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trovesoftrilliums

What are your favorite small bulbs?

trovesoftrilliums
10 years ago

For sun or shade.

I have planted all my tulips and daffodils for the year and am now thinking of where to tuck in a few smaller bulbs. :)

Comments (10)

  • vetivert8
    10 years ago

    Not all bulbs, precisely, but - Anemone blanda, Chionodoxa, Galanthus, Corydalis, species Lilium eg macklinae, Ixia, Sparaxis, Ipheion, (Oxalis - in pots) Fritillaria (any) Romulea, Albuca...

  • ontnative
    10 years ago

    Chionodoxa are one of my favourite hardy small spring bulbs. Early blooming and very blue. They will self seed and spread around, too.

  • sandyslopes z5 n. UT
    10 years ago

    Grape Hyacinths are cute and come in different varieties. They come back reliably, making bigger clumps, and they give you lots of new ones to spread around the yard.

  • ontnative
    10 years ago

    Many of the smaller spring bulbs will self seed and spread around if happy, so be mindful of where you are planting them. Some examples of seeders/spreaders are chionodoxa, snowdrops, scillas, grape hyacinths, anemone blanda, aconites, corydalis, etc.

  • carol23_gw
    10 years ago

    Cyclamen are wonderful, particularly in well drained deciduous shade sites.

  • trovesoftrilliums
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I enjoy reading everyones suggestions.

    I planted a few ornithogalum and then read horror stories of them taking over lawns and being impossible to eradicate. SO, I am trying to research any small bulbs I plant from now on.

    I started a few cyclamen from seed this year and hope they overwinter. I do love them! I grew what were probably tender varieties when we lived in California.

    I am waiting for van engelen's sale to order since I went a bit overboard on tulips and daffodils early in the fall. I see already 5 of their chiondoxa varieties are sold out. I haven't seen these for sale locally except for one bag of mixed colors at Costco and I'd prefer to have separate colors. Hoping the stay in stock and that VE actually does have a big sale sometime in Nov. Last year I think it was 25 % off mid Nov then 50% off at Thanksgiving. It seems colder than usual here though. Soil might freeze too soon.

    Anemone blanda, white, third year in my garden this spring, was wonderful. They finally filled in enough to provide a good display. I hope to add a few more this fall too!

    Muscari/grape hyacinth foliage gets eaten by deer here. The plants go on to flower but look a bit awkward with their half eaten leaves.

    I hope to get more aconite established. Three years ago I planted 100 dried up corms from Van Engelen and only about 10 grew. This was from an early purchase too, not a later in the season sale date. I have read they are particularly sensitive to drying out. I have read some sellers claim to dip them in wax to for better survival rates. It'd be lovely to have them reseed. The ones I have do produce seed and I have sprinkled some around.

    Galanthas also had a low survival rate from initial planting for me. Not sure if it is bulb viability/transplant issue or critters.

    Hope to add corydalis this year too. Oh, and ipheion. Looks like such a charmer.

    My fritillaria meleagris has done well but I planted them too far apart. Plus, we redid a large portion of the yard and I had a hard time digging up the bulbs in my clay soil. The bulbs were growing up to a foot deep; definitely didn't plant them that far down but I can only assume they position themselves in a way that works for them.

    Hardy glads do very well here. They bloom same time as my peonies and dutch iris, a combination I enjoy.

    I am so eagerly looking forward to spring already it is a bit sad.

  • ontnative
    10 years ago

    Many of the small bulbs don't keep and ship well. As long as you can get some to live and bloom, they will slowly spread and seed around. Just be patient. I'm thinking of yellow aconites, snowdrops, etc. Also, the bulbs are not cheap to purchase.

    I find ipheion uniflorum (Tristagma uniflorum) is fun, but not very "showy" for me. It flowers in the spring, but can produce leaves at other times of the year as well.

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    10 years ago

    Carol- beautiful cyclamen picture!

    troves- I had excellent luck with the galanthus elwesii I bought from Van Engelens during last year's clearance sale, bulbs were sprouting but nearly all were still in great shape. They seem to travel dry better than the nivalis types.
    You'll love the corydalis. I got the straight species and wasn't impressed, but the named ones were excellent!

  • iris_gal
    10 years ago

    Trovesoftrilliums ~
    Ipheon are very invasive here in z9 Calif. I keep them potted.

  • edlincoln
    10 years ago

    Grape hyacinth. (They even survive my brown thumb). Gladiolus. (Surprisingly big flower for a small bulb.) Nodding Onion. (Not very small, but native to North America and blooms a long time in the late summer.)