Expand Your Palette with New Bulbs

Shorter days. Cooler nights. A gardener’s fancy turns to thoughts of bulbs: What’s new this year? How can I boost color in the spring? How do I extend my bloom time?

PHOTO: Crocus chrysanthus 'Blue Pearl'
Crocus chrysanthus ‘Blue Pearl’

Gardeners seeking early signs of spring will be happy to plant Crocus chrysanthus ‘Blue Pearl’. The pretty flower—pearlescent white, flamed with blue—brightened the Bulb Garden lawn last spring. It’s also a good candidate to use in perennial borders, under trees and shrubs, and among ground covers.

Narcissus ‘Frosty Snow’, builds in variety and interest with its color-changing ways. White petals open around a yellow cup, which slowly shifts from white with a yellow rim to pure white. It’s almost like getting three flowers with one bulb.

PHOTO: Tulipa x kaufmanniana 'Early Harvest' and Muscari
Tulipa x kaufmanniana ‘Early Harvest’ interplanted with scilla and Narcissus (yet to bloom).

The deep orange of Tulipa kaufmanniana ‘Early Harvest’ can bring warmth and vibrancy to a spring garden,  that pairs well the “intensely” orange blooms with a blue anemone (Anemone) or squill (Scilla). ‘Early Harvest’ also offers a more compact height and perennializes well, making it a better bet to return year after year.

PHOTO: Hyacinthus orientalis 'Pink Elephant'.
Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Pink Elephant’

A vivid garden palette might benefit from Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Pink Elephant’. Its large, fragrant flower spikes are the palest pink tinged with salmon. Such faint pastels and whites can have a calming effect in a garden and give the eye a place to rest. Companion planted with a coral-cupped narcissus, ‘Pink Elephant’ could also be used to create a nostalgic feeling.

Allium ‘Pink Jewel’ can step up in early June, right after the tulips are done for the season. It fills in the gap when there’s not a lot blooming. The 6-inch flower clusters are composed of cheerful raspberry-sherbet pink florets with bright green centers.

Can’t wait for spring? Pick up a fall-blooming crocus and plant it as soon as you get home. New among this year’s offerings, you’ll find Colchicum ‘Violet Queen’. The large blooms combine beautifully with ground covers, providing a rich, purple color in September and October. ‘Violet Queen’ is pest resistant and naturalizes readily.


©2014 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Summer Bulbs

Spring is done and we’ve finally moved into summer bulb season! The annual beds have been replanted with sweeps of dahlias, cannas, caladium, and begonias to showcase these nonstop workhorses of the summer garden.

PHOTO: Caladium plantings under the crabapples.
Caladium bicolor ‘Raspberry Moon’, Begonia ‘Million Kisses Honeymoon’ and Cretan brake fern (Pteris cretica) light up the shade under the Selkirk crabapples.

PHOTO: A raised planting of caladium and begonia under a tree offer a chance to sit in the shade.
Caladium bicolor ‘Miss Muffet’ and Begonia × tuberhybrida ‘Illumination White’ make a great pairing for shady areas.

On the perennial side of things, we’re moving into lily season. The very first lilies to bloom are the martagon lilies (Lilium martagon) and their hybrids (such as Lilium martagon ‘Mrs. R.O. Backhouse’). Martagon lilies are terrific plants for the shade garden because they provide both structure and color at a time when little else is blooming in the shade. The leaves emerge in a layered whorl, giving the plants a pagoda-like structure. We’re also moving into Asiatic lily season with the first of those beginning to bloom in bold shades of pink, red, yellow, and orange. 

PHOTO: The orange blooms of a martagon lily poke up through a bed of hosta.
Lilium ‘Nepera’ is a vibrant orange martagon hybrid that lights up a shady corner.
PHOTO: Foxtail lilies poke up from a planting of bayberry.
Pale yellow foxtail lilies (Eremurus ‘Lemon Meringue’) provide a fun summer surprise when planted among shrubs such as this bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica).

In addition to the lilies, we’re also seeing some unusual bulbs such as Eremurus ‘Lemon Meringue’ in bloom. Eremurus have tall, bottle brush-like flowers that add an exotic flair to the garden. Smaller alliums such as Allium tanguticum ‘Balloon Bouquet’ and Allium senescens do not have the giant flower heads of their springtime relatives, but still provide a welcome change of pace from the more common flowers of summer. 

