add more potting soil, break up any clots, and that’s your second layer.

The smallest bulbs go on the top layer of your lasagna. You can use glory of the snow or crocuses for early spring color or grape hyacinth for longer lasting blooms. Plant your bulbs, add a top layer of potting soil, then give your pots a big drink.

Storing Lasagna Planted Bulbs

If you live in a warmer area, you can store your pots outside where they will receive water from the rain. If you live somewhere with freezing temperatures, store your pots in a garage or tucked near your house. Make sure to water them every few weeks.

When the weather warms, you can drop your pots into larger decorative containers for a beautiful display of blooms all spring. Good luck and good gardening! 

Laura Walters
Content Editor

Laura Walters is a Content Editor who joined Gardening Know How in 2021. With a BFA in Electronic Media from the University of Cincinnati, a certificate in Writing for Television from UCLA, and a background in documentary filmmaking and local news, Laura loves providing gardeners with all the know how they need to succeed, in an easy and entertaining format. Laura lives in Southwest Ohio, where she's been gardening for ten years, and she spends her summers on a lake in Northern Michigan. It’s hard to leave her perennial garden at home, but she has a rustic (aka overcrowded) vegetable patch on a piece of land up north. She never thought when she was growing vegetables in her college dorm room, that one day she would get paid to read and write about her favorite hobby.