If you’ve ever wished for pots that don’t just bloom once and fizzle out, lasagne planting is your answer.
It’s a simple trick with a funny name, you layer different kinds of bulbs in the same container, just like stacking pasta in a lasagne o they bloom one after another.
After that, pots that keep surprising you for months, starting with the first crocus of spring and ending with tall, dramatic alliums.
The idea is easy, but like most gardening shortcuts, it works best when you know a few ground rules.
Here are the do’s and don’ts that make the difference between a pot overflowing with flowers and one that disappoints.
The Do’s of Lasagne Planting
Mix early, mid, and late bloomers
Think of your pot as a performance. You don’t want every star to walk on stage at once and leave you with silence afterward.
A good lasagne pot starts with early bulbs like crocuses or snowdrops, moves to mid-season tulips or hyacinths, and finishes with late bloomers such as alliums or daffodils.
Each layer takes its turn, and by the time one has faded, the next is ready to shine.
This is how you stretch a few bulbs into a months-long show.
Start big at the bottom
The general rule is simple: the bigger the bulb, the deeper it goes.
Tulips, daffodils, and alliums anchor the lowest layer, because they need more depth to root securely.
Above them you can add medium-sized bulbs such as hyacinths, narcissus, or grape hyacinths.
Right at the top, just a few inches below the soil, is where you tuck the smallest treasures like crocuses or snowdrops.
Each size gets its own space, and together they rise in succession without crowding one another out.
Use soil that drains well
Bulbs have one main enemy which is wet feet.
If water lingers around them, they rot before they ever sprout. That’s why the right soil is essential.
A free-draining potting mix enriched with compost, plus a handful of grit or perlite, works wonders.
If you’re planting in containers, it doesn’t hurt to scatter some pebbles or bits of broken terracotta at the bottom for extra drainage.
Pack them in tightly
Lasagne pots look best when they’re generous. You want the blooms to rise together and create a carpet of color.
Place bulbs close, almost shoulder to shoulder but leave just enough space so they aren’t touching.
Too much space and your display will look sparse; too little and you risk rot.
When you strike the balance, the result is a pot so full of flowers it looks like a living bouquet.
Keep track of what you planted
With so many layers, it’s easy to forget what went where.
So a simple wooden tag stuck into the soil, or a quick sketch in your notebook, will save you the mystery in spring.
It’s also a handy way to remember color schemes you loved or avoid repeating combinations that didn’t quite work.
Feed and water well after planting
Once your pot is filled, you need to water it well to settle the soil around the bulbs.
In early spring, when shoots start to poke through, a bulb fertilizer or a low-nitrogen feed will give them a boost.
Fertilizer high in nitrogen encourages too much leafy growth, but bulbs need energy directed to roots and flowers.
Bonus, keep an eye on moisture too as pots dry out more slowly in winter, so water sparingly until the weather warms.
The Don’ts of Lasagne Planting
Don’t mix bulbs with clashing needs
Not all bulbs enjoy the same growing conditions.
If you put a shade-loving bulb with a sun-craving one, one will thrive while the other sulks.
Therefore, choose bulbs that share light and soil preferences so they all flourish together.
Don’t forget to stagger bloom times
A pot filled only with early bloomers will look dazzling for a few weeks and then sit empty.
Always check the flowering period when choosing bulbs.
A well-planned lasagne has at least one early, one mid-season, and one late variety, so the performance carries on for months.
Don’t plant bulbs upside down
It sounds almost silly, but it happens all the time.
Bulbs planted upside down waste energy twisting themselves toward the surface, and the flowers are often weak.
Always plant with the pointed side up and roots down.
If you truly can’t tell, lay the bulb on its side, nature will correct it, but upside-down planting is best avoided.
Don’t overcrowd the layers completely
Yes, you want abundance, but there’s a difference between generous and suffocating.
Don’t stack bulbs directly on top of each other, especially in the same layer.
They need just a bit of breathing room to send up strong shoots. Overcrowding can lead to stunted growth or rot instead of flowers.
Don’t cut off foliage too soon
Once your bulbs have finished flowering, resist the urge to tidy too quickly.
Those green leaves are gathering energy for next year’s display. Cutting them down early is like pulling the plug on the recharge.
Deadhead spent flowers, but leave the leaves until they yellow naturally, only then is the bulb ready to rest.
