Does anyone here do bulb gardens that bloom all through the spring to the end of summer?
I have the standards -- crocus, hyacinths, daffodils, day lilies, but, I'm looking for suggestions of bulbs that bloom later than the lilies and to fill out the time between the daffodils and lilies.
Rhizomes and other bulb-like plants can be included. (I think irises are technically rhizomes, not bulbs?)
Gwen
We have a cabin in the NC Blue Ridge Mtns. As I recall, the time to plant flower bulbs is in Oct.
Unfortunately, our current schedule (kids in school) does not allow us to be there in Oct. We are there as late as early August. We are also there in Dec / March/ late May, and late Jul/early August.
I would like to plant some nice bulbs (like Daffodils, etc) but I don't know when I could do it.
Thanks for any tips...
Remember......... NC mountains........... 4200 feet above sea level.
--James--
If you want to include tuberous plants too, consider dwarf dahlias for sun/partial shade areas. They put on a good show from early summer and onward, but require their tubers lifted for storage in the fall as they are not hardy here. They can be propagated easily from seeds, divisions, or cuttings. This website gives an idea as to what is available if you are willing to go the seed route (to start next winter).
To expand along those line, you can add iris, gladiolas, lilies, calla lilies, alliums, and dahlias. If you add rhizomes, you can include cannas. I'm sure the list is quite long.
Will they be tall enough once the lily and daffodil foliage grows in, to be seen?
What about bulbs (rhizomes, corms, etc) that don't require being dug up and stored over the winter?
I was very excited when I saw your suggestion for calla lilies (they're my favorite flower), but, my mom burst that bubble when she said they need to be dug up and stored for the winter.
I'm a lazy gardener -- I plant stuff with the expectation that I won't have to come back to it. Irises (which are the fussiest flower I've planted) are "supposed" to require winter storage, but, mine still bloom every other year or so, which is good enough for me :).
Gwen
I don't recall you saying where you lived. I'm in zone 6 where the average winter low is -10. My neighbor has beautiful calla lilies and she leaved them in the ground all year long. Some people around here leave their cannas in the ground. If you find a sheltered microclimate in your garden you can sometimes push your zone. Glads are winter hearty here and I have had dahlias come back year after year without lifting them. There are some "bulbs" that simply won't tolerate the cold. One example is the caladiums and their relatives the alocasias and colocasias (elephant ears). I have never heard of anyone lifting irises. Tall bearded iris, Dutch Iris, and Japanese iris are hearty to zone 4. Siberian iris are hearty to zone 3.
I live on Long Island in New York.
Tall Bearded irises are the ones I bought. I don't know the variety, but, they're purple flowers with sort of whitish interiors and yellow beards. Just about as "sterotypical" an iris as you can find :). They grow up around my mailbox (which seems the perfect place to put irises as theyr'e tall and the mailbox poles are tall).
Gwen
Here in MI tulips follow the first three (which are accompanied by scillas as well), then irises take over (together with peonys), then daylilies, then various types of asiatic and tiger lilies. at this point it is the end of July and perennial echinaceas and black eyes susans can come up and continue the show until end of august. At this point I don't care much about how the garden looks - it was a five months long show after all. My fall crocus are a dud, their pale violet lost amongst the dead leaves.
If you are in a milder climate, you might want to consider Rain Lilies. I have these in my garden and the bloom all spring, summer and fall long. The foliage remains green all year.
Jennifer
You'll probably want to scratch rain lilies off your list then, if you do not want to dig up and store.
Jennifer
"Vox Humana" in news:6bWkc.46419$Vp5.42661 @fe2.columbus.rr.com:
yeah, i think dahlias tend ot rot in wet, cool (not frozen-cold) winters.
Gwen Morse in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
don't you hate those fluffy indistinct irises? the flowers might as well be rose flowers.
i'd suggest finding a local dirt-under-the-nails garden group to learn of the the old-time reliable plants. necessity is the mother of laziness :-)
Jennifer Hamilton in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
snails and slugs love eating their foliage.
"James Nipper" in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:
a lot of bulbs are dry dormant. narcissus and amaryliis (for southern zones) are most famous for that.
august seems fine for dormant bulbs, especially if you don't water them at all after planting. but where will you buy them?
shorter season?
also if frost knocks the top off a healthy bulb, i'd think it would still come up in spring.
"Vox Humana" in news:v8Ukc.46043$ snipped-for-privacy@fe2.columbus.rr.com:
clumsy search beginnings:
"eclectic" in news:BVTkc.49187$k%. snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com:
crinums bloom with amaryllis. not sure about Lycoris, or nerine
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