The lesser-known beauties are like frosting on a cake: no one would construct a garden just from these, but mingled with old standbys like phlox, gaillardia, and summer annuals, they create lovely surprises. A few are hardy far into northern states.
Half of the best on my list can be wintered successfully outdoors as far north as Philadelphia. Of those which are tender, most can be flowered in northern states, although an early indoor start will lengthen the bloom period.
The term “bulbs” in most gardeners’ minds includes plants that grow from corms, tuberous roots, and rhizomes, which is thus used here.
Few kinds are picky about soil, although all need well-drained locations. With a few exceptions, they want full sun.
Hardiest Bulb “Liatris”
Let’s look first at the hardiest. These include Liatris, one of the lycoris, the blackberry lily, and kniphofia.
Perhaps you know Liatris as the perennial called blazing star or gayfeather, but look closely, and you’ll see it grows from a thickened tuber which can be separated easily for more plants. One white species makes a big round tuber.
Liatris is winter hardy far into the north and thrives in hot, dry places. Both white and purple varieties make fine spires of color in late summer, but the hybrid ‘Silver Tips’ is the highlight of my garden in late July with four-foot spikes of soft lavender-rose.
Bees come from everywhere to feast on its downy flowers. One purple hybrid, ‘Kobold,’ is only two feet tall. Liatris is easily grown from seed but shows great variation, with some plants branching and others producing a spire.
Watch for heaving the first few winters. Plant mature tubers one to two inches deep in early spring.
A Quite Hardy Lycoris
Most of the lycoris is only for southern gardens, but the resurrection lily (Lycoris squamigera) deserves a try everywhere except in states with severest winters. I have seen it blooming profusely far up in New England.
Its strap-like leaves appear in spring, then die down to be followed in July or August by umbels of pink-lavender trumpets much like amaryllis on two-foot stalks.
It takes light and high shade. Place ferns or perennials in front to soften the starkness of the thick bloom stems.
Set bulbs 4” to 6” inches deep, about five inches apart in groups. They can be planted in fall or spring. They may skip flowering the first year or two after planting. When moving your bulbs, do it immediately after leaves die down in early summer.
Blackberry Lilies
Blackberry lilies (Belamcanda chinensis) owe their name to the seed capsules, which arrangers prize. The sprays of spotted, starry orange flowers three feet tall make a bright contrast when grown with clumps of white phlox.
The foliage resembles the iris. In color, the flowers remind me of the old daylilies, which romp everywhere wild, but Belamcanda is much more graceful and not addicted to rampant growth. Apricot, yellow, and red hybrids are also available, some of them unspotted.
They increase by creeping rhizomes which may be planted an inch deep in the fall. I divide and replant established roots, however, in the spring. You will probably have self-sown seedlings if you do not pick the seeds for arrangements.
Red-Hot Pokers In Soft Colors
Kniphofia is the official name now given to the plants most of us know as tritoma or red-hot poker. It makes a tuft of rapier-like foliage from which stout stems 2’ to 4’ feet tall shoot up, topped with a column of small tubular flowers resembling a string of firecrackers.
My mother grew them years ago without protection just north of New York City, but some of the newer hybrids are even harder and come in soft, easy-to-use shades like rose, primrose yellow, and creamy white.
Select varieties to spread bloom from late June to late summer. Plant in the spring with the tuberous roots about an inch deep, but don’t expect much bloom in the first year.
After they are settled, however, plants will increase and steadily produce more spikes, so leave a foot between young plants.
If you find kniphofias cannot stand your winters, dig clumps after frost and store them in boxes or sand in a cool place or a cold frame.
A thick mulch will protect crowns over severe winters, and if your climate is especially cold, select varieties noted as hardy.
Zone 6 Winters
The next three plants have proven winter-hardy in much of Zone 6* and might be used much farther north if protected with winter mulch or a thick evergreen planting to the north of them.
Summer Hyacinth
I was once told that summer hyacinth (Galtonia candicans) would neither survive our Philadelphia winter nor bloom much the second year, even if I dug the bulbs. So I left them on the ground that fell and wrote them off.
The following summer, the bulbs, which had increased by offsets, produced tall spikes of white bells as well as ever. With its big, fleshy leaves and thick stalks, this bulb is for the back of the border or as an accent in the shrubbery.
Mine bloom with the purple Liatris of July. Set the bulbs about three inches deep and five inches apart in spring and see what happens.
Hardy Begonia
Hardy begonia (Begonia evansiana) has been more than hardy in a shaded spot I have. Bulbs survive the winter with no protection except littered leaves, and the tiny stem bulbils sow so prodigiously in autumn that I plan to use the plant as a summer ground cover in half-shaded places.
Red ribs decorate the backs of the heart-shaped leaves. In late summer, dainty fountains of pink or white flowers appear, much like those of fibrous begonias but on plants about 18” inches high.
