Bulbs

June 22, 2002

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Not Your Grandmother’s Irises

Guest post by “The Bulb Lady” Debbie Van Bourgondien

Mention a grandmother’s garden, and a mental picture inevitably forms. Somehow bearded irises (Iris germanica) always seem to be part of that picture. Perfect flowers for cutting, as showy as orchids, they seem to fit into any kind of grandma’s garden, from the cottagey style that we usually think of in that context to the garden of an Asian grandma who treasures them for the fanlike simplicity of their foliage.

And did you know that many of them are even fragrant?

But Grandma’s irises they usually came in any color you wanted — as long as it was purple. Not so today. Today you can find bearded iris in just about any color (or combination of colors) imaginable, from a pure sparkling white, like “Celestial Flame” to black (Superstition.)

Time for a basic vocabulary lesson here — you may wonder where the “beard” is on these iris, and what I mean by a “fall.”

If you look carefully at an iris you will see that it has 6 petals. Three of them sweep upward, somewhat like a crown. This petal formation is called the standard. Three petals also sweep downward so that they look like they are providing that crown with a base. The downward petals are the falls. Many iris have one color of fall and a different color of standard ? OR the standards, falls or both can display multicolored patterns, different colored edges or simply shadings from deep to light.

Now, if you look carefully at the falls, they will show you a fuzzy sort of (I hate to say “growth” – it sounds so bad!) ? anyway, you’ll see a fuzzy line heading down into the flower’s throats. That is the beard , and it can be any color from orange to the same tone as the falls or standard.

Many bearded iris are two-toned. The rich and exotic ?Supreme Sultan? comes in the hard to find color combination of bright yellow beard and rich mahogany falls. For true delicacy there is ?Hidden World? with pale pink standards and white falls. One of my favorites is ?Batik?, which is a blue and white blend whose petals really do look as if someone had used the ancient batik process to color them. And some are banded ? ?Eastertime?, for instance, is creamy ivory, but has a perfect gold edge around the petals ? almost like a setting for a jewel.

Between the standards and the falls (not to mention that beard!) you have endless possibilities for color blends ? and some iris are REALLY colorful ? Check out ?After the Dawn?, for instance, that has falls in creamy yellow with a white wash, standards in a watercolor-dreamy blend of apricot and violet ? and a deep apricot beard. Or ?Tequila Sunrise?, which has striking yellow-orange standards (they seem to shade from pale to deep tones) and falls that are deep violet but bordered in a toasty color ? gorgeous! So there really is an iris color to suit any sort of garden scheme.

Iris time comes in May and June, after all the spring glories have begun to fade. There is nothing as impressive as a collection of bearded iris ? showy as orchids ? blooming in the sunshine (and they will bloom in part shade, as well!) Not only that ? but you can grow these successfully not only in the north (Zone 4) but in Zone 10! All they really require is well-drained soil.

Growing

Bearded iris grow from rhizomes ? when they arrive you will see something looking a bit like a torn potato with buds. From those humble buds the flower and leaves will rise to glory. When an iris is done flowering that part of the rhizome is essentially all used up ? but it doesn’t stop ? instead the rhizome creeps out in all directions sending out more buds and more flowers.

For this reason, it takes only a couple of years to have a really glorious iris bed. Plant the rhizomes in equilateral triangles of three about 24″ to the side. At the base, plant two rhizomes with their roots facing into the triangle; at the point plant one with its roots facing into the triangle. Plant an upside down triangle of the same size next to it. In this way you are getting a good spacing for your plants, and allowing them room to grow. You can plant a whole bed this way and if you pay attention to form, it will not only look lovely, but if you choose colors with care it can look like a living rainbow.

Bearded irises prefer a light but medium rich soil ? they sulk in clay. When you plant them you don’t want to cover the entire rhizome ? some of it should still be visible on the surface of the garden bed. Make sure that they get at least 6 hours of sun a day ? the more sun, the more they flower.

