Our Favourite Bulb Planting Tools

Once you’ve chosen what type of bulbs you want to plant and where to plant. It is also important to think about how you can give your bulbs the very best start in life. Whether that’s using the best compost, or choosing the right tool, we have lots of tips and advice to share with you. Additionally we will share a selection of our favourite bulb planting tools to make uniform planting both quick and easy.

Compost

For planting in containers, we recommend Westland Bulb Potting & Planting Mix. This specialist compost is the perfect environment for root growth. If you have decided to concentrate on your beds and borders and have heavier soil, consequently we suggest mixing in some Horticultural Sand. This will break up the hard soil aiding the establishment of the bulbs. Furthermore, you can mix Horticultural sand with compost to produce a looser structure, preventing root damage to delicate shoots and bulbs.

Our favourite bulb planting tools

First, start by using a Hand Fork to cultivate as well as de-weed to prepare the surface soil. Once you have prepared the area to plant and have decided where each are going, it’s time to get digging. And using the right tool for the job can make bulb planting a breeze. Its very important to plant bulbs at the right depth to ensure you get to witness their beautiful display. If bulbs are planted too deeply, you may only get foliage and can even not emerge at all. Although we recommend that a bulb planted overly deep is better than too shallow its always best to think about the general rule of thumb. We therefore recommend you plant a bulb at approximately three times its depth (though there are some exceptions).

There are several bulb planting tools available and we have selected the best one for each type of bulb below. Once you have made uniform planting holes and placed the bulbs in the soil, you can then backfill the holes using a Hand Trowel.

We have listed some examples of common bulbs with their planting advice below:

Bulbs

Alliums

When to Plant: September to October

Planting Depth: 3 times their depth or 30cm

Soil Type: Well drained

Preferred Position: Full sun and sheltered

Planting Tool: Large Hand Bulb Planter or a Long Handled Bulb Planter

Crocus

When to Plant: September to November for Spring flowering. Or July to August for Autumn flowering

Planting Depth: 3 times their depth or 10cm

Soil Type: Well drained and gritty

Preferred Position: Full sun

Planting Tool: Small Hand Bulb Planter

Daffodils

When to Plant: September to November

Planting Depth: 3 times their depth or 15cm

Soil Type: Well drained and moist

Preferred Position: Sun or light shade

Planting Tool: Hand Bulb Planter or a Long Handled Bulb Planter

Hyacinths

When to Plant: September to October

Planting Depth: twice their depth or 10cm

Soil Type: Well drained and moist

Preferred Position: Full Sun

Planting Tool: Hand Bulb Planter or a Long Handled Bulb Planter

Tulips

When to Plant: November and December

Planting Depth: 3 times their depth or 20cm

Soil Type: Well drained

Preferred Position: Full Sun

Planting Tool: Large Hand Bulb Planter or a Long Handled Bulb Planter

Snowdrops

When to Plant: September to November

Planting Depth: 3 times their depth or 10cm

Soil Type: Well drained and moist

Preferred Position: Slight Shade

Planting Tool: Small Hand Bulb Planter

Kent & Stowe have a wide range of bulb planting tools from long handled to transplanting trowels, small hand bulb planters to standard size all to make your planting an easy and enjoyable task.

Please see our full list of tools here:

All stainless steel tools come with a 15-year guarantee.

Gloves

It is also worth having a pair of gardening gloves for the task. We recommend either our Ultimate All Round Gardening Gloves, Bamboo Gloves or Premium Seed and Weed. These varieties will give you the most amount of grip and great dexterity. The are available in both ladies and men’s sizes as well as a variety of colours.