A Little Cheat with Spring Bulbs

Though warm weather seems to have arrived early here in Southern Ontario, I remind myself that we are only entering the second half of April. Not two years ago we had a snowstorm in the third week of the month. 

This spring we had really pleasant weather up until the end of March when strong gusts and a sudden dip in temperatures made working outside rather unpleasant. At night, the thermometer dipped below zero degrees Celsius. Though it's warmed up once again there is no predicting that the fine spring weather will last.

Over the last couple of years, I've been experimenting with options that can handle the blustery weather we sometimes have in April. I've discovered that there are a few tricks that winter-weary Canadian gardeners can put to good use. 

The daffodils with flower buds in the second week of April.

For guidance as to what to plant, I look to my garden for clues. If the hyacinths and daffodils have flower buds in amongst a good few inches of green growth, it tells me it's safe to think about using pots of forced daffodil and hyacinth bulbs to fill my empty flower pots. 

Tulips in the second week of April.

Generally speaking in the month of April, it's usually a bit early to think about using forced pots of tulips in my container plantings. Again, if I look to my garden, the growth of the tulips is always well behind that of the daffodils. If the vast majority of tulips aren't showing more than a couple of inches of green growth, that tells me it's better to hold off for a week or maybe two before I think about putting pots of blooming tulips outdoors. This year spring is exceptionally mild and I think gardeners in my zone might easily get away with using pots of forced tulips outdoors.

When hyacinths are tightly closed it can sometimes be a challenge to guess their flower color. White flowers have lime green buds. Purple flowers have flower buds that are inky-green.  Green buds that have a dusty rose cast will be pink.

When the month of April proves to be a really cold one, I like to shop for pots of forced bulbs that have tight flower buds that are just beginning to peek up over short green foliage. If the weather remains cold, the bulbs slow down and hold back their flowers. Even though the arrival of fully open blooms may slow, the forced bulbs will still be a little ahead of the regular bulbs planted in the garden.

And as well as being the safest choice, less developed flowers will last a little bit longer than flowers that are already at their peak.

Here's a step by step:

•When I get my pots of forced bulbs home, I check to make sure they are well-watered (so often I find plants at the grocery store are as dry as can be).  Next, I ease my bulbs into the cold by putting the pots outside during the day. 

• For the first few nights, I bring the flowerpots onto our enclosed porch each evening (as an alternative, you could also place them in an unheated garage or even in the trunk of a car. Just be sure to remember they're in the back of your car before you head out!) 

• If it's super cold (below zero Celsius), I might even bring the bulbs inside for the night or cover them (horticultural fleece or even an old sheet will do).

I often plant the bulbs as they are right in their pot. 

• Once my pots of bulbs have acclimatized to outdoor temperatures, I plant them up. This can be done in a couple of ways. You can sink the bulbs, pot and all, right into your container planting. This makes it easier to lift them out once they've finished flowering. 

Alternatively, you can remove the plastic pot and plant the bulbs directly into your container planting Don't worry about teasing out the roots. Leave them as they are unless you want to break up the bulbs and plant them individually.

Companions for Forced Bulbs

Cheerful pansies are one of the first annuals to arrive at garden centres. They're pretty affordable and can handle cold temperatures like troopers. If I can find them, I prefer flats of smaller plants because they are the most economical. 

Ranunculus

Pussy Willow branches and pink primula on the right.

Other annual options you might consider could be primula, alyssum and ranunculus. Ranunculus may object if the temperature gets really cold, so you might want to cover them if the weather changes for the worse.

Placing three or five Pussy Willow branches in the centre of my arrangements is my favourite way to add some height to my spring containers. Other options might be Red or Yellow-twig Dogwood or Curly Willow branches.

Other Ways to Use Forced Bulbs

Last fall we were so busy with interior renovations and garden projects, there was little time to plant spring bulbs. If like me, you didn't get around to planting bulbs in the fall, there is still something you can do. 