Because they grow so quickly, they will probably need dividing in about three years ? in which case you have lots to share with friends. Or, if as so many people have done, you have become addicted to these beautiful flowers, you can start another iris bed.

These flowers really do look wonderful grown in masses in beds all to themselves. If you can’t bear to devote a whole bed to a one-season flower, fill in with annuals ? the fan-like spears of foliage will look great among mounds of petunias.

But they also look great used like exclamation points in the mixed border. If you want to draw attention to some feature in your garden, plant it near a bearded iris. The leaves will draw the eye right up to what you would like us to notice even if the iris isn’t blooming. Just be sure to leave them plenty of room to expand ? unless, like I do, you enjoy digging up your plants and rearranging them in an endless round of exterior decorating.

The one thing I hear people object to in bearded irises is that the foliage sometimes turns unsightly. This shouldn’t happen if you give the plant plenty of good air circulation and make sure not to overwater it, but not to let it get bone dry. These plants tolerate drought quite well ? but don’t put them through it if you don’t need to. And when you fertilize, DON’T use nitrogen ? or at least use a low ?nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen is what leads to most of the problems you hear about with iris – avoid it and yours should sparkle! And if some of the leaves do die back, simply pull them off, or, as so many people like to do, trim the leaves into a fan shape ? they will put forth fresh, new foliage before you know it.

There probably isn’t an easier plant for creating a spectacular display than the bearded iris ? something grandma knew ? and so should you!

Debbie Van Bourgondien and “The Bulb Lady” are one and the same. For over 95 years, the Van Bourgondien family has specialized in providing high quality Dutch bulbs and perennials to discerning gardeners. Visit www.dutchbulbs.com to get a FREE subscription to their catalog.

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April 26, 2002

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What Do I Do With These Daffodils?

Guest post by Debbie Van Bourgondien “The Bulb Lady”

(Or tulips, or other spring bulbs?) It’s a sure sign that spring is here – my mailbox is full of spring bulb questions. Some of you have just discovered bulbs that you have forgotten to plant. Others have bulbs that they planted and now want to know what to do with them. Some of you have ones you planted a few years ago – and this year you didn’t get any flowers. And some of you lucky people in warmer climates are now staring at the yellowing foliage of your spring bulbs and wondering what to do about that. So this seems like a perfect time to cover some spring bulb basics. So I’m going to try to answer all of your questions here.

I forgot to plant these bulbs last fall! Now what do I do?

Don’t panic. Check your forgotten bulbs and see if they are still firm. Discard any that seem mushy or damaged. Then go plant the rest – right now!

OK – so you probably won’t get a spring display from them this year. They will be much happier in the ground than sitting in a bag, because in the ground they can be soaking up nutrients from the soil, and when they send up foliage they will benefit from the energy the sun gives them.

And if you’ve had them stored in a good, cool place all this time, they could surprise you. I’ve had reports of a daffodil, stored in the refrigerator and planted in early spring, then popping up and blooming in July.

My bulbs are up and almost finished flowering. Now what do I do?

Pick the flowers. And if the flowers are all shriveled up, remove the flowers and stems. If you leave the flowers on your tulips and daffodils after they are done blooming, they will spend a lot of time and energy creating seed. You would much rather have the plants send that energy back into the bulb to give you some great flowers for next year. So deadheading the spent blooms on your spring blooming bulbs not only makes for a tidier garden, but a healthier bulb.

When you remove the flower heads, leave the foliage right where it is. The foliage absorbs nutrients from the sun and air which feed the bulb. So even if they start to turn yellow and unsightly, you want those leaves to absorb all the sun and energy they can. Don’t braid it; don’t shove it under the mulch. Just leave it and plant things that will help to disguise them. Hostas and daylilies are very effective at this.

I planted bulbs last fall. They came up but they didn’t flower. What happened?

