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Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Keyword: Bulbs

moving Eremurus

For a couple of years, someone has been eating the flowering stalk of one of our foxtail lilies. I thought these bulbs were resistant to critters because of their bitter taste, and I can only speculate that it’s an intrepid squirrel climbing the rose that overhangs the stalk, and nibbling the developing flower like corn-on-the-cob. I’d like to save it from being eaten every spring. Can the plant be moved, and when would be the best time to do it?

You are correct that Eremurus is generally considered unappetizing to deer, rabbits, and other creatures. If you have acrobatic squirrels, then placing the foxtail lily in a more open spot (with nothing overhanging it) that also has excellent drainage and ample sun might help. However, these bulbs are sensitive to transplanting and their shallow but widely spreading roots are fragile. It is best to wait until the leaves have died back and the plant is entering dormancy (late summer to early fall). Have a new planting hole ready to accommodate the roots, which are octopus- or starfish-shaped. According to Chicago Botanic Garden, the hole should be about 15 inches wide and six inches deep with a shallow mound in the middle over which you can drape the roots.

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Remembering Ledebouria

I keep forgetting the name of a plant I added to the garden some time ago, and every year I have to dig through my pile of old plant tags to remind myself. Any mnemonic devices to help me hold Ledebouria cooperi in my head? Any tips on keeping it growing well? How can I propagate it?

 

There are some common names that might guide you to the scientific name: Cooper’s false squill (it used to be named Scilla cooperi), Cooper’s African hyacinth, and Zebra’s quill (which evokes those delicately veined or striped leaves).

The genus is named for German botanist Carl Friedrich van Ledebour (1785-1851). The species name was given by Joseph Dalton Hooker to honor English botanist Thomas Cooper (1815-1913), who collected plants in South Africa’s Drakensberg mountains in the mid-nineteenth century.

The Pacific Bulb Society says this bulbous plant of damp eastern South African grasslands will grow well with its bulbs exposed or unexposed. It would thrive in a rock garden, growing in a wall niche, a container, or at the front of a border. According to Missouri Botanical Garden, it prefers well-drained but moist soil during active growth (but dislikes winter saturation which can rot the plant). It can be propagated by division, which is easiest to do when it is visible, not when it is dormant.

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Deadheading lilies

How do you remove the dead flowers from a Asiatic lily? Do you go to the main stem and cut it there or do you just remove the flower and leave the pod?

 

Here is what South Dakota State University advises:

“Once all the flowers have dropped their flower petals, it is a good idea to deadhead the stem, by cutting of the flower spike at the base, just above the stem leaves. Keep in mind that the leaves are the most important plant component to allow the lily to come back next year and flower even more than the year before. So, keep those leaves green and healthy all the rest of the summer and fall so they can help to store up food reserves for the winter and next year’s growth and flowering.”

The practice of deadheading the spent flowers (but leaving the foliage as long as it is green) enables the plants to put energy into the bulb. Once the foliage dies back in late fall of early winter, you can cut down the dead stalks.

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Pacific Bulb Society

A site for bulb enthusiasts from all over, not just the Pacific coast. The site includes an active discussion forum and a “wiki” of information about bulbs, with a focus on documenting bulbs growing in natural habitats.

Garden Tip #61

For some people the bulb season starts with planting in the fall and ends with the late tulips of May. In fact, gardeners can have flower bulbs throughout summer and into fall. The most common and well loved summer bulbs are ornamental onions, lilies and dahlias, but there are so many more to try. A few of the lesser known summer bulbs include harlequin flower (Sparaxis tricolor), African corn lily (Ixia), and Mexican shell flower (Tigridia pavonia).

Summer bulbs are available to plant in spring. While many are hardy in our mild climate, new bulbs shouldn’t be planted until the danger of hard frost has passed. In other words, May is the time to plant summer flowering bulbs.

A good little primer on these plants is called Summer-Blooming Bulbs, edited by Beth Hansen (Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, 9.95). Chapter topics include botany, care, design and a mini-encyclopedia. Contributing authors Brent and Becky Heath, owners of the top American bulb nursery (Brent and Becky’s Bulbs), suggest a few summer bulbs that will come back every year without lifting in Pacific Northwest gardens:

  • Crinum lily (Crinum ‘Bradley’)
  • Pineapple lily (Eucomis autumnalis)
  • Guernsey lily (Nerine bowdenii)
  • Crimson flag (Schizostylis coccinea)

A great majority of summer blooming bulbs (and other swollen-root plants) come from the Cape Province of South Africa. To learn more about these wonderful flowers invest in the Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs by Manning, Goldblatt and Snijman (Timber, $59.95).

Naturalizing Bulbs

In “Naturalizing Bulbs”, Rob Proctor does not provide the usual alphabetical recital of genus, species and varieties.  Instead, he begins with a series of essays on the aesthetics and practicalities of weaving bulbs into the landscape.  These chapters both inspire and provide a dose of reality of what works, based on broad climate zones throughout the United States.

