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Spring bulb chat. t of spring bulbs for next year already (lost all me tulips!)

a1154a1154 Posts: 1,108
in Plants
I must admit i have been smug about tulips as people have said they are never as good the 2nd year. Mine have been prefect for 3 years, this year all of the 3/4 year old ones are ALL gone! Ones in their 2nd year are fine, and some older ones 5/6 years old are still there. It’s very interesting, but with all the different types and actually the different conditions in this garden, and loads of hungry pests, I’m not sure I’ll work out what happened. Certainly they aren’t long term though. 

I love tulips but I need things that show each year and even improve. Question is - is it true that botanical tulips do better?  They aren’t as showy though?  Are there any recommendations? 

I also think there is a world of other bulbs I don’t know much about.

I have a lot daffs, probably don’t want any more. I have snowdrops and crocus and Dutch iris.  You seem to need to have so many of them for a good show. 

Alliums i I have tried a few different types (not just the round ones) and these do look good, grow well and do multiply.

That’s pretty much all I have tried and I think I’m missing something? Or lots of things?  

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  • a1154a1154 Posts: 1,108
    Ooo I got the title wrong. Can I edit the title? 
  • Joyce21Joyce21 Posts: 15,489
    Camassias... white and shades of blue 

    SW Scotland
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    a1154 said:
    Ooo I got the title wrong. Can I edit the title? 
    Not now that you've posted again!
    They will ocme back for a year or two if you have the right conditions, and you nay get some going for a few more years beyond that, but generally, the fancier and blousier types will diminish over time. The species tulips are completely different and will come back year after year. They flower earlier, and are mostly shorter. Mainly yellows, oranges, reds  - bright colours. I love them and they suit my conditions. I'll try and check which ones I have later.
    I tend to think of tulips as an annual - I don't thik of them coming back each year - any that do, it's a bonus.  The Apeldoorns also return eack year - red or yellow, tall flowering.
    There are lots of other bulbs for spring like the squills [pushkinnia?] I'm sure you'll get some recommendations  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • a1154a1154 Posts: 1,108
    I think I have seen camassia and didn’t know it was a bulb. That comes back every year yes? Looks lovely. 
    FG have you got pics of your species tulips? 
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    I know little to nothing about tulips but when I moved into my 2nd house in 1994 there were big yellow tulips in the front garden. They're blooming right now! Screaming yellow and about two feet high. Just plain, nothing fancy but you can't miss them! 
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    edited May 2018
    Yes camassia - I have creamy white ones which are slowly increasing, rich blue ones, some steel grey and some soft mauve. 
    I understand there are only so many daffs one can have but have a look at some of the very late narcissi - 'silver chimes' and 'pheasant eye' are both lovely scent and rather more restrained in form than the earlier yellow types.
    Some of the 'species' tulips are a bit more showy than others. My soil is completely wrong for tulips but this one has survived 4 years now. I think it's called 'Lady Jane'. It was just one random survivor when I moved another plant and it came too. Last year (this photo) there were two, this year there are 3. The original group have gone, but if you have more tulip friendly soil you may be able to get a whole group surviving well.

    Tulipa 'Tarda' is another that survives well - tall and bright yellow (I have one that keeps coming back)
    They have smaller flowers but they are much taller than than the little species ones, so make a bit more 'noise'. Having said that, 'Bronze Princess', which is a diddy one, is very pretty and also managing to survive in my garden (I've got 3 of those).
    Some of the muscari are much bigger and much better behaved than the common grape hyacinth. 
    'Summer snowflake' - Leucojum aestivum and it's other family members are doing well here and give a good show - nice and tall. (the white flowers in front of the azalea)

    If you can find them, you could try 'roman' hyacinths or some of the multi-headed hyacinths. They need better drainage than I can manage but if they'll grow for you they are very pretty - more elegant than the very heavy headed types you usually see.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    As I posted on another thread, Iris latifolia, the 'English' iris is very reliable in my wet and chilly garden, not only returns, but increases and comes in shades of purple, blue and white. Absolutely beautiful every year :)

    Little Iris reticulata are fairly cheap to buy and will often return for a year or two. The yellow one, I. Danfordiae doesn't.

    Tulips - Turkestanica, Tarda, Chrysantha, Kaufmanniana Heart's Delight ,Ancilla and Bakerii Lilac Wonder have all come back for me. The problem comes in remembering where exactly in the rockery they are planted!

    I have Camassias too, growing in a damp, partially shaded meadow and they are another of the joys of spring.

    Muscari are good for coming back. The standard ones can have rather untidy leaves, but there are lots of smaller ones that are lovely.

    You say you don't want any more daffs. I must have thousands, as a meadow planted up with the big yellow ones came with the house, but I have become increasingly hooked on the wide variety of different ones available nowadays, especially the smaller ones, and the range  of colours and flower shapes.
    It extends the places one can grow them, just a few tucked into a corner perhaps, or a pot of scented jonquils by a seat. Even the yellow jobs smell fantastic when you walk through a meadowful!



  • a1154a1154 Posts: 1,108
    Well....I don’t want any more yellow daffs in the garden, but I’ll look at silver chimes, and agree pheasant eye is very pretty. I will be adding daffs to a newly planted woodland area (so it’s just a field with v small saplings right now) and I haven’t decided whether to go with all fat yellow ones, different areas of different ones, or maybe the lent lily. My local park has a single type in a large groups, but then lots of different ones if that makes sense, that looks great. 

    Does camassia need a damp area? And English iris? It’s pretty dry here. 

    I dont like hyacinth, but hadn’t heard of the Roman ones, I’ll look into that and all the tulip suggestions. 
  • Joyce21Joyce21 Posts: 15,489
    Camassias do prefer an area that doesn't dry out.
    Thalia is a lovely white scented narcissus with a long flowering period.
    SW Scotland
  • RubyLeafRubyLeaf Posts: 260
    My tulips took a real beating this year. Three quarters of them never came up. Maybe it was that awful cold snap we had, who knows. Safe to say I'm in no rush to replace them. It took forever to put them all in, and all I got was two years of glorious colour. I'm been planting a few Anemone in places and may continue to do so. Maybe I'll take a break from spring bulbs until I fancy working hours to replace them. We'll see.
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