If, for instance, your garden is looking a little green, you can always inject a little instant color by planting a few pots of forced tulips in amongst your perennials. The tulips will look good for a couple of weeks while the perennials around them continue to develop and move into their bloom phase.

Forced tulips are not reliably perennial, so this is just a quick fix. Once the tulips have finished flowering, add the spent to your compost pile.

As well as filling flowerpots, you can also use forced bulbs in window boxes.

Every spring I tell myself to take pictures and make notes so when fall arrives there is no guesswork as to where to add new bulbs. Despite my best intentions, the spring season is always so busy I never seem to get around to that important note-taking. As a result, I find myself struggling to remember where there were holes in my bulb planting schemes every fall. 

Last spring I tried a new idea that was fairly successful. I filled some of those bare spots that needed bulbs with the spent daffodils and hyacinths from my container plantings. 

A pot of forced daffodils was transplanted into the garden last year and has come 

back again this spring quite nicely.  

Despite the wisdom that says forced bulbs won't return, I have had decent luck getting forced hyacinths and miniature daffodils to return the following spring. Forcing bulbs to bloom indoors is hard on them. Placing them into an outdoor setting where they are allowed to follow a normal cycle improves the odds they will return the following spring.

 Once the flowers have started to fade, I remove the bulbs from my containers, cut off the blooms and plant them in the ground at a depth suitable for the type of bulb. It's very important to allow the foliage to remain exactly as it is. The foliage will feed the bulb that produces next year's flower. 

Not every forced bulb returns, but I count it as a bonus when bulbs that gave life to my containers return for a second show.

P.S. The thermometer dropped last night and we awoke to a blanket of snow. On the plus side, it has already started to melt.

Our white magnolia was gorgeous this year. One woman even stopped to take a picture.

Pink Star Magnolia, Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel'

Unusual Spring Bulbs: Erythronium

If you are looking to add some early spring color under deciduous trees or shrubs, Erythronium are a terrific option.

Erythronium are woodland perennials that emerge early in April to take advantage of the sunshine before the trees overhead leaf-out. Within a short period of time they awake, bloom and store energy for the following year. Then Erythroniums slip quietly back into dormancy.

Though I have titled this post "Unusual Spring Bulbs" Erythronium aren't technically bulbs, they're corms. Very much like a bulb, a corm stores water and nutrients for a dormant plant. Erythronium
are planted at the same time as other spring bulbs, so they all tend to get lumped in together by many bulb suppliers and nurseries.

There are almost thirty different species of Erythronium most of which are native to North America. Erythronium Americanum (shown above) is a tiny wildflower native to the eastern half of Canada and U.S. 

Erythronium Americanum will often form large colonies of plants at different stages of development. Plants with a single leaf are young and will be flowerless until they mature. Trout Lilies that have two basal leaves will produce a nodding yellow flower on a bare reddish-brown scape.

A detailed look at the unusual foliage. You can just see the flower buds starting to emerge.

Each of the common names for Erythronium has a little something to tell you about the plant:

Dog-tooth Violet–it's a bit of a stretch, but the corms do somewhat resemble a dog's tooth. The corms are about an inch in length and are beige in color.

Fawn Lily–the leaves have the pointed shape of a young fawn's ears.

Adder's Tongue–the closed flower resembles the head of a snake.

Trout Lily–the brown mottling on the foliage looks a bit like the scales on a fish.

Erythronium 'Pagoda'

One of the Erythronium most commonly available is a hybrid named 'Pagoda'. It's a robust plant with large yellow flowers. 

Plants with white and pink blooms are a little harder to find (in Canada at any rate). They are also a bit pricier than the common yellow 'Pagoda'. Pink and white Erythroniums are beautiful plants, so it is well worth a search to find an online supplier. 

Planting Erythronium

Erythronium likes moist, slightly acidic soil with lots of organic matter.  You can grow them from seed, but you're in for a long wait. It can take as many as five years for a plant to mature enough to flower. It's much better to start with corms.

