Summer flowering bulbs | Ottawa Start

7 • POSTED ON March 31, 2005
Summer flowering bulbs
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Mention bulbs and most people will think of spring-flowering bulbs: tulip, crocus, daffodil and hyacinth are the first names that spring to mind. However, apart from the tulip there are many more interesting bulbs that we can grow in our gardens.

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Loyal readers of this column know how dear flower bulbs are to me (what else would you expect from a former Dutchman?) and so – yet again – the time has come to talk about them.

Mention bulbs and most people will think of spring-flowering bulbs: tulip, crocus, daffodil and hyacinth are the first names that spring to mind. True, the tulip is still by far the most popular of all flower bulbs; in fact, the total acreage of tulip fields in The Netherlands – the world’s largest producer of bulbs - is more than twice as large as that of the Lilium (Lily), the number 2, and this situation is unlikely to change in the near future.

However, apart from the tulip there are many more interesting bulbs that we can grow in our gardens. If you - like Yours Truly – have received the first flower catalogues of the season, this is a good time to sit down and look through them while pondering what to order.

First things first: unfortunately, unlike most of their spring flowering cousins, not many of the summer flowering bulbs and tubers are reliably hardy in the Ottawa Valley. In order to keep them for many years to come, you will have to lift them from the soil and keep them indoors for the winter.

Too much hassle, you say? Well, think of it this way; annual bedding plants are a “one-season investment” whereas bulbs – with a little effort – are a “long-term investment”. At some point you will have to dig up your died-down annuals and throw them out. Digging up bulbs and storing them, wrapped up in old newspapers, requires a similar amount of effort and is by far the more economical choice.

Most people tend to solely talk about “bulbs”, but what they are actually referring to are “bulbs”, “tubers” (or “tuberous stems”), “rhizomes” and “corms”. Although I could easily write a column or two about their individual characteristics, simply put the main difference between them lies in the way they store their food.

Confused? With any luck, these pictures will clarify matters:

Misc bulbs

Now that the theory is out of the way, let’s have a look at how we can utilize summer flowering bulbs (for the sake of convenience I will use this term throughout this column).

For obvious reasons, the most commonly used – and therefore most popular - varieties are the ones that are hardy here in Ottawa: Iris (Iris), Lily (Lilium; better known as Oriental Lily, Asiatic Lily or Tiger Lily), Daylily (Hemerocallis) and Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis). Essentially, they act as perennials and – properly cared for – will come back year after year, gradually increasing in size as they mature. As is the case with perennials, they will need dividing and transplanting after – roughly – four to five years.

Later this season, I will explain how to properly divide and transplant perennials, so I will skip this topic for now and focus on the more delicate of the summer flowering bulbs.

Not hardy in our hardiness zone - but nonetheless definitely worth growing - are Gladiolus, Dahlia, Canna and Begonia.

Gladiolus; these upright plants are great to add drama to a more formal border and make for wonderful cut flowers…if you can persuade yourself to cut flowers from your own garden, that is. Unfortunately, this is something I have always had trouble with. Many a time I convinced myself to reserve part of the garden for cutting purposes, but just as often I encountered severe difficulties when it came time to actually cut the flowers…

Dahlia Dahlia; among the most prolific and prolonged flowering plants, dahlias ensure a wonderful display of colour in summer and fall flowering borders. They come in an enormous variety of colour and height and can easily be fitted into any type of border or container. I have heard dahlias being referred to as the “ultimate easy-care flower factory” and I have little to add to that description.

Begonia Begonia; in my humble opinion, these beauties are highly underrated. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the general public seem to think that only senior citizens are allowed to grow them. Wrong! Tuberous Begonias are perfect companions for anyone with a shaded garden – or porch – and will give you a full summer worth of colour with little care. Try these modest plants; they virtually never stop flowering.

Canna Canna; large, strapping, banana-tree-like leaves and stunning, brightly coloured flowers on tall, sturdy stems…that’s Canna for ya! These giants make for a wonderful feature when planted at the back of the perennial border or as the centerpiece for your container. Often called “Canna lilies”, they are actually not related to the Lily family at all; just another one of those stunts “us professional gardeners” pull to confuse you…

Well, this is exactly what I was afraid of when I started writing this column; too many plants and not enough space to write about them. Obviously, I have no choice but to continue next week, even though that means I will have to face the eternal wrath of my foreman and friend, Randy Mason. Some years ago, Randy was assigned the task of planting 10,000 tulip bulbs at Beechwood Cemetery- at that time, his employer - all by himself. It took him a full week and from that day (or should I say “week”) on, his feelings about bulbs have never been the same.

To be continued…
Until then, happy gardening!

René Trim

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About René
René Trim was educated and trained in The Netherlands, before moving to Canada in 2000. After studying the differences in climate and season faced by Ontario gardeners he established Trim Garden Design and Rescue in May 2002. A gardener since the 1980’s, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience, a vast library of reference materials from which to draw answers to various garden situations as well as an enthusiastic and professional staff.