Easy Bulbs to buy in autumn - Alpine Garden Society

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Easy Bulbs to buy in autumn When is the best time to buy? The best time to buy the vast majority of dwarf hardy bulbs is as soon as they become available in the nurseries and garden centres. This can mean any time from July onwards. If you buy early in the season you will: • have a wider choice of species and varieties. • have the opportunity to choose the biggest, healthiest bulbs. • be able to buy undamaged, plump bulbs; very important for success with some species. • be able to plant some bulbs early, so that they develop good root systems before winter. • be able to plant bulbs which can flower as early as September. Few bulb sellers will think to tell you, but all have a built-in code, which tells you how easy they are to grow: the price! Low price: easy, high price: more difficult. If you begin by buying the cheap and cheerful you can hardly go wrong. Crocus sieberi When is the best time to plant? There are some bulbs which do not respond well to being dried out for sale in the autumn. These include snowdrops (Galanthus), snowflakes (Leucojum and Acis), dogs-tooth violets (Erythronium), Cyclamen and some daffodils (narcissi; Narcissus cyclamineus in particular). If bought in the dry state they may be very difficult to establish, or may fail completely. All are far better bought as pot-grown plants in the spring. This group of bulbs will be described in a separate Info. Leaflet. Most bulbs, by their very nature, will survive being dried out and sold in that state, but even so, it is usually best to plant as soon as you obtain them. If planting cannot be done straight away because this would disturb other plants, this will not be a great problem. Indeed some colchicums can be placed on a saucer on a windowsill, and allowed to flower in a completely dry state, but they must be planted as soon as possible after the flowers have gone over. If you have many bulbs to plant, tulips can safely be left until last, even as late as November. Tulipa tarda Allium moly
Easy Bulbs to buy in autumn How to plant There is no special technique. Simply dig a hole in the ground and place the bulb in the bottom. Make sure that the base of the bulb is in firm contact with the soil in the bottom of the hole; an air cavity underneath can delay root development or even lead to rotting in heavy soils. When planting groups of smaller bulbs, like crocus or dwarf narcissi, it is often easier to dig out a single, wider hole, so that the bulbs can be carefully spaced to give a pleasing effect. A useful rule of thumb it that the depth of soil above the bulbs when the hole is refilled should be about 2 – 3 times the height of the bulb itself, but this is not at all critical, as many bulbs have ways of adjusting themselves to their ideal depth over one or more growing seasons. Recommended bulbs All of the bulbs listed are readily available at moderate prices. They have a good track-record established over many years, and can be grown in a wide range of soils. As a general rule, most of the bulbs mentioned here perform best in sunny situations, but some give an excellent performance in shady places. These are marked (Sh). In brackets after each description is given the approximate flowering height in cm, and the main month of flowering, but with the recent changes in weather patterns, this can vary by + a month at least. Allium moly Clusters of glossy yellow, six-petaled starry flowers above sparse greyish foliage. (25, June) Arisarum proboscidium A mouthful of a name for a cute little arum. The flowers look like the rear ends of brown long-tailed mice diving into the carpet of deep green leaves. Children love them. (6 – 8, May – August) Chionodoxa Glory of the Snow. The naming in the bulb trade may be confused. Look out for Cc. forbesii, luciliae or sardensis. The stems bear clusters of 6 – 8 large flowers in white, pink, or bright blue with a pure white centre. All are good doers. (10, March – April) Colchicum autumnale Each corm produces a bunch of pink flowers in autumn, and glossy dark green leaves in spring. There is a double-flowered form too: Colchicum autumnale flore plena. (Sh) (10, September) Colchicum speciosum album Each large corm gives several splendid white flowers, shaped like a Swedish wine glass. Careful placing is needed, as the glossy leaves are rather large! (15, October) Crocus chrysanthus. The species produces a bunch of bright yellow flowers, but the many hybrids under fancy names are all good and easy; look out for ‘Blue Bird’, ‘Blue Pearl’, ‘Cream Beauty’, ‘Ladykiller’, ‘Saturnus’, ‘Snowbunting’. (7, February)
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Easy Bulbs to buy in autumn - Alpine Garden Society

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