Summer Bulbs are the annuals of the bulb world. Often, spring gardeners skip these, thinking that planting bulbs is just for fall. Many were favorites in our garndparent's generation, and have only recently come back in style. Read on to find out how easy and satisfying planting bulbs for summer bloom can be! Some can stay in the ground year-round, and others can be lifted in the fall and stored in a cool, dark place till the next spring, but either way, they will be available to re-use for years to come with a little care
Here are our favorites and their characteristics -
Autumn Crocus and Colchicum- Usually, you have to wait longer in between planting and blooming, but these fall-blooming bulbs are planted in August, and begin blooming in as soon as four weeks! Ordering from a bulb supplier will insure that you will receive them at the correct time for planting in your zone. The blooms are just like the spring crocus we all know, in similar colors: saffron yellow, lavender, purple, deep rosy pinks and white. The blooms are cup shaped, some with lovely striped markings inside, and some with striking orange stamens, and the Saffron Crocus, (C. sativus) with orange stems. We like the white ones, they stand out from the fall foilage so well. Try the White Waterlily Cochicum, looking just like a small land-based waterlily.
Order crocus bulbs in summer for August planting! For sources, click here.
Belladonna Lily ( A. belladonna)- This native of South Africa has pink, trumpet shaped blooms on dark maroon stems and accompanied by straplike leaves. It resembles Lycoris, see below, which is hardier, but is reliably hardy in zones 7-10. A good cut flower, it blooms in summer after the foliage appears in spring. It requires good drianage and a sunny site, and will freely naturalize when happily sited.
Caladiums - These natives to South America have been in American gardens for over a hundred years now. These shade lovers from the the Arum family like humus rich, fertile soil and like moist soil. They are great for containers. We value them for the leaves, not the spathe flower, which is fairly insignificant. They come in color combinations of green and white, green and pink, green and red, and a combination of all. We think the green and white are really elegant with a lot of evergreen foliage in the shade, with evergreens, hollies, and ferns. Will provide color from late May to frost. Photo at left.
Cannas - Cannas are synonymous These tough bloomers grow from a rhizome, which can be planted in spring or summer and will give years of pleasure without much trouble. Trendy selections offer bold leaf coloring that makes exciting contrasts with the blooms. Some of our favorites include C. 'Black Night', which has deep bronze-purple leaves and dark red blooms, C. 'Wyoming', sporting brown-bronze leaves and orange blooms edged in yellow. For a more delicate bloom, C. 'Endeavor' or C. iridiflora 'Ehemannii'. Cannas will winter over reliably in Zones 7-10 with mulching, in colder zones, lift in fall.
Crinums are a large branch of the Amyrillis family, and include many summer blooming lily- like bulbs. The pink crinum that is our favorite is Amarcrinum Howardii. These bulbs grow quite tall, with foliage similar to the Amyrillis we grow indoors at holiday time, up to 36 inches. These bulbs need to be lifted for winter except in zones 8-10, so a large container planting could be a good idea. Like light shade, sandy soil.
Another Crinum is the Milk and Wine Lily (C. americanum), which is often seen in country gardens and is sometimes sold in Market Bulletins. It has the wide strappy foliage of the Amyrillis family, and its blooms are a narrow, burgundy and creamy white trumpet.It can be hard to dig up, as it works its way down deep over time and makes a huge mass of bulbs that are hard to separate. From this, you can tell you should place it where it will not need to be moved. Elizabeth Lawrence says: "...there is nothing in the summer garden more showy than the sumptuous milk-and-wine lily that is grown in every dooryard in the coastal plain....The bulbs are mammoth and the foliage extremely luxuriant...The bright yellow-green leaves are fresh and shining at the end of the summer....(they)bloom from early August to November." (A Garden of One's Own, see SOURCES.) The Milk and Wine Lily was hardy for Ms. Lawrence in North Carolina, and so should be for you who live in zone 6 and south. (What Zone are you in? See Terms and Techniques.)