PHOTO: Asiatic lilies just beginning to open.
The Asiatic lilies are just starting to bloom in the sunnier areas of the garden. Photo by Bill Bishoff.
PHOTO: Lilium 'Sterling Star'.
Lilium ‘Sterling Star’ Asiatic Lily. Photo by Bill Bishoff.
PHOTO: Lilium 'Red Velvet'.
Lilium ‘Red Velvet’ Asiatic outfacing lily. Photo by Bill Bishoff.

©2014 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Bulbs for Fall and Winter Interest

Just when the hostas, lilies, and other garden perennials are going to bed for the season, these bulbs are waking up. 

Arum

PHOTO: Closeup shot of the leaves of Arum italicum 'Jet Black Wonder'
Arum italicum ‘Jet Black Wonder’ has unique black spots and pink- tinged flowers.

Arum first emerge in the late fall. The broad, arrow-shaped leaves of Arum italicum are highly ornamental and sturdy—quickly perking up after hard freezes, providing a welcome spot of green in the winter garden. Throughout the winter, they remain green and full, providing a welcome burst of green in the winter garden. In the late spring, they send up creamy white flowers that resemble calla lilies (Zantedeschia sp).

Soon after flowering, the leaves die for the season, revealing showy, fruiting stalks of bright red, highly ornamental berries. While these berries are quite attractive, do be aware that they’re poisonous and should be planted where they won’t tempt any children or pets to eat them. If located in an ideal site, they will reseed and form a ground cover. There are dozens of varieties, each with its own unique leaf patterns.

PHOTO: Wilted Arum italicum in the Garden.
Arum italicum ‘Mamoratum’ after a cold snap.
PHOTO: Arum leaves look back to normal after warming up following a heavy frost.
This is the same Arum italicum pictured above after recovering from the frost.

Fall cyclamen

PHOTO: Cyclamen leaves emerge from the ground in spring.
Cyclamen hederifolium ssp. crassifolium

There are two primary types of cyclamen that are hardy in Chicagoland. These are the fall-blooming Cyclamen hederifolium and spring-blooming Cyclamen coum. The fall-blooming Cyclamen hederifolium have ivy-shaped leaves with stunning silver patterns and small, windswept-looking flowers. Cyclamen coum blooms in the late winter or early spring, and has heart-shaped leaves with silver patterns.

Both plants grow their leaves in the fall and carry them through the winter before going dormant in the spring. Their flowers range in color from pinks and lavenders to white. Cyclamen prefer a shady spot that doesn’t stay wet; otherwise the bulb will rot.

A great place to plant cyclamen is under deciduous trees, where the leaf canopy will protect the dormant tubers from excess rain. If sited properly, they will reseed and form a ground cover.

PHOTO: Cyclamen bloom through the leaf litter in Home Landscape Garden.
Fall cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium) blooming in Farwell Landscape Garden.

Fall allium

Among the latest-blooming bulbs are the often overlooked Allium thunbergii ‘Ozawa’ and A. thunbergii ‘Ozawa Alba’.  These relatives of onions form grassy clumps that look green and fresh all summer long and suddenly burst forth with small clusters of flowers resembling pink-and-purple lollipops in late October, often continuing until mid-November. (As of November 17, these were still going strong in the Farwell Landscape Garden, even after hard rain, several hard freezes, and a light snowfall!) Allium thunbergii prefers to be located in a sunny, well-drained location, where it will continue to grow and thrive for many years. These are great plants for a sunny rock garden, where they provide a welcome shot of color at the end of the season.

PHOTO: Purple fall onions blooming in the Garden.
Allium thunbergii ‘Ozawa’
PHOTO: White fall onions in bloom.
Allium thunbergii ‘Ozawa Alba’

©2013 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

What’s in Bloom on June 1

Boyce Tankersley, Director of Plant Documentation, tells us about some of the flowers we saw blooming on the first meteorological day of summer at the Chicago Botanic Garden. We saw echium in the Heritage Garden, a very rare jade vine in the Tropical Greenhouse, allium in the West Flower Walk and poppies in the English Oak Meadow. Come see us soon or visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/inbloom for updates on what’s in bloom.