Plant these four bulb and tuber plants in March to avoid empty beds in early summer

Anyone who fails to act now will be looking at empty beds in early summer.

Many amateur gardeners know the pattern: the first spring flowers shine in March, everything still looks lovely in April – then suddenly nothing much happens for ages. The tulips have disappeared, roses and summer flowers take their time, and the beds look deserted in the brightest sunshine. This gap is surprisingly easy to fill if four particular bulb and tuber plants are put into the ground in March.

Why March determines summer flowering

The calendar means nothing in the garden – plants respond to temperature and soil conditions. For most summer-flowering bulbs and tubers, the ideal period begins in March, when the soil gradually warms up and hard frosts ease in many areas.

“If you delay planting summer bulbs from March until late April, the first flowers often move from June to July – and you risk dreary beds for weeks.”

Put simply: planting early brings flowers early. Plant later and you will need more patience, looking at green but barely colourful areas during the first warm days. Once daffodils and tulips have faded, this can quickly create a visual lull.

Garden professionals therefore deliberately plant or start four species indoors as early as March. They establish themselves at different speeds, complement one another in height and colour, and together ensure that something is flowering from early summer into autumn.

Dahlias: colour explosions with a turbo start from March planting

Dahlias are among the most rewarding summer flowers, but they need time to put on their display. Anyone who waits until late April or May to plant their tubers in the bed loses valuable weeks.

The smart approach is to begin the tubers in pots under cover in March, perhaps in an unheated greenhouse, beneath a canopy or on a bright windowsill in a cellar room. This lets the plants form roots and their first shoots before they move outdoors.

• Planting time: from early to mid-March in pots; plant out after the last frosts
• Position: sunny to partially shaded
• Soil: loose, humus-rich and well-drained
• Flowering: from June with an early start, often until October

Dahlias come in countless forms, from small pompoms and simple star-shaped blooms to huge double flower heads. Their striking appearance makes them ideal for bridging the “dead period” after spring flowers. Many gardeners position them in the second row of a bed, in front of tall perennials or behind low-growing cushion plants.

Important: place the tuber shallowly in the pot, cover it with only a light layer of soil and water sparingly until the first growth appears. Dahlias rot easily if they are kept too wet and cold.

Begonias: long-flowering plants for shady corners

While dahlias love sunshine, begonias tackle the difficult parts of the garden: shaded balconies, north-facing sides and house corners where hardly any flowering plant lasts. Starting their tubers indoors from March secures weeks of flowering carpets even without full sun.

Garden centres sell tuberous begonias bred specifically for outdoor growing. In March, place them with the flat side facing upwards in trays or pots of loose, lightly moist compost. The location may be bright, but it must be protected from frost – a cool conservatory, sheltered balcony or bright stairwell all work well.

“Begonias are ideal when a balcony gets very little sun – they will still flower all summer if the root ball is never allowed to dry out completely.”

Three basic rules help the plants keep going:

• Water regularly, but do not soak them until puddles form.
• Remove faded flowers so that new buds can follow.
• Before winter, lift the tubers or remove them from containers, dry them and store them frost-free.

Those who follow this approach can grow their favourite varieties for several consecutive years – and save money at the garden centre.

Lilies: fragrant vertical accents that fill the flowering gap

Almost everyone knows lily bouquets from the supermarket. In the garden, the plants make an even greater impression, adding height and filling entire seating areas with a kind of natural fragrance. Bulbs planted in March grow quickly throughout spring.

Planting depth is particularly important for lilies. A useful rule is to set the bulb around two to three times as deep as its height. The soil needs to be loose and reliably free-draining. Lily bulbs quickly rot in heavy, wet ground; in that case, a layer of sand or fine gravel in the planting hole will help.

Type	Approximate flowering time	Special feature
Asiatic lilies	from May/June	little fragrance, but many colours
Oriental lilies	July/August	strong fragrance, large flowers
LA and OT hybrids	June to August	robust, long flowering period

A skilful combination mixes early- and late-flowering lilies in the same bed. This keeps the area interesting for weeks while other perennials are still getting underway.

Peonies: March as the starting point for years to come

Peonies – often simply called paeonies in everyday use – do not always solve the immediate flowering gap in their first year. In a new position, they often need two, and sometimes three, years to settle in. Even so, March is one of the best times to establish them permanently.

The plants reward patience with remarkable longevity: once a peony is well planted, it can remain in the same place for decades and becomes more magnificent year after year. Planting depth is crucial. If the buds sit too deep, the plant will flower sparsely or not at all.

“For herbaceous peonies, the bud-like ‘eyes’ should be covered by only one to two centimetres of soil – bury them more deeply and you will often wait in vain for flowers.”

Choose a sunny to lightly shaded site; shelter from wind is an advantage because the heavy flower heads can otherwise flop over quickly. In March, the usually bare-root young plants can be set into the ground easily, as it is neither frozen nor too hot and the roots can establish undisturbed.

How the four plants fill the flowering gap together

The key is succession. These four “March plants” begin at staggered times and complement one another visually:

• Lilies often take the lead in late spring and early summer.
• Dahlias begin from June/July and continue into autumn.
• Begonias fill shady gaps from June until October.
• Peonies provide large, rounded blooms in late spring in subsequent years.

Anyone planning in March should ideally think in periods: what flowers in May and June, what performs in high summer, and what carries on in early autumn? This is how the typical dry spells disappear, when beds are green but completely without colour.

Practical tips for planting in March

Before the first tuber goes into the ground, it is worth making a quick assessment of the site. Waterlogging is a risk for all four choices, especially in wet springs. One simple solution is to raise the beds slightly and work in coarse sand or grit so surplus water can drain away.

Voles are another consideration. In many gardens, they love fresh bulbs and tubers. Metal baskets or plastic planting baskets prevent unwelcome surprises, particularly with more expensive lily or peony varieties.

Anyone working with tubers and bulbs for the first time can begin on a small scale: one pot of dahlias, one container of begonias, or two to three lilies at the edge of a bed. This builds experience without having to transform the entire garden at once.

Why early planning pays off in several ways

A garden that flowers from spring into autumn without long interruptions does not just look better. It also provides a continuous food source for insects such as bees and butterflies. Dahlias and some lily species in particular attract many pollinators when they have single, easily accessible flowers.

March can also make financial sense: bulbs and tubers are often cheaper at this time than ready-grown pot plants in May. When stored and cared for correctly, they can be used for several years. Begonia tubers and dahlias in particular can be lifted after the season, overwintered dry and started again the following spring.

Gradually, this creates a system: in autumn, the dormant tubers go into boxes; in March, they are started again. Anyone who keeps this up for a few seasons soon notices how the formerly grey gap between spring flowering and summer becomes smaller and smaller – until the garden eventually shows colour almost without interruption from March to October.