As we approach fall in the garden, we often think about planting bulbs such as tulips and daffodils for the coming spring. Less well known, however, are a few bulbs that, when planted in late summer or early fall, will bloom in the autumn, brightening the garden when summer’s bloom is just about over.
Four different fall-blooming bulbs — we will call them bulbs although technically they are either corms or tubers — are most commonly planted in the fall. They are hardy in our area, and if planted in a place where they are happy, they will live for years and even multiply.
The first of these bulbs is the autumn-flowering crocus. These flowers are related closely to the spring-flowering crocus. Blooming in the fall, they send up their foliage in the spring that then withers and dies during the summer. The fall crocuses most commonly come in shades of blue, purple or lavender. The flowers are about 4 inches high and goblet shaped like their spring-flowering cousins.
The most famous of these crocuses is Crocus sativus, the saffron crocus that supplies saffron, the expensive ingredient used in cooking. Saffron comes from the orange-red stigma found in the center of the light bluish-purple flower. To harvest your own saffron, pick the stigma as soon as the flower opens and quickly dry the stigma. Save it in an air-tight container.
There are a number of other crocus species that also may be grown if you can find them at a garden center or in a bulb catalog. One that is often available is Crocus speciosus that varies in color from light violet to lavender and is an unusual color in the fall garden.
To plant fall crocuses, pick a place in the sun with fertile, well-drained soil. Plant the bulbs 2 or 3 inches deep and a few inches apart. To increase the number of plants, dig up and separate the bulbs every three or four years. This may be done in late summer after the bulb’s foliage has died down.
A second flower that looks like a crocus and is even called a golden fall crocus is not a crocus at all but is Sternbergia lutea. This flower is a bright golden-yellow and may be planted in the same manner as the fall crocus. It has two disadvantages for area gardeners, however. It may flower in August or early September and be lost among the summer flowers still in bloom, and it is of marginal hardiness in our area. This means that it should be planted in a sheltered area and covered with mulch for winter protection.
The most spectacular fall bulb is the colchicum. These flowers are much like the crocus in shape, but they are much larger. The colchicums are natives of the Mediterranean climate in Europe and the Middle East, but they are hardy here as long as they are planted in well-drained soil. These bulbs are relatively large and eager to bloom when purchased in late summer or early fall. They are sometimes sold as “miracle bulbs” because they will bloom sitting on a table or window sill without being planted. They are best planted outside, however, where they will flourish for years.
The bulbs should be planted in full sun and work well in front of shrubs or at the front of a flower border. They do well wherever they do not need to be disturbed for several years. If you have a meadow-type lawn where the grass is not cut frequently giving the spring foliage an opportunity to grow, the bulbs do well planted in the grass.
Wherever they are planted, the bulbs should be planted 3 or 4 inches deep. Allow the foliage to die naturally. The leaves of the colchicums are produced in the spring. They are broad, strap-shaped leaves up to a foot long. These leaves die by mid-summer, and there is no evidence of the plant until the flowers suddenly appear in the form of clusters of goblet-shaped flowers about 6 inches high. Different varieties come in shades of pink, lavender and white.
There are a fair number of species and varieties from which to choose. We will mention a few that have special merit. “The Giant” is the colchicum with the largest flower and is perhaps the most common. It has a bluish-pink blossom. The species Colchicum bormmueller is also large and has rose-colored flowers. The most striking colchicums are the double-flowered varieties, often called “water lily colchicums” because they indeed look like water lilies floating on the ground. They come in both white and pink colors. In the right spot, the colchicums grow not only by the bulbs’ dividing but also by seeding themselves over time.
The fourth flowering bulb is quite different from those mentioned so far. It is the hardy cyclamen that grows from underground tubers. These flowers are members of the primrose family and smaller relatives of the cyclamen we often purchase as potted flowers.
There are many species of cyclamen that bloom at various times of the year. They include several species that bloom in the fall and are hardy in our area. All of these plants are small and seldom exceed 6 inches in height and can be used in a rock garden or corner of the garden where they will not be overwhelmed by larger plants. The plants like shade or semishade, and if the soil has some humus in it, they will be happy in the relatively dry shade of a tree. Over time, the tubers spread and form a colony of flowers.
The tubers are planted rather shallowly with only about an inch of soil over the bulb. This means that care must be taken when cultivating the soil or mulching so as to neither dig up the bulb nor smother it.
Mention may be made of two species that are hardy to our area. Cyclamen cilicium has dainty pink flowers on stems up to 6 inches high. Cyclamen hederifolium has leaves that look like those of English ivy and rose-colored flowers. These flowers are not dramatic or showy in the fall garden but planted in the right spot can be a very interesting, unusual addition to your fall plantings.
