Small Bulbs For Fall Planting

For inquiring gardeners who like to experiment, there are many reliable plants which flower out-doors in winter, starting in November and continuing into April. These are small for the most part, including a wide variety of bulbs.

My preference for the longest flowering, the least demanding and the most widely available is a heath variety, Erica carnea King George (aka ‘Winter Beauty’), which forms its buds in early autumn, starts to bloom in November and remains rosy and cheerful until the first warm spell in April. Any shrub that flowers in cold weather is worthy of consideration, though it grows only nine inches high.

The needle-like leaves of ericas serve to distinguish them from true heathers, or callunas, whose overlapping scale-like foliage suggests that of arborvitae. Culturally, ericas do best in full sun, if possible in a raised position to ensure sharp drainage. Give them lean acid soil with some leafmold, a shearing after bloom to keep the growth compact and no protection. The twigs layer easily and rooted pieces can be detached for friends.

In its fully exposed position, erica has no companion to flower with it until February, which brings out a clump of the delicious blue-lavender Crocus sieberi. The creamy C. chrysanthus variety Moonlight is soft and flattering, but the more ardent yellows and oranges, C. aureus, C. balansae, and C. chrysanthus E. A. Bowles, are best kept at a safe distance. The reddish blue C. tomasinianus, later than C. sieberi, continues the agreeable succession. However, its variety Whitewell Purple, while far handsomer in the garden, is too assertive a red-violet to blend harmoniously with the erica.

My favorite for matchmaking is the tiny Hyacinthus azureus, whose prim spikes approach true sky blue, a color more frequently found in catalog illustrations than in the flowers themselves. For some reason, it is also known as Muscari azureum, though with its clear hue and flaring bells, it resembles grape hyacinth (muscari) only in stature. This interesting hyacinth sends up its broad, firm leaves in spring. When flowering is over, it disappears, whereas the foliage of the common grape hyacinth remains green for several weeks. With me, this hyacinth grows happily and seeds itself freely.

Among the scillas, there is S. sibirica taurica, which has the subdued color of a hazy sky, though it flowers so late that it is overlooked in the crowding abundance of the April garden. S. tubergenianum, very early, very flowery, is a washy grey-blue, while the gentian-blue S. sibirica Spring Beauty dominates the little rowdy Narcissus obvallaris, which can hold its own in any company.

The impressively named petticoat daffodil variety, Narcissus bulbocodium monophyllus (clusi) Foliosus, grows in a sand bed at the foot of the house’s south wall. There it has increased to the point of needing division and has flowered this past year from November 27 to January 22. It is milky-white and rather spare in outline, not so luxuriantly ruffled as Narcissus bulbocodium. monophyllus, which is a pure white.

A perfect companion for narcissus Foliosus is Crocus laevigatus fontenayi from Greece and the Cyclades. It could be classed as the latest of the autumn crocus or the first of the spring-flowering ones, since it straddles both seasons. Established plants last year started to bloom on Novem-ber 26 and were never out of flower until January 20.

The flowers of this gem are lavender, the inner segments markedly paler than the outer. These are chipmunk-striped, with three bold deep-violet bars on an off-white ground, the outer stripes feathered and brushing out over the lavender margins. Stamens and anthers are ivory and the throat is gold.

Depending on January’s weather, Foliosus’ cousin, Narcissus bulbocodium romieuxi, may overlap or follow it at a month’s interval. It is a sprightly little thing, with widely-flared blossoms crowding together on short, stiff stems. Like Foliosus, it needs south wall treatment both to coax its flowers and to protect it from cutting ground winds which beat its starchy petticoats to tatters. It is light mimosa yellow – too citron-toned to harmonize with yellow crocus, even the green-tinged C. korolkowi.

Narcissus bulbocodium romieuxi goes well with lavender crocus and with the bulbous Iris reticulata Cantab and I. histrioides major, which, on their long tubes, are more in scale than the dwarfer crocus. As to hardiness, the buds on my plants were an inch or more above ground on February 3, when the thermometer stood at zero, yet opened three weeks later without a trace of injury.

The princely snowdrop, Galanthus elwesi, might be considered as a companion for the erica. Likewise, it needs no coddling, yet it is too handsome a plant to be given a subsidiary role. For several years my plants have been blooming in an exposed windswept position. In cold weather, they keep their heads down, while those that flower in April are overtaken by heat.

The tallest of the snowdrops may reach 10 inches. Those with long, narrow vanes have a spread of two inches or over. Those with large, rounded segments have less span, but more substance. It is a good plan to mark the best forms for seed. With me, Galanthus elwesi does equally well in full sun and dense deciduous shade. It increases moderately by division and continuously by seed. The most prolific planting is among Epirnediurn grandiflorurn niveum and between the buttress roots of a large oak. It may be that snowdrops enjoy crowded quarters or it is perhaps the thickly meshed roots of the epimediums that keep squirrels from digging up seedlings.

Provide a Windbreak

Though erica and snowdrop can take the full sweep of winter gales, the little bulbs from the Mediterranean area need a windbreak, as well as a thorough summer baking. To this end, they are planted directly against the south wall of the house in starvation soil. It contains mostly builder’s sand, with a good helping of crumbly mortar rubble and a miserly pinch of loam. A large hybrid rugosa rose, planted at one side of the bed and espaliered on the wall above it, helps to maintain desert conditions.

Since squirrels found the loose sand easy for digging, we had to cover the bed with chicken wire. This also helps to keep fallen leaves from settling on the bulbs and forming a soggy blanket. Since the bulbs make their growth in midwinter, they must be enabled to utilize every moment of our thin, northern sunshine, if they are to store away enough strength to cheer us in ensuing winters.

by M Graff

Related Articles Of Interest:

• A Quick Guide to Choosing and Planting Bulbs
• 5 Steps For Less Floppy Paperwhite Narcissus
• Fall Bulb Videos
• How To Have Better Spring Bulbs