Left: Milk and Wine Lily
Crocosmia is another old-timey favorite, that is often found for sale in Market Bulletins. They are also called Lucifer, because of the bright red tubular blossoms. From that description you would be correct in assuming that they are a favorite of hummingbirds. The have spiky, tall ribbed foliage that along with the blooms give it a tropical look. The bulbs can remain in the garden year-round in zones 6-10 and will increase over time. Full sun, plant in spring or fall. May not bloom the first year. Tolerant of a wide range of soil types.
Autumn Crocus, Colchicum atumnale, is a very easy addition to your fall blooming plan. Every gardener knows that spring blooming crocus is one of the easiest bulbs to grow, and these are equally easy. Even waiting until late summer will not prevent a lovely fall show. Slender strappy leaves are followed by 4 inch pink trumpet-shaped flowers. This looks great planted in drifts, and it will naturalize over time.
Elephant Ears (Colocasia)- Although some gardeners may find the use of these a bit trite or old-fashioned, we can't resist these huge, tropical natives of Hawaii. The big heart- shaped leaves grow from a corm that is a food staple is some cultures. In the hot, dry weather, we think they do best in part shade, though you will see them in plantings in full sun where they are consistently irrigated. The corms are only reliably hardy in Zones 9 and 10, though we leave ours in the ground to fend for themselves, and they do fairly well each year with a heavy mulching. For a notch up in sophistication, do try the black elephant ear (C. esculenta) that is so popularly planted with chartruse Sweet Potato vine. Also, there are ruffled, flat leaved and upright varieties.
Gladiolus- This old time garden favorite is, along with sunflowers, one of childhood's favorite flowers. The flowers have much to recommend them: they come in many colors (we like the green and bi-color ones), they are very inexpensive, and they are effortless to grow. These members of the Iris family are grown from corms, which renew themselves each year by mothering a crop of new corms all around the old one. The older corm will die, and newer corms will take a few years to reach blooming age. So when you plant your corms, you will have flowers the first year, then not too many the second year, and will have many more in the following years. Plant corms deep, to help the tall, top heavy flowers and sword-like foliage from tipping over when they bloom. They are hardy in zones 7-10, so they will need lifting in zones 6 and north. Many gardeners in zone 6 have sucess with leaving them in the ground if planted deeply, but a harsh winter can do them in. To take your Gladiolus-growing up a notch in sophistication, plant them sorted out by color for a more deliberate effect. Also, try the species Gladiolus, byzantinus which has a smaller, more delicate bloom and is usually in colors of purples and deep pinks.
Gladiolus byzantinus on left, common Glads on right (G. hortulanus)
Lycoris (Magic Lily)- These lily-like members of the Amyrillis family produce thin, strappy dark green foliage in spring, produce thin, strappy dark green foliage in spring, which dies back before the four inch pale pink blooms appear suddenly on two foot stems in summer, usually after a heavy rain. They are hardy from zones 5-9, and will naturalize in sunny locations and most soils. Interestingly, they are originally natives of Japan, though they would have been found in most southern gardens as long ago as 75 years ago.
Oxalis (Iron Cross, Shamrock) These small bulbs bloom all summer, and over time will spread to new places in the garden. We like the pink kind, which has a burgundy blotch on the center of the leaves, but the most common is the white bloom, with grass green leaves that look just like a four- leaved clover.
Spider Lilies (Nerine sarniensis) - Also known as Guernsey Lilies, these late summer flowering members of the Amyrillis family have slender, arched, pointed green leaves that do not emerge until after flowering, and burst into bloom with no warning leaves after a hard rain, much like Lycoris. E. Lawrence: " The lacquer red flowers form a puff at the tip of the stiff stems; their long, bright red stamens curving up from the crisped petals suggest the name of spider lily." (A Garden of One's Own, see SOURCES) It is will grow in sun or shade, and any soil, and are hardy at least through zone 6. They are usually available in Market Bulletins in the spring. Photo at left.
Zephyranthes -(White or Pink Rain Lilies) - These small bulbs will naturalize in frost - free areas (Zones 9-10), and will grow in sunny sites in sandy soil. The blossoms resemble species tulips, opening wide on sunny days on 6-8 inch stems.In colder zones, lift in fall after foliage dies back. Blooming in summer, they often re bloom after a heavy rain in fall, hence the name.