If those non-flowering bulbs were planted last fall, you probably have a soil (or added fertilizer) with too much nitrogen in it. Nitrogen encourages leafy growth at the expense of flowering. Have your soil tested – your agricultural agent can usually do this for a reasonable fee. And make sure that any bulb fertilizers you use has a higher second and third number (the P and K) that it does nitrogen (N). Numbers like 5-10-10 are good.

Another possibility is that your bulbs are in too much shade. Shade from deciduous trees is good, because the leaves won’t come out until the bulb is well into its flowering cycle. But bulbs planted near evergreen trees or in the shade of a house may not be giving the bulbs enough light.

And don’t forget that deer and rabbits sometimes like to snack on tulip buds – which are quite edible. Check to see if your bulb didn’t TRY to flower before it was devoured.

My bulbs have flowered beautifully for several years, but this year I had only a few blooms.

This means your bulbs are getting too crowded for optimal growing. Underground many spring bulbs are reproducing, creating new bulblets that then mature to blooming size. Pretty soon they are sitting in a mass of bulbs all trying to share a little bit of soil. So they need dividing.

Wait until the foliage has yellowed and withered completely. When it is pretty shriveled, in summer, is the time to dig up the bulbs and divide them. You’ll be amazed at how many more you have. Go ahead and plant them now – either spacing them out more evenly in their current spot, or spreading more around the property. Or share a few with neighbors and make them happy too.

If I deadhead my daffodils and tulips will I get more blooms?

A bulb is a wonderful package. It already holds the complete flower in it, just waiting for sun and warmth to call it out of the bulb. But that bulb can only hold that single flowering stem. So deadheading them will not get you more flowers next year. However, it will help you to have a stronger bulb for next year.

I received a potted tulip (or daffodil) as a gift. I’ve heard that once they have been forced I may as well throw them out. Is this true?

If your potted bulb is a paperwhite narcissus and you live in a cold climate, the answer is yes. Once forced a bulb exhausts itself and it is very difficult to get it to bloom again under forced conditions. In a warm climate, you can plant them outside and they may live to perform again. But this bulb is an exception.

With daffodils, tulips and hyacinths, your chances are quite good of getting that plant to live and bloom another year. Just plant the bulbs outdoors when they are finished and their foliage has died back. While they may not bloom next spring, you should see results the following year.

My tulips didn’t come back this year. I thought they were perennials.

Ah yes – but some tulips are more perennial than others. Many people grow tulips strictly as annuals. Others routinely dig them up when the foliage has died back and store them in a cool, dark place until fall in order to get a couple more seasons out of them. But some types of tulips, especially species tulips, (Fosteriana. Kaufmanniana, Greigii, Praestans and others) and Darwin Hybrids will come back for many years in succession if given proper planting at the proper depth (the Holland Bulb Council recommends 8 inches) in a well drained soil. In other tulip classes a few will perennialize, such as the lily flowered tulips ‘Ballade’ and ‘White Triumphator’ and the fringed tulips ‘Burgundy Lace’.

Another possible reason for tulips failing to return is that they have been eaten by underground burrowing creatures. Tulips are related to onions and are actually quite tasty. This is another good reason for the deep planting – it is below the depth to which most creatures will tunnel. Daffodils, on the other hand, are fairly foolproof, as they are poisonous and few animals will bother with them.

My bulbs came up – but some of them are not where I planted them.

See above. Critters often like to think of themselves as garden designers, and in their travels beneath your garden may move bulbs around if they get in their way.

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January 25, 2002

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Creating a Naturalized Bulb Garden

Guest post by “The Bulb Lady” Debbie Van Bourgondien

Before I start, let me issue a word of caution. If you have any ideas about planting daffodils in your lawn for that Wordsworth-like field of golden daffodils effect – don’t. That is not what I mean by naturalizing bulbs.

A friend of mine, seduced by the copy in a bulb catalog (not ours!) ordered hundreds of daffodil and tulip bulbs and, according to instructions, knelt in her side yard and tossed them gently on the lawn, planting them wherever they fell to achieve a natural look.

