Ready for a bright bulb moment
Find space for those summer flowering tubers and corms too, says LOUISE MIDGLEY
FOR a modest investment and a minimum of maintenance, summer flowering bulbs provide bright notes of colour for a long period over the summer months. They can be added to existing planting schemes; in between perennials and shrubs or grown in pots and containers to brighten up a patio or balcony.
Many are now available in garden centres in single or multi-packs, with guidelines as to when and how they should be planted.
As a general rule, give all types of bulbs a home in free-draining, fertile soil and plant them at a depth of roughly three times their own size, with the pointy end facing upwards and in a warm, sunny part of the garden.
There are exceptions such as begonia corms which need to be planted close to the surface of the compost with the concave side facing upwards.
Hardy varieties that include lilies, crocosmia and liatris can go in the ground as soon as you get an opportunity, as long as it isn’t frozen solid or excessively wet.
Over time, if conditions are favourable, they will multiply and give bigger and better displays.
However, clump-forming varieties such as crocosmia will need dividing roughly every four years to keep them producing plenty of new blooms. Left undisturbed, they will eventually produce a mass of foliage, few flowers and an ever-increasing bald patch in the centre of the clump.
Tender summer flowering bulbs, corms and tubers need a little more attention than hardy summer flowering ones because they will need to be dug up and stored in a frost-free environment during winter.
These tender varieties that include dahlias, cannas and begonias hail from sunnier climes and can’t cope with extremes of cold.
Although having said that, gardeners in some sheltered areas of the south or those living in inner cities may get away with leaving them in the ground and covering them with a thick layer of mulch.
TENDER plants can be started off during the course of the next few weeks in pots in a heated greenhouse or conservatory but hold back from planting them out until all risk of frost has passed.
While all these underground storage organs are miraculously packed with nutritional reserves to support their growth, they will benefit from a high potash liquid feed during their growing season to maintain good flower production and allow them to build up reserves for the following year.
Gladioli, lilies and dahlias are all produced on long stems and make great cut flowers for the house.
If you have space, grow a few extra ones for this purpose only.