Propagating flower bulbs yourself
Share
🌱 Growing and propagating your own flower bulbs: can you do it organically?
Buying organic flower bulbs is a conscious choice, but what if you also want to grow or propagate them yourself, in a way that perfectly suits a natural, ecological garden? Good news: you can easily propagate many flower bulbs yourself, and yes, even organically. This blog post explains how to do this, what to look for, and which varieties are best suited for it.
🌼 Why propagate flower bulbs yourself?
There are several good reasons to propagate your own flower bulbs:
- ✅ Sustainable: you need to buy fewer (or no) new bulbs.
- ✅ Cost-effective: one bulb can grow into a whole clump in just a few years.
- ✅ More natural: you connect with the plant's rhythm and let nature do its work.
- ✅ Fun and educational: ideal as a project with children or for those who like to experiment in the garden.
🧄 How do flower bulbs propagate?
Flower bulbs reproduce in two ways:
- Vegetative (cluster formation): the mother bulb produces small side bulbs underground (brood bulbs) that can flower independently in the following years.
- Generative (seed formation): Some varieties produce seeds after flowering. This takes longer, but can produce beautiful and surprising results.
For organic gardeners, the vegetative method is particularly interesting: little intervention, great results.
🌷 Organic approach: what should you pay attention to?
- Do not use artificial fertilizers or chemicals.
- Leave the foliage alone after flowering: this will nourish the bulb for the following year.
- Feed the soil with compost or organic fertilizers.
- Ensure good drainage and avoid prolonged wetness.
- Preferably use Skal-certified organic bulbs.
🌼 Which species propagate easily?
| Kind | Propagation | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Snowdrop (Galanthus) | Vegetative & seed | Allow seed pods to ripen and sow |
| Crocus (Crocus tommasinianus) | Fast vegetative | Forms clumps, likes to naturalize |
| Allium sphaerocephalon | Vegetative | Can also be done through seed, but slower |
| Daffodil (Narcissus poeticus) | Vegetative | Let foliage die back for nutrition |
| Woodland tulip (Tulipa sylvestris) | Limited vegetative growth | Grows wild only in calcareous soil |
🌾 How do you approach this in practice?
- Allow flowers and foliage to die back completely – this feeds the bulb.
- Harvest the bulbs in July (optional) – carefully remove them from the ground.
- Drying and storing – keep them warm and dry until autumn.
- Replant in October – at 2 to 3 times the depth of the bulb.
- Be patient – small bulbs will not flower for another 2-3 years.
💡 Tip: let it naturalize
Want to make things easy for yourself? Simply leave flower bulbs in the ground. Varieties like snowdrops, crocuses, and wild tulips thrive without crop rotation. Just add some compost or organic fertilizer and let nature take its course.
🌍 More than just beautiful: contributing to biodiversity
By growing and propagating your own organic flower bulbs, you actively contribute to a more natural garden, increased biodiversity, and reduced transport. And you'll enjoy them for years to come.
Want to start growing organic flower bulbs? Then check out our range of organic flower bulbs – all Skal-certified.