Which bulbs naturalize the best for you in the Mid-Atlantic?

You all know me -- I'm super cheap and lazy. I love bulbs, but I can't stand the idea of replanting each year. (Not that I haven't invested the family farm in a ton this year, but that is another story.) I am trying to create a garden that will continue from year to year without requiring the addition of too many additional plants each year. The alliums and tulips I've tried don't meet that standard. I know the performance of bulbs depends on the climate. They also can't require it to be too dry in the summer, because I do water. . . So for you in my mid-Atlantic neck of the woods: What bulbs do you find are glorious and naturalize the best, so that you have more in a few years than you started with? Those are the bulbs for me . . . .

Hi~~
I love daffodils for this purpose, under trees. The noly one that died out on me is White Lion, a double. Most tulips won't last as you have found, is what I've heard. I also heard thtat tulips like to be dry in summer, so thas out for you too. Grape and wood hyacinth are lasting and multiplying for me. Hardy cyclamen seem very tough but the blooms are very small so they need a special place where you'll see them . Crocus tomassinianus (spelling?) is doing well here. The last two I got after hearing Alan Sommers rave. I'll go look up notes I have from his newsletter and get back.

Here's this copied from A S
Answer: Years of experience has taught me that daffodils vary greatly in their adaptability. Each variety of daffodils has its own specific cultural requirements. For example, some prefer mostly sun; some like moist soil and some like dry soil. Many varieties simply will not establish and naturalize in many situations. Some of the ones that I have identified as being handsome in bloom, broadly adaptable and persistent are: Ice Follies, Orange Ice Follies, Salome, Mount Hood, Delibes, Mary Bohannon, Kiss Proof and Accent. There are lots of other varieties available; but unless the conditions are just right, in most situations many of them don't establish and they disappear after a few years.
And on tulips, also copied from Carroll Gardens newsleters in the past few yrs:
1. You must select tulips that tend to perennialize. The large flowered tulips that do this best are the Darwin Hybrids.
2. Buy the largest bulbs that you can find. The bulbs sold prepackaged in plastic bags are usually not the largest available. Go to a garden center that sells the bulbs loose, where you bag them yourself.
3. . Each year the tulip makes a new bulb and the old bulb dies. If the new bulb is too small, it will not bloom. Therefore you must do everything possible to keep the tulip actively growing for the longest period of time, thus making its new bulb larger. The tulip stops growing when the soil becomes warm. That's why tulips do so well in northern Europe where the sky is usually misty and cloudy and the summer temperatures are cool. To help keep the tulip bulb cool, you should plant deeply, about 12 inches deep.
4. Plant the bulb where there are a few hours of shade to protect the tulip from the hottest afternoon sun. Tulips do best where the soil is well-drained, but lightly moist.
5. Snip off the seed head (just the seed head, nothing more) as soon as the flower petals drop, so the tulip doesn't waste energy growing seeds rather than growing a new larger bulb.
6. Fertilize the tulips when planting and top dress with fertilizer every fall thereafter so that fertilizer will be carried down into the soil by the melting snows. Bulb foods such as Bulb-Tone alone do not provide enough nitrogen for tulips. Mix Bulb-Tone half and half with Plant-Tone. I have also had great success mixing bone meal with Milorganite.
7. Never remove the foliage until it has turned totally brown.
8. A tulip which sends up only one leaf is too small to flower. However, do not dig it up and throw it away. Because the tulip bulb is not expending energy on the flowering this year, next year it will often be larger, sprout two or more leaves and bloom.


This message was edited Oct 25, 2007 3:57 PM

This message was edited Oct 25, 2007 4:00 PM

Thanks. I gotta say, I can't imagine digging hundreds of holes a foot deep. I can only bow in awe at anyone who manages holes that deep!

Absolutely the best naturalizing bulbs I've grown have been the little iris reticulata. They will form big clumps in no time. They look really nice with the litte Tete a Tete miniature daffs, which also spread nicely but not as fast as the iris.

Second would be grape hyacinths. They spread very nicely.

The plain yellow daffs spread the best I think. You can get big bags of I think 75 bulbs at Costco for pretty cheap. I remember when I was in college taking an archeology course where went out in the field out in the country. There was a field across the river from us that was blooming yellow daffodils as far as the eye could see. What a site. I don't know if these had naturalized or if someone was growing them for sale.

The most reliably perennial tulips in my garden by far have been the species tulips followed by Apricot Beauty, which might be a Darwin Hybrid but I think it's a single early.

hart- glad you mentioned the iris. after reading plantfiles, seems like mine'll do better if I plant much deeper. I have a yellow one, one bloom buts lots of tiny bulbs.

These are the little iris reticulata, only a few inches tall. Is that what you have?

pretty sure. small bulbs, very early bloom, close to ground. Bought years ago but sounds like the description. Voila~

The browned foliage around it is actually blue-eyed grass foliage. That's an iris (family) too~~

This message was edited Oct 25, 2007 6:04 PM

That might also be iris histroides because the falls look a little bit bigger than reticulata.

Hmmm, I looked it up because I wasn't sure what the difference was between the two:
Iris histroides varieties are almost identical to Iris reticulata varieties. The main differences are the lack of a netted skin on the bulb and petals that are wider and more rounded. The color range is a bit more extensive, ranging into cream tones with more significant patterning.

But I found this on the same page:
Iris danfordai is one of the earliest blooming bulbs we have here in the Pacific Northwest. These bright yellow flowers add a great splash of bright color during our gray winter days. These bulbs do well in mixed perennial beds and work well for naturalizing.