She achieved it.

But then the grass began to grow – and the foliage had not yet begun to ripen, so mowing wasn’t possible. Cutting down bulb foliage before it has properly ripened will deprive the bulb of much needed nourishment and make for a poor second-year display. And the grass just kept getting taller.

After a couple months of crawling around the yard with lawn clippers trying to keep things tidy enough that the neighbors wouldn’t scream, my friend threw up her hands arid mulched the whole side yard to kill the grass (for she would never kill those lovely daffodils!) and a new garden was born.

Now she is wiser, and naturalizes her bulbs in areas that won’t need mowing – under trees where, in spring, there is an abundance of sunshine during bloom time, but too much shade for grass to flourish afterward. Or in a wild garden with grasses arid native plants, or in a woodland garden where groundcover, rather than lawn is the order of the day. Bulbs can even be “naturalized” in a garden, where later-emerging foliage will hide their sad remains.

Exactly What is Naturalizing?
Basically, it is planting masses of bulbs in such a way that they look like they grew there naturally, and of such varieties that they can be left to themselves to expand to ever-greater abundance.

What this means is that you want to choose bulbs that are sure to not only return, but also increase

When most of us think of naturalized bulbs, we think of tulips and daffodils, and yes – these bulbs can naturalize very nicely. But some are better than others.

In tulips, look for botanical and species tulips such as Tulip Violacea ‘Pallida’ – a lovely little white tulip with a bright blue base that will colonize quite nicely. Or try the new ‘Come Back’ tulip in bright red with a black base. I have found that some of the Triumph tulips, especially Apricot Beauty return well for me – although they don’t always increase.

In daffodils, once again the species daffodils and many of the older varieties, such as King Alfred, Dutch Master and Carleton are best. A brand new tulip called (blush!) The Bulb Lady also happens to be a great naturalizer, and with its long yellow trumpet and slightly reflexed petals is quite lovely (if I do say so myself).

Grape hyacinths naturalize well, and look gorgeous with all that yellow and white. Virginia bluebells are another great companion, especially if you have gone more for white daffs and tulips that pink opening into blue is a constant delight.

Then there are crocus. You cannot go wrong naturalizing tons of crocus – even in the lawn. They are the first things to open near my house, and such a welcome sight that I keep planting more and more. I remember seeing a church in Connecticut that was a veritable Persian carpet of crocus and it was a splendid thing. The bonus us that because they are early and small, they are probably ready to be mowed when your lawn is.

Don’t forget ferns. Not only do they add a wonderfully natural look to any naturalized area but they will grow tip and fill in to hide the bulbs foliage when it begins to yellow.

The key to a lovely planting is to choose a limited palette of colors, and to mass them. You know the shape of a paisley? Try to plant huge paisley shapes of one color, interlocking with paisley shapes of another. You can mix plants, but if you start intermingling too many colors you not only get a blur, but an unnatural effect for your naturalized garden. After all, in nature single plants spread and form masses – and that is what you are trying to achieve here, too.

Of course one problem with trying to achieve a truly lovely massed effect is that you have to contend with critters. Squirrels have been known to rearrange my crocus, and voles think of them as their own personal buffet. So the first thing to think of at planting time is creature-protection. Planting tulips and daffodils deep (8 to I 0 inches) puts them out of reach of the voles; if your soil is too rocky then try planting each bulb with a handful of sharp grit or gravel mixed in with the planting medium. This irritates their tender little noses and they tend to leave your bulbs alone.

When you do plant, it is easiest to dig a large patch of earth up – enough for several bulbs at a time – than it is to dig separate holes for dozens – or hundreds- of bulbs. Make sure you are planting in a well-drained area, as too much damp can cause bulbs to rot. Scatter the bulbs into your hole in groupings – odd numbers always work best. And when you replace the soil be sure to amend it with some sand, perlite or crushed gravel if needed. And don’t forget bulb food – compost, bonemeal, bloodmeal or kelp will help to get things off to a healthy start.

