Bulbs

It’s November; it’s autumn. Yet, when I look around I can see none of the signs of my poor British senses have become used to associating with this time of year. For a start, it’s still warm. For another thing- where are the traditional autumn hues of red, orange and yellow of the leaves on the trees? And the daffodils appearing now?! Everyone always remarks that after the summer we seem to enjoy another spring and that plants seem a little confused- trees come into bud, spring bulbs appear, and roses bloom. And those damn olives- unchanging throughout the year! Never mind, I always liked spring and if we get two of them, then I am more than happy.

Bulbs, rhizomes, corms and tubers- it really makes no difference which one our perennials come from- they are all structures to store reserves of food whilst the plant is resting during periods that are not favourable to their growth. In the right spot, bulbs need little care and attention and will continue to surprise you each year when you have long forgotten planting them!

A Few Tips

As a general rule, bulbs should be planted at twice their own depth.
Mix in a little free-draining matter to the soil to prevent rotting.
When the new shoots begin to show- feed.
Feed again when the leaves are at maximum height.
After flowering, deadhead, but leave the foliage to die back and replenish the bulbs.
In containers- plant densely and keep watered until the foliage dies.

Here is a list of plants that seem to work well in our area. All those listed are for planting in autumn and should flower next spring.

Anemone

These spring flowering perennials are extremely easy to grow here, and like my daffodils, attempt a flowering early in the autumn, but return in spring to flower more fully. The flowers are usually purple and red and continue over quite a long period of time. The name comes from the Greek “anemos”, for wind and, strangely enough, they self-seed from the wind-pollination.

Crocus

There are 80 different species of this delicate looking plant. Its origins are widespread- Europe, North Africa, The Middle East and Central Asia. The variety ‘cartwrightianus’ is the variety to look out for if you want to harvest your own saffron, though I guess it’s a rather fiddly process!

Cyclamen

The origins of this plant are Europe, The Mediterranean to Iran, and Somalia, and the group contains 19 species; from tiny plants to the larger more well-known varieties. They work exceptionally well here and look fantastic planted-out under trees. They flower from autumn to spring and are incredibly long living plants, returning year after year. They will probably outlive most of us!

Freesia

Most South African plants see to do well in our climate and this is no exception. We are so used to buying this as a cut flower for its beautiful fragrance, but to be able to grow it is wonderful. It should flower in the spring- but mine are already on their way!

Iris

The name of this well known comes from Iris, the Greek messenger who came to earth via a rainbow. This aptly describes the colour range found in the 300 species of this plant. Their origins are widespread in temperate zones and sizes range from 20cm to up to one metre tall. The bearded Iris is the most commonly found here and loves our alkaline soil. The plant may flower a second time if fertilised after the first flowering.

Daffodils

This seems a typically British plant, but it actually originates from Southern Europe, the
Mediterranean, North Africa; West Asia, China and Japan! There are 50 species in all different sizes and shades of white and yellow.

Ranunculus Asiaticus

This particular variety of Ranunculus originates from Southern Europe and does superbly well in the gardens here. Although related to the buttercup, it looks nothing like it, coming in a dazzling array of colours often with double flower heads.

Tulip

I think the tulip has undeservedly gone out of fashion nowadays, which is a great shame as nothing beats the strong, vibrant colours an the different flower shapes available now. It hails from Central Asia and not Holland as you may suspect. The name comes from the Turkish for turban- ‘tulbend’, and it was Turkey that first exported the bulbs in the mid sixteenth century to Europe. This became a surprisingly profitable market in Europe, especially Holland which remains the chief exporter of Tulip bulbs to the day.

This list only touches on the huge variety of bulbs available that we can grow easily here. Needing long hot summers and mostly hailing form warmer climates, our region is perfect for growing plants from bulbs. Even if they do flower at the wrong time of year!

Amanda

Del Campo Plants