Tulips will bloom beautifully if you plant them now and follow the great depth rule

NOW that summer is finally behind us, you may be thinking it’s time to hang up your gardening gloves for the year.

But even with frosty mornings and snow on the way, there’s still a crucial job to be done in November.

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Monty Don emphasizes that planting tulips is the “most important job” you need to do this month and will ensure that your garden blooms all spring.

He writes on his blog The Gardener’s World presenter said: “November is time for planting tulips.

“In my opinion, this is the most important and best job of the month.

“It’s actually something that can be done anytime between now and Christmas, although the sooner they get in the ground the sooner they will bloom.”

When planting tulips in flower beds, Monty advised making sure they have good drainage so they have a chance to come back next year.

He said: “The essential thing with all tulips is to make sure they have good drainage.

“This matters less if they are treated as annuals and dug up after they have flowered, but they will still be happier if plenty of grit or sand is added to heavy soil.”

His tips come after a novice gardener went to a gardening group and asked: “Is it too late to plant tulip bulbs? If not… is it best to plant them in pots or directly into the ground? This becomes the first time planting flower bulbs.”

And her question revealed an important rule when it comes to planting tulips.

Ignoring them can lead to disappointing spring blooms, or no spring blooms at all if it is a common garden pest.

In response to the plant question, one garden enthusiast said, “Remember to plant them three times as deep as the bulb or you may end up with a lot of leaves and not many flowers.”

Meanwhile, a second wrote: “Please note that squirrels love them, prefer tulips to other bulbs, so better plant them a little deeper in the ground (pots are too easy for them to dig)”

Garden guru Monty also insists that you should plant tulip bulbs in flower beds “as deep as you can”.

He added, “I often use a pry bar to make a hole 12 inches or more deep — and the deeper they are, the stronger and straighter the stem will be.”

But if you’re determined to use a pot, there are other steps you can take to protect your tulips.

“I plant mine in pots and cover with strawberry netting,” suggested one green-fingered social media user.

And a second echoed: “I put mine in tubs and put in brambles, holly and wire as we have lots of squirrels and bulbs aren’t cheap.”

Monty said of his own potted tulip tip: “If you grow them in a container, drainage is easier and they don’t need to be as deep.

“They can also be planted in layers: a tulip lasagna, with an earlier variety such as ‘Orange Emperor’ planted deepest and which will bloom first, followed by a mid-season variety such as ‘Negrita’ planted above and then finally, in the top layer is a late season version, like ‘Queen of Night’.”