God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Rabu, 07 Mei 2008
Fact Sheet: Autumn Flowering Bulbs
When most people think bulbs, it’s of spring flowering types, such as daffodils and tulips. But there are many that bring a wonderful splash of colour to the autumn garden. Plant collector, Stephen Ryan, grows some really unusual bulbs in his Mount Macedon garden and he’s going to show us some of his favourites.According to Stephen, autumn flowering bulbs have adapted to later flowering. “The weather is more clement at this time of year, it’s dry and there are plenty of pollinating insects, which spring flowering bulbs sometimes miss out on,” he said.Some to try include:• Sternbergia lucia or the yellow autumn crocus which has a beautiful yellow flower and is a wonderful bulb that’s hardy and cheery in autumn. It erupts out of the ground almost overnight, to provide a real hit in autumn. They grow well in gravel or short grass, and these bulbs don’t need lifting, dividing, and feeding like many of the highly bred spring flowering bulbs.• Colchicum byzantinum ‘Innocence’ is another hardy autumn flowering bulb. They come up without any foliage – that follows about mid-winter. But its foliage can be coarse and tends to flop over other plants, so give it a spot where that’s not going to be a problem.• Sea squill Urginea maritima from the Mediterranean is a fabulous structural bulb for the late summer/autumn period. It has wonderful large foliage later in the season and produces football size bulbs. The individual flowers are delicate, and it produces many of these up the stem which open over a prolonged period.• Another favourite is Cyclamen hederifolium - one of the most beautiful autumn flowering bulbs, and which look fabulous planted in drifts. They are easy to grow, needing little care and attention once established. They live on the leaf litter that drops around them, or mulch them in summer. They grow large tubers so watch when using the garden fork. They flower for ages, and once the flowers finish have the most wonderful marbled leaves in winter through until spring so they provide value for nine months of the year. Stephen collects cyclamen seed and raises them in pots.Stephen explains that a bulb is a storage organ for plants, which means they can go into dormancy, and still come back again. As gardeners we include a whole range of things under the category of bulbs, such as corms, rhizomes and bulbous material.“Even cyclamen aren’t true bulbs. They are a tuber with roots emerging all the way around. It’s a good idea to transplant them at this time of the year because the leaf serves as a handle and you know which way is up,” Stephen said. Stephen uses a bagging needle to help with making a hole for the seedlings, and then just presses them down. He usually fits about a hundred tiny tuber seedlings into one tray. He grows them on for 12 months, until they are about the size of a five cent coin, and then plants them in the garden.So don’t overlook the range of autumn flowering bulbs. If you investigate there is probably one to suit your garden. These plants provide a great alternative for seasonal colour, are drought tolerant and hardy.
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