Gardeners in the Midwest often lament the unpredictable weather. Too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry–sound familiar?
Our horticultural woes, however, are nothing compared to those of Lewis Hill, whose Vermont garden is subject to bone-chilling Zone 3 temperatures. He watched as snow fell in early May and expects the last spring frost date to occur sometime in mid-June. “Our first fall frost is around the end of August. We’re lucky if we get between a 10- and 12-week growing season,” Hill says.
Despite the short season, Hill brings color and fragrance into his garden quickly with summer-blooming plants grown from bulbs, tubers, corms and rhizomes. “We grow a lot of summer bulbs like Oriental lilies, gladioluses and dahlias,” says Hill, author of “Bulbs: Four Seasons of Beautiful Blooms” (Storey Books, $19.95). The lilies will survive the winter in the ground, but Hill digs up tender dahlias, tuberous begonais and cannas, cuts them back and winters them over indoors.
Size matters
There are summer bulbs for just about every garden and wallet, says Kathy Laliberte, horticulturist at Dutch Gardens’ catalog headquarters in New Jersey. “You buy the bulbs in the spring and the flowers are already formed inside them. Just plant, water and fertilize, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to get a bloom,” Laliberte says. Some garden and home-improvement centers also sell container-grown plants.
Laliberte recommends Oriental lilies such as `Casa Blanca’ with its 10-inch pure white trumpets, and pink `Star Gazer.’ “They are so great because they bloom in August, and they’re intensely fragrant. They mix well in a perennial border.” Hardy to Zone 5, these lily bulbs can stay in the ground over winter in the Chicago area.
Freesias, compact dahlias and calla lilies are popular summer-blooming bulbs that do well in pots. “The calla lilies don’t take up much room in the container, and they give you end-of-season interest,” says Laliberte, who combines them with begonias and other annuals.
For a special effect, Andrea Green at The Growing Place Nursery & Flower Farm in Naperville plunks lycoris in her clients’ gardens. Also called naked ladies, hardy amaryllis or surprise lily, the plant sends up foliage in May. “The foliage disappears and up comes the stem with flowers later in the summer,” Green says.
Green also touts the hot-colored yellow and red crocosmias, a dramatic plant with tall swordlike leaves and arching flowers in July. “Because it’s so striking, it can be a focal point. It’s very dramatic combined with purple, such as Russian sage or Veronica or with late-blooming daylilies, heliopsis or yarrows.”
For low-maintenance, ornamental onions (allium) can’t be topped. “They come in such a variety of size and bloom time, from spring through late summer. They’re lovely and they’re unpalatable to rabbits and deer,” Green says.
The perennial Allium senescens glauca has curly clumps of blue foliage topped with clusters of soft lavender pink flowers borne 8 inches above the leaves. “It’s a good edger, which is tough to find. I use it a lot with roses,” Green says. She also pairs it with annual verbena for a violet and pink combination that is perfect for hot, dry sunny gardens.
Love ’em tender
Non-hardy (tender) bulbs are those that hail from warmer climates. Gladioluses, dahlias, tuberous begonias and the phenomenally fragrant tuberose are among these summer delights that won’t survive our winter climate if left outdoors year ’round. Some gardeners bring them in for the winter; others treat them as annuals, relegating them to the compost pile once the first heavy frost blackens their foliage.
One of Hill’s favorites is the tender pale blue agapanthus, or Lily of the Nile. “Quite often the agapanthus is grown in the cutting garden. They’re tall spiky flowers that fit in with other flowers in the border. And they can be grown in containers,” Hill says.
Wildly popular with the Victorians, canna lilies have made a comeback as striking plants for containers and borders. “`Tropicana,’ with its tricolor foliage, has become very popular. We use it in mixed planters, and it makes a nice tall focal point. The flowers are just a bonus as far as I’m concerned,” says Mike Geimer of Geimer’s Greenhouses in Long Grove.
For shady sites, Geimer recommends caladiums. “It’s an excellent foliage plant with a wide range of colors.”
Bulb-ology
Although gardeners often refer to cannas, gladiolus and other summer lovelies as bulb plants, their root and food storage systems are quite different.
– Technically speaking, a bulb is an enlarged, modified bud that contains a shortened stem and leaves that hold stored food. Some common bulb plants include lilies, daffodils and tulips.
– Other plants, including gladiolus, crocus and freesia, grow from bulblike corms, which contain a top bud that produces flowers and leaves and side buds that form additional corms.
As the old corm dies, the new one sends out roots and a new plant.
– Tuberous roots are found on summer-blooming plants such as dahlias. The tubers are about the size of a thumb and are planted just beneath the soil surface.
– Canna lilies and agapanthus grow from rhizomes, swollen stems that also grow horizontally below the soil surface.
– Tuberous begonias grow from tuber-corms, flattened disks that bear one or more buds on the upper surface and fibrous roots below. Tuber-corms are perennials that increase in size over the years.
— Nina Koziol
Growing tips for luscious summer bulbs
Here are some tips for success with summer bulbs:
– Purchase large, firm bulbs. Avoid bulbs that have mold or soft spots, a sign of bacterial rot. If buying potted plants, check for insects and leaf damage.
– Consider the plant’s needs for warmth and sunlight. Many bulb plants prefer full sun, a humus-rich, well-drained soil, and all-purpose fertilizer.
– With a little effort, you can winter over most tender bulbs, corms, tuberous roots and rhizomes such as gladiolus, canna, dahlia, tuberous begonia and tuberose.
After the first moderate frost, carefully dig out the plants with a spading fork and shake off the soil. Cut off the top growth a couple of inches above the top of the bulbs. Dry them in an airy, shady spot for a few days. Gladiolus and similar corms can be stored in paper bags in a dry place that is kept at 40 to 50 degrees. Other tender bulbs like dahlias can be packed in slightly moistened peat moss or vermiculite and stored at the same temperature.
If you grow tender bulbs in containers, they can be left in the pots, which should be stored indoors–perhaps a basement or crawl space–where the temperature will remain between 50 and 65 degrees. Water occasionally so the soil does not dry out.
– Good mail-order sources of summer bulbs include: Dutch Gardens, www.dutchgardens.com, 800-818-3861; Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com, 804-693-3966; and Old House Gardens Heirloom Bulbs, www.oldhousegardens.com, 734-995-1486.
— Nina Koziol