Next, he steps back and looks season to season, again considering the pros and cons of choices for different regions.  These two approaches give the reader a clear understanding of the decisions we each need to make for our own gardens.

Proctor is an aficionado, writing about the varieties he knows well.  He doesn’t list all you could plant, but rather what you should plant – classics that combine beauty with health and garden reliability.

 

Published in Garden Notes: Northwest Horticultural Society, Summer 2020

Dividing and transplanting lilies

I have a question about what is the best time of year to transplant and
divide Asiatic lily bulbs? Is it fairly easy to identify where the bulb
should be divided? Also, someone told me to use a rooting solution on the
divided bulbs. Is this necessary? Is late October too late in the fall to divide
them?

 

Most sources say to divide lilies in the fall. You do not need to use a
rooting solution on the divided bulbs. Sunset’s Western Garden Book
(2001) says the following: “If clumps become too large and crowded, dig,
divide and transplant them in spring or fall. If you’re careful, you can
lift lily clumps at any time, even when they are in bloom.”

One rationale for lifting them when in bloom is provided in an article
from the Wisconsin Regional Lily Society, no longer available online, but excerpted here:

“After three successive years of making this futile pact, I finally
concluded that books were wrong! Fall isn’t the time to transplant
lilies. It’s a job best done in mid-summer when they’re in full bloom.
This eliminates most of the guess work, since at this point, the plants
are at their maximum height, making it nearly impossible to make the
mistake of planting the tall ones to the front of the border, the short
ones at the back. It also affords a crystal-clear picture of concurrent
bloomers. In fall, no matter how carefully one does the job, when digging
dormant bulbs at least one bold orange always manages to get itself
placed directly beside the brightest pink. The clashing colors burn
themselves into your retinas nearly as well as flashbulbs-blink quickly
and the image reappears!

“The maximum size of the plants in mid-summer is another advantage. When
autumnal plants have shrunk to a mere fraction of their former selves,
it’s too easy to misjudge your space placement. Who hasn’t heard the
disheartening ‘crunch’ of a spade slicing through the most expensive bulb
in the bed? How it knows the price, I’ll never know.

“Spring is the only time I’d actually refrain from moving lilies. The
delicate new shoot is easily broken, and once gone, the poor bulb has
only two options: It will either die or spend an entire year below
ground, depleting its energy reserves as it forms a new shoot for the
following spring. All the while it’s caught in a perilous game of Russian
roulette. Without aboveground parts to warn of its existence, it can
never quite be sure when a spade might suddenly come slicing down.
Crunch! -The second most expensive bulb gone?

“Certainly no plant will be thrilled at being dug up and moved in full
flower, but if it’s kept well watered and blooms are removed, almost any
perennial will have recovered fully by the following season. One of the
best gardeners I know says that the best time to move any perennial is
when you have the time!”

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Bulb

For pure opulence, nothing matches Anna Pavord’s “Bulb”, a compilation of the author’s favorites of primarily spring-flowering selections.  Each is described with such heartfelt devotion that you know they must be good.  She includes some newer varieties but the treasures are the older, time-tested names that just keep giving every year.

The photographs make this a book to drool over, including several two-page spreads.  The text is practical, including observations such as the coloration and texture of the foliage and the ability of the flower to stand inclement weather.  She has a keen eye for what goes well with each selection, including perennials, shrubs, and even trees.

 

Published in Garden Notes: Northwest Horticultural Society, Summer 2020

frost and bulb foliage

Do the many bulbs that are rising up to 8″ out of the ground need to be covered since the forecast has temperatures down to 17 degrees F these next few mornings?

 

The bulb foliage should be fine as it is. Any flowers, on the other hand will probably turn to mush. If you’re feeling protective or nervous you may want to cover up the foliage with burlap, cloth rags, sheets, etc. Once the clouds come back you can remove the protection.

Here is an article on predicting frost from Michigan State University.

bulb care after bloom

Bulbs in pots – when to plant?

Daffodils & tulips wilting in pots now, what to do with them? Can you put them in the ground right now, or should you wait till fall? Keep them dry, wet, what?

 

Yes, you can put them in the ground right now or you can lift them, keep them dry and plant them in the fall. Growing in pots is stressful to bulbs, so you may find fewer flowers next year.

Most tulips do not flower reliably each year, even if they were grown in the ground, so many people treat them as annuals (dig up and toss!) BUT some tulips do re-flower (Darwin Hybrids, Fosterianas and species tulips) so if you are not sure what you have, go ahead and replant. Both tulips and daffodils dislike summer water, so make sure you either plant them in a place where they will stay dry or make sure they are planted in really well-drained soil. Mixing gravel into the soil can help with drainage.