ON THE COVER
Lilies, babianas, freesias and more... there are plenty of ways to have some spring bulb magic at home, even in warm zones. NOEL BURDETTE lays out your options
for advice on the many types of bulbs, including babianas, that warm-climate gardeners can enjoy in spring.
Colourful spring bulbs pushing up from the ground, surrounded by the bare branches of deciduous shrubs and trees. It’s an irresistible image for most gardeners. The welcome colour and delicate floral shapes of spring bulbs can transform a stark landscape into something magical and full of promise.
But it’s a picture most often associated with a cold climate, where the transition from winter to spring is cool and gradual. In a warm climate, spring is often short and to the point, lasting only a few weeks before summer-like conditions arrive.
Thankfully, with careful selection and appreciation of the different types of bulbs available, warm-climate gardeners also have plenty of opportunity to enjoy spring’s bounty through bulbs. Many traditional spring bulbs flower and finish earlier in the season than in cooler zones. Some may be one-hit wonders, while others happily naturalise in your garden, bringing many years of enjoyment. There are also the more commonly seen warm-climate bulbs that provide a pleasing splash of colour in spring and summer. There are lots of bulbs to choose from, and I encourage you to give them a go.
short-lived pleasures
Traditional cool-climate bulbs, such as tulips, hyacinths and daffodils, can be grown in a warm climate, but will flower for only one season. The bulbs should then be composted, and fresh bulbs purchased each year. These are classed as ‘true bulbs’. At the time of purchase, they have already formed an embryonic flower from the previous year. They benefit from a winter chilling and should be placed in the crisper section of your fridge for at least six weeks before planting. After planting, they quickly emerge and flower during midwinter to early September. Their presence, however brief, is a joy.
Regarded as corms, not bulbs, anemones and ranunculus happily grow and flower without any chilling. However, flowering in the following years is often weak, so they should be replaced with fresh corms each year.
repeat performers
Jonquils, which belong to the same genus as daffodils (Narcissus spp.), can be relied upon to establish and flower each year, but they still benefit from an artificial chilling in their first year before planting.
Varieties such as ‘Erlicheer’, ‘Soleil d’Or’ and ‘Silver Chimes’ capture that feeling of spring, with their highly fragrant blooms standing tall among thin, strappy foliage.
Freesias, sparaxis, babianas and ixias come from South Africa. As they are naturally adapted to warmer soils, they can be depended upon to bring a cheery spring feel to any size garden, year after year. These bulbs enjoy a well-drained site in full sun to light shade. Although lacking in fragrance, the flame freesia (Freesia laxa syn. Anomatheca laxa) can be easily naturalised under trees or in garden borders, where it has been known to generously self-sow, providing carpets of coral-red blooms that attract beneficial insects. Its cousin, Freesia alba, commonly called grandma’s freesias, has an intense perfume, with creamy lemon flowers that age to dusky pink. It has a smaller form than the more vibrantly coloured florist freesias, and can be planted in lawns, where it often happily naturalises.
warm-climate WINNERS
These bulbs don’t necessarily display the typical forms and growth habits of traditional spring bulbs, but they do make a reliable and colourful addition to a warm-climate garden in spring.
Hippeastrum (Hippeastrum spp.) is well suited to warmer areas. It begins its show in mid-spring with strong stems that carry big, brassy blooms – as many as five per stem – in vibrant scarlet, hot pink, purest white and eye-catching striped forms. Flowering is followed by bold, fleshy foliage that continues to add great visual interest. November lily (Lilium longiflorum) flowers from November to the start of December. Its tall, multi-headed stems of fragrant, snow-white, trumpet-shaped blooms make it the perfect cut flower. Plant it in groups towards the back of a border, where the base of the plants can be disguised with smaller perennials, such as low-growing ornamental grasses or daylilies.
Swamp lily (Crinum x powellii) forms bold clumps of broad, strappy foliage, where several stems of clustered, fragrant, pink, trumpet-shaped blooms appear in late spring to early summer. It’s the perfect warm-climate substitute for the often weedy naked ladies (Amaryllis belladonna). Dense plantings of this bulb can make an outstanding addition to garden borders. Fireball lily (Scadoxus multiflorus) flowers any time from October to the end of December, emerging from what seems like an empty patch to make a spectacular floral statement. This warm-climate bulb is a true stunner, with ball-shaped heads of scarlet flowers that can last several weeks. Pink rain lily (Habranthus robustus) is a glorious sight in bloom. As its name implies, this South American bulb shows off after a good shower of rain, when the upward-facing flower stalks quickly emerge from leafless bulbs to form carpets of gentle pink, trumpet-like blooms. This is definitely one for gardeners who enjoy naturalistic plantings, and it can be used effortlessly in rockeries and among small-growing grasses.