Erythronium is easily grown in part-shade at the feet of trees or shrubs. These are tiny flowers that grow no more than 4-6 inches tall, so I'd recommend planting them in groups of six or more.

Plant the thumb-sized corms in the fall along with other spring bulbs. Place them 2-3 inches deep and 4-5 inches apart.

Plant Type: Perennial

Height: 4-6 inches (10-15 cm)

Spread: 3-4 inches (7-10 cm)

Flower Color: White, Yellow, Pink

Bloom period: April/May

Leaf: Green leaves mottled with brown

Light: Part-shade to full shade

Water: Moist during the spring

Soil: Rich in organic matter

Companion Plants: Daffodils, Crocus, Snowdrops, Hellebores

Planting time: Fall

Deer resistant

Problems: None

USDA Zones: 3-8

Over the last few years, I have come to love the delicate flowers of my yellow Erythronium. Spring is off to a wonderful start when they begin to flower.

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Alliums

Garlic chives blooming in fall.

Right now there isn't a whole lot blooming in my small herb garden, but the garlic chives are making up for any lack of blooms and are flowering handsomely.

Bees seem to love the little white stars. There always seems to be at least one on the flowers in the company of a few little black ants. The long tapered leaves of garlic chives are broader than regular chives and the blooms are much larger. Their taste is oniony with a hint of garlic.

This year I switched from common chives to 'Profusion' chives (which I got from Richters, a Canadian nursery and mail-order company that specializes in herbs). The mauve flowers are sterile and do not set seed. In the past, I've had to cut my chives back hard after they flower to rejuvenate the foliage and to prevent them from seeding everywhere. Profusion Chives seem to stay small and compact throughout the growing season. Simply remove the faded flowers and you're good to go.

The Toronto Botanical Gardens. 

They weren't marked, but I think these are Allium 'Giganteum'.

As well as these edible members of the onion family, there are ornamental alliums as well. This June I was lucky enough to visit the Toronto Botanical Gardens when the alliums were in flower.

The Toronto Botanical Gardens

The Toronto Botanical Gardens

Allium christophii 

Allium christophii up close and personal.

The Toronto Botanical Gardens

I was particularly struck by the fact that the alliums had been grouped into small clusters. The effect was soft and cloud-like. 

Private garden Mississauga, Ontario

Of course, you don't need a large garden to group your allium bulbs. I thought they looked wonderful in this much smaller garden that I visited last May (visit this garden here).

Myself, I've always had a tendency to dot them around the garden with other flowering bulbs just as you see here:

Private garden, Toronto Ontario

Old unknown variety

I've primarily shown the tall round balls, that one usually associates with ornamental onions, but there are many colors, shapes and sizes available. For instance, there are shorter, bushier alliums as well (see above).

Nodding Wild Onion, Allium cernuum

The colors range from white, pink, yellow, mauve, purple and burgundy. As well as the rounded flowers typically associated with the tall ornamentals, there are more oval-shaped blooms and floral fireworks of the kind you see here.

Joe's Garden, Brampton, Ontario

When flowers are finished, Alliums turn into magic wands. The decorative seed heads add a nice architectural element to any flower bed.

Millenium seedheads

You do have to keep a watchful eye on the magic hidden in those wands. Alliums can be prolific self-seeders!

Alliums beginning to open in a Toronto, Ontario garden

If you haven't done so already, fall is the time of year to order and plant allium bulbs. With all the inspiration I found this summer, I'd like to take better advantage of the wide range of colors, shapes and sizes these members of the onion family offer. So I called in the advice of an expert.

Pam Dangelmaier is co-owner and manager of Botanus, a mail-order bulb and plant company located in Langley, British Columbia. It's hard to choose from the nice variety of allium bulbs Botanus has on offer in this fall's catalogue. I had to begin my questions by asking Pam if she has a personal favourite.

"I love Allium sphaerocephalon," Pam says, "Not only is the deep burgundy color enticing, but it is also a literal 'bee-magnet'. As a beekeeper, I am always looking for easy to grow plants that the bees love and this one ticks all the boxes."

