Summer bulbs, will the fill my containers?

[cocopops]

My husband is making wooden troughs to run the length of our Breton long house; the plastic ones are excessively expensive over here, but luckily he is a joiner so he has a little job to do for me ;).  I have taken loads of excellent advice from this site about my vegetable garden (my priority), so as a newbie I realise that I need something easy on the floral front.  The advice on seeds (from a previous posting) has been headed, and now know how to fill the flower beds.

The local garden centre had bulbs on Promo today so I bought 50 gladioli (sic) and 50 fresia bulbs.  Will they work in troughs?  I used to have pots with lobellia and petunias etc, but we have our water from a bore hole so I would prefer to preserve my water for our use and the vegetables.

Also, Gary, thanks for your advice.  I went to send you an email back but I seem to have lost the one you sent to me, sorry I wasn't being rude.  :(

[cocopops]

[Georgie]

Hi Dandylion.  I grew Freesias in pots last year and they were absolutely fine so I'm sure yours will be okay in troughs.  I can't help you on the Gladiolus front I'm afraid.

G x

[quizzical1]

Hi Dandylion,
Personally, I would have thought that Gladioli would be too tall for container growing. They will probably need substantial staking for support, and i am doubting that the growing medium in a container would be deep enough to take the canes or whatever.

[Tee Gee]

Here are a few pictures of my planters over the years, perhaps you can a few ideas here.

http://tinyurl.com/24rgj4

Plus this page might be of some use to you; http://tinyurl.com/ylmj3z

click on the subject for cultural instructions

[cocopops]

Thanks for your replies.  I checked the height chart on the gladioli packet and 120cm does now seem a little high for a pot.  I want to add loads of colour down the length of my 'long house', and bulbs seemed a good idea :-\  Having looked at TG's site (again) I think I can find something not quite that dramatic!

TG, just looked again at your site for advice on hyacinth bulbs.  I was given a hyacinth as part of floral display by the local community as a welcome gift.  It has since died, and rather than bin it I removed it and put it outside.  Could I now plant this outside with the foliage intact, or do I need to do something else?  As it is sentimental I would really like to use it again.

[jennym]

Funny about the hyacinth, have a lone hyacinth in the back garden that came from a gift, it flowers every year if the slugs don't get it!
One thing I do like growing for an autumn display is Acidanthera, think it's now called Gladiolus callianthus or somesuch, a white type with a dark mauve throat, planted in pots in spring it always gives a good display in autumn, about 3 ft tall so needs a big pot. Usually save them overwinter in a stout paper bag fulled with dry compost in a frost-free shed.