Spring bulbs are among the most rewarding things you can grow in an Irish garden, but they are also among the plants most let down by the soil they are asked to grow in. A daffodil or tulip planted into cold, compacted, poorly drained ground will do one of two things: it will rot before it even gets started, or it will produce weak, short-lived flowers that decline year on year. Neither outcome is inevitable. Both are the result of soil conditions that were not right at planting time and that can be improved before a single bulb goes in.

The most important thing you can do for any spring bulb is give it soil that drains freely. Bulbs are essentially food stores that the plant uses to produce flowers, and they need to be able to breathe in the ground. Sitting in wet, waterlogged soil through autumn and winter causes them to rot, and in Ireland's climate, where autumn rainfall is often prolonged and heavy, this is a genuine and common problem. Before planting, dig the area over and assess what you are working with. If the soil is heavy clay and holds water, the first task is to improve the drainage throughout the planting zone. Working sharp horticultural grit through the soil at a rate of at least one part grit to three parts soil breaks up the structure and allows water to move through rather than sit. This one step makes more difference to bulb performance than any amount of feeding afterwards.

Alongside grit, working good organic matter into the soil improves its structure and its ability to hold the right amount of moisture without becoming waterlogged. Well-rotted garden compost or leaf mould are both excellent choices. They improve the texture of the soil, support the microbial life that makes nutrients available to plant roots, and help the soil hold just enough moisture for the bulbs to develop their roots without sitting in wet conditions. Avoid using fresh manure around bulbs at planting time as this can scorch the developing roots and encourage fungal problems.

The question of feeding at planting time is worth addressing directly. Bulbs already contain everything they need to produce their first season's flowers. The energy for that first flower is stored inside the bulb itself, which is why bulb size at purchase matters so much. A large, firm, heavy bulb has more stored energy than a small one and will produce a better flower regardless of what the soil is like. What the soil needs to provide is the right conditions for the bulb to develop its roots and recharge after flowering. This is where a biochar-based soil improver makes a genuine difference. Worked into the planting area before the bulbs go in, biochar improves the soil's capacity to hold nutrients in the root zone and release them steadily through the growing season. It supports the process by which the bulb rebuilds its energy reserves after flowering, which determines how well it performs the following year.

After flowering, the way you treat the dying foliage has a direct effect on how well the bulbs perform the following year. The temptation to cut it down or tie it up once the flowers are over is understandable, because the yellowing leaves look untidy. But those leaves are the mechanism by which the bulb recharges. They are converting sunlight into energy and sending it back down into the bulb for the following season. Cutting them before they have yellowed and collapsed naturally reduces the amount of energy the bulb can store and directly affects flowering the following spring. Leave the foliage until it has died back completely, which in an Irish garden typically means late May or June for daffodils and other early-flowering bulbs. Once it has fully died back you can remove it, and if the clump is becoming congested, this is also the right time to lift, divide and replant the bulbs with proper spacing. For more on why established bulbs stop flowering and what to do about it, see the advice on daffodils not flowering in Ireland.

A high-potassium, high-phosphorus feed applied to the soil as the foliage is dying back in late spring helps the bulbs rebuild their energy reserves more effectively. This is the one moment in the bulb's annual cycle when a targeted feed makes the most difference, because the plant is actively moving energy back into storage and additional nutrients at that point are put to direct use. A liquid seaweed feed or a granular feed with biochar at the base applied around the base of the dying foliage is all that is needed. The following spring's flowers will reflect that attention.