Allium 'Millenium' blooms in mid to late summer. Look for this allium at your favourite nursery.

Alliums that flower in late spring pick up where tulips leave off and bridge the gap nicely between spring bulbs and early summer perennials, but there are some alliums that bloom in the summer as well. 

I asked Pam for some advice as to how best to use alliums throughout the full gardening season. Here's her suggestion:

"Allium 'Ivory Queen' is a nice dwarf variety that blooms in early summer. Follow these up with a gorgeous display of Allium bulgaricum and Allium giganteum. Allium 'Millenium' produces large chive-like blooms in mid to late summer that make great additions to cut flower bouquets. All are easy to grow and maintain and look fantastic in any garden (or container)."

Allium 'Ivory Queen' (left) has creamy white globes on stems that are about 4" tall making it a great option for underplanting taller varieties. Bloom time: Mid-spring. Full sun/partshade. Planting depth: 10 cm (4 inches), Height: 10 cm (4 inches), Spacing: 10 cm (4 inches). Other attributes: Bee-friendly, fragrant, makes a good cut flower, drought tolerant and deer-resistant. USDA zones: 5-9.

Allium 'Giganteum' (right) has mauve-purple flowers is one of the tallest alliums available. It requires full sun and well-drained soil. Bloom time: Late spring.  Planting depth: 20 cm (8 inches), Height: 100 cm (40 inches), Spacing: 30 cm (12 inches). Other attributes: Bee-friendly, fragrant, makes a good cut flower, drought tolerant and deer-resistant. USDA zones: 6-9.

Allium bulgaricum

Allium bulgaricum has fragrant pink bell-shaped flowers that hang in a downward curving umbel. Bloom time: Late spring. Planting depth: 10 cm (4 inches), Height: 90 cm (36 inches), Spacing: 10 cm (4 inches). Other attributes: Bee-friendly, good cut flower, drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. USDA zones:6-9.

Allium 'Millenium' has compact, upright foliage and mauve flowers. Bloom time: Mid to late summer. Full sun. Look for this allium next spring at your favourite nursery. Height: 40-50 cm (16-20 inches), Spacing: 25 cm (10 inches). Other attributes: Attractive to bees and butterflies, drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. USDA zones: 5-9.

Alliums planted in among some hostas.

As well as being great self-seeders, tall ornamental Alliums do have one other drawback: their foliage can be somewhat untidy looking especially as they begin to go dormant. I asked Pam if she had any suggestions for hiding this less than appealing attribute:

"It's true, the foliage is usually not very attractive and actually begins to yellow and fade before the flower heads bloom. A great 'trick' is to plant them in amongst low growing perennials and ground covers such as hostas, grasses and hardy geraniums."

A white allium in my garden.

Once you've got your alliums selected, there is only one more issue: where to plant them and with what?

The where is easy: alliums like full sun to light shade and well-drained soil.

Allium 'Purple Sensation' and Euphorbia polychroma in my garden.

The other partners are Euphorbia 'First Blush' (variegated in the middle foreground) with Euphorbia 'Bonfire' which is to the middle left.

One plant combination I have in my own garden is to mix Allium 'Purple Sensation' with a trio of Euphorbias. The three Euphorbias are nestled together at a corner I pass frequently.

Purple alliums mixed with pink Columbine is another pretty combination.

Eryngium (Sea Holly)

I asked Pam if she had any suggestions for plant combinations as well:

"One combination I love is Allium sphaerocephalon with Eryngium (Sea Holly). The burgundy and the blue look awesome together! I also think taller growing alliums such as 'Purple Sensation' and 'Mount Everest' pair nicely with hostas and perennial grasses."

Many thanks to Pam for taking a moment to answer all my questions at a very busy time of year. I hope you have found some inspiration to start your fall bulb planting!

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. 

I benefit in no way from any purchase you might make from Botanus.

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