Planting the big copper up for summer - part 1

Early Summer

Planting up for Summer - Part 1

It's May and all the bulbs have flowered and it's time to clear out the spring show from the big copper pot. Arthur shows what bulbs and plants are worth keeping and which should go on the compost.

Clearing the Spring Show

The cardoons, which are a good size and looking healthy, can be dug out and replanted where there's space for them. Keep a generous amount of soil on the root ball to prevent the roots from being damaged.

From other seedlings and bulbs, remove as much of the soil as you can and return it to the container. Keep the spent flower heads of the kale 'redder', pop them in a paper bag and let them dry to a crisp. The seeds can then be sown in august to provide foliage through the winter and for spring.

Some bulbs will be worth keeping to plant again next year, while some will be unlikely to have strong flowers next spring so are better planted somewhere out of the way where they can flower if they want but they're not taking up valuable pot space if they don't.

The hyacinth and crocus bulbs are worth keeping as they are more perennial than most tulips and it's a good idea to leave the foliage on them for as long as possible to enable them to draw as much energy back into the bulb as possible.

Once you've collected the bulbs you want to keep, store them in a box somewhere dry and allow the foliage to become brown and fall off. You can then sort the bulbs and store them somewhere cool, dark and dry over the summer ready to plant up again for the next spring show.