Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Which bulbs naturalize the best for you in the Mid-Atlantic?, 1 by critterologist

critterologist wrote:
What a great thread!!

The last couple of years, at least, Brent and Becky's has had several varieties of Iris reticulata remaining in stock at the start of their post-Thanksgiving half off sale. The ones I've planted in the front garden have multiplied well, and I hope those I added last fall will do the same.

With crocus, I've planted mostly "tommies" and a few C. sieberi, and they've done well. I just ordered a TON (500 for me, 800 for some other folks sharing in the order) of mixed C. vernus. Those are the "giant crocus." The mix has 'King of the Striped' (sim. to 'Pickwick', striped white and purple), 'Flower Record' (basic purple) and 'Grand Matra' (lavender). I sure hope they naturalize and multiply! Wouldn't that be a sight in a few years?!

I look for words like "naturalize well" and "great perennializer" when I choose daffodils. I also figure that any heirloom variety is probably going to establish and naturalize well... B&B's descriptions of Flower Record and Geranium (both heirlooms) don't mention naturalizing, but these have multiplied pretty well already in my garden.

I don't think anybody has mentioned 'Cheerfulness', 'Yellow Cheerfulness', or 'Geranium' yet, but I love these daffs... they're Tazetta types, so they have multiple smaller flowers on a stem and a sweet scent. 'Thalia' is another musky-sweet heirloom that multiplies well.

There's a reason why 'King Alfred' and 'Ice Follies' are so widely planted... they do well and multiply nearly everywhere. I think 'Minnow' and 'Tete a Tete' are equally good performers if you're looking for miniature daffs for a border (great combo with Muscari).

The "regular" blue Muscari have been the best multipliers for me. I planted some other colors among them, but they are gradually being crowded out by the blue. So if you get any of the other varieties, I'd suggest planting them in a spot of their own, away from the basic blue ones.

I planted M. latifolium a couple of years ago and really liked them. Last spring, however, I didn't get much bloom... but maybe they got hit by that freeze... I'm hoping they return! A few M. latifolium that I planted in the front garden 5 years ago have returned every year but don't seem to have multiplied...

M. comosum 'Plumosum' is a really cool bloom that's an heirloom from 1612. I've planted them the last couple of years, but it's too soon to really tell if or how well they're multiplying.

The Tulips humilis that I've planted along walkways have done exceptionally well and multiplied rapidly. I've got 'Little Beauty' and 'Persian Pearl', and I've still got a few of the orange 'Little Princess' that were planted by mistake a few years back... they multiply so quickly that I never seem to get them all up! (I mean like where I planted a single bulb, I dug up 4 or 5 bulbs the following year.)

I did a little island bed in the front yard with a trio of dogwoods closely planted and a trio of azaleas. I planted 'Rip van Winkle' miniature daffs (1884 heirloom) with Anemone blanda 'Blue Shades', a few chinodoxa, and a couple clumps of 'Woodstock' oriental hyacinths. I expect everything to naturalize well except the hyacinths. (BTW, I planted more of the 'Woodstock' in the side bed with the 'Little Beauty' tulips, and the colors were a perfect echo.)