I can't click back on your photo to compare but scroll down to see what they look like.
http://www.leonineiris.com/l9ieducinfo/l9ieduc_bulbiris.html

Bigger picture of the danfordaie here
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/Iris/Iris_danfordiae1_JL.jpg

I dint know nuthin bout all them other bulb irissees! again you're a wealth of info, hart~
Taking the low tech approach, and lacking a better picture of mine, I probably got mine at a local store in a bag. In the 'fall bulb' display.

I think yours is definitely danfordiae now that I can look at your photo more closely. It's a really pretty iris.

I think the histroides are really pretty too but I've never grown them. I can tell you the reticulatas are really easy, really pretty, spread very nicely and look great with the miniature daffs at the front of a bed. They're not expensive bulbs either.

I just planted 40 bulbs 2 weekends ago.
10 Iris reticulata Harmony
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55246/

10 Narcissus Martinette, 10 Narcissus Kendron

and 10 Tulips Oratorior
http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/spring/productview/?sku=02-1306

I like Narcissus/Daffodils best, they always come back every year and some multiply into large clumps. This is my first time for this verity of tulip and also a first for the iris. I didn't order crocus bulbs this fall but they are also high on my list for performance.

Brent and Beckys have a very large selection of bulbs and are of very good quality and you can find bulbs to fit your budget.

That's a beautiful color greigii, Chris. I got a handful of these last year - greigii Toronto - and I love the color. This was the closest photo I could find to the true color.

What I love about the greigiis, besides the fact that they live for years and have multiple blooms per bulb, is that the leaves are so pretty even when they're not blooming.

hart- I think you've got it, it looks like I have that danfordiae. Thanks; its in my journal now~

You all are an expensive habit for me!

Oh Happy, look out we're just getting started! LOL I'd have to say any of the Daffodils are your best "buy". They continue to multiply over the years and there are so many choices - colors, sizes, etc. Always love the color combinations you can create with some of the Tulips but most of the ones I like are short-lived so can be an expensive 'habit' :( Alot of the "minor bulbs" multiply quickly as well and always look great planted at the foot of the some of the larger bulbs. An old article here that gives some good information http://www.marthastewart.com/article/minor-bulbs?lnc=bb80b8f6982fe010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&page=1&rsc=articlecontent_gardening One of my favorites has always been Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa) http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.6ce2b7fbff466ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=736ed55d25a50110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&vgnextrefresh=1 and they're available in different shades of blue, white and even pink! Another favorite we'd had in the gardens for years and they've multiplied nicely are the Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica) http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.6ce2b7fbff466ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=d2bccf0a73f50110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=also_try_p1
Love these because they bloom a little later so they extend the "bulb" season.
I'd also have to agree with hart, Iris reticulata is great for naturalizing and they're so easy to just pluck off a few divisions and plant them anywhere you want more!

I wish I had more pictures of the gardens in early spring to share. Actually have tons that were taken with the camcorder when Rick did an extensive planting about 5 years ago but I've never figured out how to connect the camcorder to the computer and 'grab' the pictures. Maybe that should be one of my "winter" projects? Here's one of some of the Daffodils that I took in March last spring.

That photo is lovely! My daffs haven't been returning as dependably as I'd like, I think because I water a lot in the areas I have planted them. I am going to try a new area this year that won't have perennials on top (just pachysandra), and I'm hoping that will work better.

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.)

Here is a daf that has done very well for me and has multiplied over the 7+ years I have grown them. The trumpet starts out yellow and then matures to a lovely salmon color. I like the color change! Name ,Salome

Critter, Cheerfulness (both colors) did not do good for me, maybe I planted them in the wrong spot, not enough sun : ( But Quail has done wonderful close to the same spot. I like the smaller dafs for a small spring arrangement in the house.

I'm sure there's a lot of variability even among varieties "known to be" good naturalizers. I first got 'Cheerfulness' in a bag of mixed daffs, and it was one of the best of the lot... over the past 5 years, some of the others have disappeared completely, but nice clumps of 'Cheerfulness' have formed.

Those little daffs are just too cute!

That is what makes gardening so interesting, all the verities to try and the success and failures we all experience. So many plants and so little time. I'm still getting the yard ready for winter. LOL I think fall is finally here, can't go out with out a sweatshirt or light jacket.

Happy, that patch of Daffodils is planted with Daylilies, so we enjoy the Daffs in the spring and then the Daylilies start poking through and "disguise" the dying foliage of the Daffs.

Chris, we have 'Salome' and I love it!

Critter, we have quite a few of those you mentioned, including Tete a Tete, Minnow, etc - really enjoy the smaller ones. I especially like the pure white blooms of 'Thalia' - elegant :) I've found the same thing with the Muscaria latifolium http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS234US234&q=muscari+latifolium&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi, haven't really multiplied but their two-toned flowers are so unique.

Found another spring picture - this one of the pink Chionodoxa with one of the smaller 'frilly' Daffodils in the background.

Those pink Chionodoxa are pretty, have to get some of them.

OTOH< snowdrops don't do well for me. Recently read they don't like to get hot and dry in summer(I think) I do think they're cute tho, and very early.

No bulb multiplies for me like Muscari - Grape Hyacinth - you can even lift a bunch now that the foliage is out and divide the clumps to spread around your garden.

Tete-a-tete daffs are also great for naturalizing. I see them all over parks in Georgetown in the spring - just lovely.

My tulips return fairly reliably -- NOTE - as Kathy J, editor of Washington Gardener magazine (www.washingtongardener.com) observes, you cannot irrigate beds with these bulbs and expect them to return - they will just rot.

I heard that about tulips too, explaining why people lose them when they put them in with summer flowers that they water.