Bulbs: Overwintering bulbs in pots?, 1 by LeawoodGardener

LeawoodGardener wrote:
I select a pot that fits into the container I want to have the bulbs in when they bloom. For the urns by my patio, I use a large, shallow plastic pot (18" diameter X 6.5" deep) with drain holes in the bottom.

I put about 3" of potting soil in the bottom, arrange the tulip bulbs and fill the pot to the rim with potting soil. I use about 18 tulips in this size container - I've discovered if you put them closer than about an inch apart, the whole pot gets rootbound and the tulips are not as large and full.

I dig a hole in a bed that gets some winter sun, line it with mulch and then set the pot in the hole. The rim of the pot should be at ground level or slightly below. Fill in around the pot with mulch and cover with a 2" layer of mulch. In early March (here in zone 5b) you can pull back the mulch and see the sprouts. I usually move the pots to urns above ground around the middle of March, depending on the weather forecast. They can handle frost, but sub-zero weather will freeze the bulbs and they will turn to mush, which is why you 'force' them in the ground, rather than planting directly in the above-ground planter.