4 Summer Bulbs to Plant this Spring
Growing summer bulbs is a terrific way to bring big, beautiful flowers to your garden every year. Many summer-flowering bulbs, such as lilies and Gladioli are only planted once, then left completely on their own as they’ll grow back year after year.
There are several reasons why you should grow summer-flowering bulbs. Firstly, they’re beautiful garden plants. They can be planted in borders and containers and will provide tall striking blooms. These bulbs are also very easy to grow; you just need to plant and water them regularly. They can also provide an abundant supply of flowers for cutting.
It’s best to plant summer-flowering bulbs in spring when the soil starts warming up in sync with their growth rhythm. So, here are four bulbs you can plant to light up your summer.
Lilies
Lilies are arguably the most sensuous of all summer-blooming bulbs, and while they’re normally linked to florist flowers, most are easily grown in the garden. Many of them are basically woodland plants, and prefer cool, shady roots as well as sunshine. Many thrive in mildly acidic soil, though some (Madonna lily) do well in alkaline conditions.
Other lilies, including L. nepalense and L. canadense, sprout runners or horizontal stems known as stolons that form a new bulb and rapidly colonise an area with really loose soil and plenty of leaf mould. In fact, lilies do really well in soils with leaf mould, and one of the easiest and best lilies to grow is L. regale. It’s extremely hardy and does equally well in acidic or alkaline soil, but requires good drainage.
Cardiocrinum
These bulbs are related to lilies and look great. They can grow up to 13 feet tall and have big glossy leaves as well as a spike of white flowers. They require a moisture-retaining but not wet soil and a damp atmosphere.
Cardiocrinum doesn’t do well in hot, dry summers. After flowering, the bulbs die and the offsets can take another 3-4 years to bring forth a flower, so you have to plant new bulbs each year, and keep the tips just beneath the surface.
Crocosmia
Although these summer bulbs are hardly exotic, they’re some of the easiest bulbs to grow. They do well in a rich soil with lots of organic matter for moisture retention, and then plenty of sunshine. The best known variety of Crocosmia is the stunning C. Lucifer. There are other great varieties, such as Emily McKenzie, Citronella and Bressingham Blaze.
Cape hyacinth
The Cape hyacinth, also known as galtonia, is a great bulb if it gets lots of sun and the soil doesn’t dry out. You can grow it borders. Make sure that the bulb is not shaded by nearby plants. Galtonia candicans is one of its varieties and grows up to 3-5 feet tall, with white bells of around 30 flowers. The other varieties are G. princeps, which is stockier and has green flowers, and G. viridiflora, which features green flowers as well. The latter is the hardiest variety, although it’s best to lift these bulbs and keep them in pots during winter.