If you have areas around a tree, or under shrubs, or in areas of your yard that can go without mowing until early mid-summer, or simply areas of your garden that could use a spring boost but will fill out with ferns, daylilies, hostas or other good foliage-hiders later, consider naturalizing a bushel or two of bulbs. The spring boost it will give you will just get better every year.

Bulbs to Naturalize

SPRING

Snowdrops – Galanthus nivalis
Glory of the Snow – Chinodoxa
Crocus (all kinds)
Iris reticulata
Tulips (botanical or species, Tulipa tarda, some Darwins and Triumph tulips
Anemone blanda
Siberian Squill – Scilla siberica
Striped squill – Puschkinia
Grape Hyacinth – muscari
Guinea hen flower – Fritillaria meleagris
Narcissus
Dogs Tooth Violet – Erythronium

LATE SPRING TO SUMMER

Siberian Iris
Allium
Hardy Asiatic lilies
Aurelian Hybrid lilies

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January 25, 2002

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What Do You Mean, It’s Not Really a Bulb?

Guest post by Debbie Van Bourgondien “The Bulb Lady”

Sometimes gardeners are accused of speaking a foreign language. More often than not, they are speaking plant Latin when this happens. But often their mysterious language has to do with the root systems of plants.

Most of us are happy to divide the plant world into things that have roots and things that have bulbs. But then you plant one of those bulbs and someone asks if you have a corm or two to spare. Or they call it a tuber, or a rhizome. If you ordered them all from a “bulb” catalog, this can get confusing. “Why didn’t they tell me it wasn’t really a bulb?” you ask?

Well – the horticulture industry also tends to divide the world into things with fibrous roots and things that grow from little packages – bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes. Fibrous rooted plants – those typically sold as perennials – are dirt-dependent and need to be stored in pots. This requires one kind of nursery equipped to do potting, repotting and watering. The rest can often be stored minus dirt when not in active growth – which is an entirely different way of dealing with plants. So you have bulb nurseries, and you have perennial nurseries.

But what do the differences in these terms mean to you, as the gardener?

Well – for one thing, when we take these little packages and go to plant them, it’s nice to know which way is up – and if you know what kind of plant you’re dealing with, you have a better chance of being able to figure that you. Not that it really matters –a plant determined to grow will always find its way to the surface. But let’s make it as easy as possible for them!

For another, all of these little flower packages reproduce in different ways – which means that when we want to increase our supply, or when we want to divide them, it’s good to know what to expect. So that’s what I’m going to explain.

A true bulb is like an onion – it grows in layers and is often covered with the same papery skin that covers the onion. Bulbs that have this skin are usually easy to handle and not easily damaged. Those, like lilies, that lack the papery tunic are much more easily damaged and need to be handled with care.

At the very heart of that bulb is the flower itself – in miniature – but there and just waiting to emerge. It is covered by scales – the layers of an onion in most cases – but in some cases, as with the lily, the scales are loose and swollen, looking more like thin buds of garlic. These scales are held together by a basal plate – a hairy looking plate with the beginnings of roots. Thanks to this plate, not only does the bulb stay together, but we can tell which end of the bulb is up.

A bulb produces offsets – little bulbs attached to the larger bulb – as a way of reproducing itself. Dig them up and it will look like a big bulb-hen mothering baby bulblet-chicks.

Corms, on the other hand, look like bulbs on the outside and often have the same protective sort of covering. They also have a central growing point where the flower will emerge, and a basal plate just like that of the bulb. Crocus, gladiolus, and freesias all grow from corms.

