This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Bulbs - summer to autumn
Hi all,
Following my spring to summer thread
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1011402/bulbs-summer-to-spring#latest
Which has only been a partial success...There are gladioli everywhere! But only about a quarter have flowered so far.
Anemones about four came up, looked totally out of place and straggly and died a while ago.
Lillies tried, only one flowered at only two feet tall before something hacked it in half...nothing else made it.
So I may be willing to roll the dice once more, because once the gladioli go I’ll have basically no colour.
GW recommends colchicums, sternbergia and nerines...but will my garden grow them before the squirrels dig them up?
Following my spring to summer thread
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1011402/bulbs-summer-to-spring#latest
Which has only been a partial success...There are gladioli everywhere! But only about a quarter have flowered so far.
Anemones about four came up, looked totally out of place and straggly and died a while ago.
Lillies tried, only one flowered at only two feet tall before something hacked it in half...nothing else made it.
So I may be willing to roll the dice once more, because once the gladioli go I’ll have basically no colour.
GW recommends colchicums, sternbergia and nerines...but will my garden grow them before the squirrels dig them up?
0
Posts
The species Amaryllis belladonna (violet hues) flowers later on also .
A garden I maintain has (in my opinion) the star of the show , Crocus speciosus . There is a fairly dry almost sandy slope containing hundreds of these ; flowering in September/October they form an almost metallic bluish haze of colour .
Colchicums are OK if growing amongst longish grass (purely for support) , as the heavy flower heads tend to topple in wind and rain .
Nerine bowdenii I find a difficult plant to include in my own garden ; its almost garish pink is a difficult association with other more subdued tones . Maybe better in an old and weathered terra-cotta pot ?
Regarding Gladiolus ; cannot abide the 'cut-flower' varieties , only the species . Used to grow the diminutive and delicate looking G.tristis , its creamy yellow pendulous heads being a valued addition to my (now defunct) rockery . Succumbed to the winter of 09/10 though .
Leucojum autumnale is a more refined and filigree form of its bullish spring counterpart ; have this growing in a semi-shaded grassy bank under the dappled light of Silver-Birch .
Never tried Sternbergia ; I think they need dryish conditions with plenty of sun , but I may be wrong here .
Someone may be on hand to advise accordingly !