In a moist, half-shaded spot, plant bulbs in spring are about an inch deep and 6” inches apart.
In the fall, bulbils may be broadcast on the surface where you want a new patch, but don’t cultivate early for plants to emerge quite late. I doubt the usefulness of this plant when frost arrives in early September.
Alstroemeria Aurantiaca Lutes
Alstroemeria aurantiaca lutes are considered the hardiest family, including pink, white, and orange varieties. It provides clusters of bright yellow flowers from 1’ to 3’ feet high in late July when our garden needs something gay.
In time a tuber gives many shoots, but not all bloom. They benefit from fertilizer and need extra water in dry weather.
South of Washington, D. C., pick a protected location and plant the brittle tubers horizontally two to four inches.
Farther north, plant them deeper and give winter mulch. They like a little shade if they cannot survive your winters, so store tubers in sand indoors.
Bulbs Tender in North
Spring catalogs show a plethora of tender bulbous plants for summer bloom. The trick is to limit yourself to what you can handle pleasurably for in all but the mildest parts of the country; these must be lifted and stored over winter, then replanted each spring.
Because the northern growing season is shorter, all tender bulbs grown there benefit from several feedings of liquid manure during the growth period.
You may start them early indoors in pots, then carefully knock them out, soil and all, and plant them in the open ground after the weather is settled.
Cardboard milk cartons used as starting containers are easy to peel away without disturbing roots. Water well once after the initial planting, then only sparingly until the foliage is well up.
Even a touch of cold sets these plants back, sometimes preventing bloom, so don’t put them out too soon.
Tigridias, montbretias, and acidantheras are related to gladiolus and have similar foliage. The tigridias seldom reach a foot high, and their single flowers last but a day although each firm produces several in succession.
Montbretias and acidantheras may go to 3’ feet and have a longer bloom with the flowers on a spike.
Acidantheras is white or cream with a brownish blotch and a spicy perfume; only a few flowers open at one time.
Montbretias are much like glads in form; they and tigridias come in many bright colors. Plant all of these two to three inches deep and several inches apart in full sun. Store dry and warm for winter.
Varied Cannas, Dramatic
Cannas are an ideal focal point in the summer garden. Newer ones come in pretty pastels. Flower heads may be carried from 1’ to 4’ feet high, depending on variety, and the foliage is dramatic, sometimes green, sometimes with a red cast.
Start canvas indoors early in rich soil, transplant out after the weather is warm, and they’ll flower until hard frost.
Plenty of water and frequent feedings are beneficial. In spring, the roots may be divided to increase stock, but leave at least one growing shoot on each section. Store tubers over winter in sand or soil to prevent drying.
Tuberoses
Tuberoses (Polianthes tuberosa) in the north need a protected sunny location where the soil will get warm and stay that way until late summer when the heavily-perfumed white flowers appear on two- to four-foot stems.
Both single and double forms are offered. Never allow bulbs to be chilled. Instead, plant them 3” inches deep after the weather is thoroughly warm.
Dig and store clumps in fall at a moderate pace, and the next spring, break them into smaller clumps the size of your palm for replanting.
Hymenocallis
Hymenocallis, include botanically the beautiful ismene or Peruvian daffodil as well as several other species, all of them with gorgeous, fragrant flowers, usually white. Cream or yellow types also exist.
They have lush amaryllis-like foliage and come quickly into flower after the weather is warm, so plant late to prevent chilling.
Set bulbs three to five inches deep. When harvesting in the fall before a hard freeze, leave roots on the bulbs. Store in a moderately warm place.
Achimenes Prosper In Shade
On long tubes, achimenes have pansy-like flowers, white through pink, orange, purple, and blue. Sprawly plants for lightly shaded places need lots of water during growth and thrive on heat.
Start the tiny tubes in pots early; plant outside, covering an inch deep, after the weather is warm. They increase amazingly. Tubers should be stored dry and warm for the winter.
Many smaller summer-flowering members of the amaryllis family, among them the Zephyranthes and Cooperia, bloom toward the end of the season.
Depending on the bulb size, they are planted 1” to 3” inches deep and best grown in pots in a protected, sunny place, so foliage can mature.
Bring them in before frost and encourage leaves to keep growing. Store dry in pots until late spring, then revive with a light watering. Feed with liquid manure during growth; you need not repot for several seasons.
Adaptable Caladiums
Caladiums are grown for their colorful foliage. Leaves are variously marked white, cream, red, or pink and are striking in partially-shaded gardens, planted in groups of a single kind.
They need extra water and fertilizer during summer growth. Start them early indoors in a warm place about two inches deep in peat moss. Water sparingly until foliage appears.
Transplant to pots or directly into rich soil after the weather is warm. Bring tubers in before frost and store them in pots or dry peat or vermiculite.
44659 by Bebe Miles