The differences are these: The corm, if you cut it, will not show layers like a true bulb does; it is actually a base for the flower stem packed with nutrients, but quite solid in texture. When the flower starts to grow, the corm shrivels as its nutrients are used up. But at the same time, it creates new corms either on top of or next to the shriveled ones. The original corm dies, but these new corms will usually flower the next season and start the reproductive process all over again. In a few plants, like the gladiolus, the new corms take two to three years to reach blooming size.

A tuber also has a vaguely bulb-like look – although if you squint you’ll realize that it more likely resembles a potato. In fact, a potato IS a tuber – but so are cyclamen, tuberous begonias (surprise!) and anemones, among others.

There is no basal plate on a tuber – in fact it looks quite disorganized about which way it wants to grow. Look at the way eyes sprout all over a potato. All tubers do this – so the best way to plant is wherever you see the most little sprouting tips.

While most tubers just keep increasing in size, a few diminish. However, unlike the bulb and corms, they can be divided simply by cutting them up, making sure that there is at least one sprouting eye per piece.

Some plants are not tubers, but have tuberous roots. This means that, instead of the fine hairs and thin roots we see on perennials, they produce swollen roots that look like tubers. Dahlias and daylilies are like this – if you look at the tuber you will see more than one tuber-like structure of varying sized attached to the plant’s main stems. Where they join together you will see the growing tips of the plant-to-be. You can leave these together to produce one large plant, or you can cut off the individual storage roots making sure to include at least one growing tip (called an “eye”) along with it.

And then, finally, we have the rhizome. Cannas and Calla lilies grow from rhizomes. Like a corm and a tuber, a rhizome is a thickened stem packed with nutrients to nourish the plant that will emerge from it. But unlike the other types, a rhizome creeps along the ground, growing longer and sending up more growing tips as it goes. This makes them very easy to propagate – just cut the rhizome into sections making sure that each section has roots and at least one growing tip or bud.

So you see – the differences aren’t really important if you just want to plant something pretty and relatively – but when you fall in love with a plant’s beauty and want to make more, it really helps to know what you are dealing with. And as spring approaches and the northern gardeners among us start to take their summer bulbs out of winter storage – isn’t it nice to know that you can put more back into the ground than you took from it in autumn?

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May 30, 2001

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Save Your Plant – Forced Bulbs

In this part of the world (southern Ontario) it isn’t uncommon for people to begin craving springtime as early as February. People reach out to brighter days and warmer weather anyway they can. One of the easiest ways to satisfy this need is to purchase forced bulb plants such as crocuses, tulips, narcissus and hyacinths. Unfortunately since these plants don’t flower long enough to make it through until spring, many of us are left with several pots of dead plants by the time the first crocuses appear.

Bulb Plants That Are Commonly Forced:

Crocus
Narcissus
Tulip
Hyacinth
Lily
Dwarf Iris (Reticulata)

These plants may be withered but they aren’t dead yet. With a little extra work you can save them and give them a second life in your garden, resulting in more value for your buck. However, they will not grow indoors again so do not attempt to force them a second time. Forcing bulbs drains their energy resources and throws them out of whack. The only bulb that can withstand a repeat performance of this process is the amaryllis (Hippeastrum).

When the flowers are dead, cut them off with a sharp pair of pruners and leave the foliage intact. Continue watering the plant as usual and be sure to keep it in a sunny area near a light source. The leaves must be able to continue producing energy through the process of photosynthesis.

When the leaves turn yellow and begin to fade, reduce watering to about half. Once the leaves have withered entirely, discontinue watering and allow the soil to dry out.
After the soil has dried out, remove the bulbs from the pot and cut off the dead foliage near the base of the bulb. Wipe the bulb clean with a dry cloth. Do not allow it to become wet again. Store the bulbs in a cool, dry and dark place such as a paper or mesh bag. There must be ample air circulation and the bulbs must remain dry or they may rot.

In the fall plant the bulbs outside in your garden or give them to someone with a garden if you don’t have one. The plant will put on a poor show the first year with undersized, few, or no blooms but should perform well the following year.

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