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Home » Gardening Information » Great Plants

Spring Peepers—Little Bulbs to Trumpet a New Season

Plants & Gardens News  Volume 21, Number 1 | Spring 2006

by Bob Hyland

Although I take refuge in the peace and quiet of winter dormancy, like most gardeners I'm always anxious to jump-start spring. That's why I'm a big fan of those "little" ephemeral bulbs of late winter and early spring—the advance guard of a new growing season.

My enthusiasm for minor bulbs was triggered by a treasured garden book, The Little Bulbs, first published in 1957. It is written from the vast personal experience of the quintessential southern gardener and writer, Elizabeth Lawrence. Another of my inspirations was the March Bank at Winterthur Gardens, developed by Henry Francis du Pont on his former estate in Delaware. I frequented Winterthur during my years in the Brandywine Valley and was always exhilarated when those first colorful patches of adonis (Adonis amurensis), yellow sheets of winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis), and other companions made their March Bank appearance.

Now in my Hudson Valley gardens, in New York, just when I think I can't stand another day of ashen winter landscape and muddy brown borders, along come my own winter aconites, snowdrops, crocuses, irises, and tinier sorts of daffodils and tulips to rescue me.

These little bulbs are the true harbingers of spring. They thrust through matted leaf litter and mulch with surprising gusto to carpet the ground with color and catch the early-spring sunlight before trees and shrubs have leafed out. Their arrival depends on the whims of Mother Nature, of course, but bloom time can be anywhere from January through April, depending on the region and severity of winter.

Often described as spring ephemerals, the little bulbs thrive in the cool, damp days of early spring and vanish before other plants have upstaged them. In their short life, they offer enormous pleasure. You'll need more of them to cover the ground compared with big, large-cupped daffodils and Darwin tulips, but the minor bulbs are generally cheaper per unit and give you lots of bang for the buck.

Early Arrivals

Crocus species (crocus)

Crocuses are perhaps the most familiar of the little bulbs. Their diminutive, colorfully contrasting, goblet-shaped flowers are perennial favorites in the garden. Members of the iris family (Iridaceae), they are easily forced in pots and are the first plants of the season on sale in supermarkets and garden centers. Most of these are cultivars of the Dutch crocus (Crocus vernus), which has relatively large, 1.5- to 2.5-inch-long flowers and a color palette of white, purple, blue, and yellow.

I prefer the daintier crocus species (Crocus chrysanthus, C. sieberi, and C. tommasinianus) native to the Mediterranean and central Europe. They bloom with up to four flowers per corm, each ranging from 0.5 inch to 1.5 inches long, and they are hardy from USDA Zones 3 to 8. All three species are terrific naturalizers when planted in lawns, borders, and rock gardens, and there are numerous cultivars. Among my favorites are the C. chrysanthus hybrids, which are often called "snow crocuses" because they bloom on the edges and openings of snow melt. Crocus chrysanthus 'Cream Beauty' bears rich cream-colored flowers with pale, greenish-bronze bases and deep, golden-yellow throats. 'Blue Pearl' produces yellow-throated white flowers with soft lilac-blue outer petals. Another favorite, C. sieberi 'Firefly', boasts abundant violet-lilac flowers with yellow throats that glisten in late winter and early spring.

Visit Brooklyn Botanic Garden in early spring and there's a good chance you'll encounter Crocus tommasinianus growing in beautiful naturalized drifts along the border mound near Oak Circle. This crocus produces two slender, pale lilac flowers per corm. The cultivar 'Ruby Giant' offers deeper-hued reddish-purple flowers. For fun last year in my garden, my partner planted a mixture of 2,000 of the straight species and 'Ruby Giant' in a pointillist spiral design in the lawn.

Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite)

In March and early April, the winter aconite greets you with cheery, cup-shaped, lemon-yellow flowers sitting atop collars of frilly, bright green leaves. A member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) and a native of open woodlands in southern Europe, it grows four inches tall from underground tubers. The knobby, dormant tubers are tiny when planted, but they quickly form large colonies, particularly in high-alkaline soils. The plant is hardy from Zones 4 to 9.

Galanthus species (snowdrop)

There are about 19 species of snowdrop found from Europe to western Asia, mostly in upland woods, but also in rocky sites. Members of the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae), snowdrops are the earliest of the little bulbs, pale children of the melting snows, and they carry within their frosted bell flowers one of the first faint spring fragrances, reminiscent of honey. They can bloom anytime from December through early April, depending on the region, and are hardy from Zones 3 to 9.

Galanthus elwesii (giant snowdrop) and G. nivalis (common snowdrop) are the most prevalent species in the garden. Both sport two or three strap-shaped, grayish-green basal leaves. Each snowdrop bulb produces a single bloom on an arching flower stalk that rises above the foliage. The small, drooping, pear-shaped, milky white flower is composed of three small inner petals tipped with emerald green markings and three larger, unmarked outer petals. The robust G. elwesii grows five to nine inches tall with 0.75-inch- to 1.25-inch-long flowers; just as lovely, G. nivalis is only four inches tall with 0.5-inch- to 0.75-inch-long flowers. The cultivars 'Flore Pleno' and 'Lady Elphinstone' offer double flowers.

Reinforcements

Iris species (iris)

There is a group of miniature bulbous irises known as the Reticulata Group that bloom in late winter and early spring. They include Iris danfordiae (Danford iris), I. histrioides, and I. reticulata (reticulated iris). These small gems are perfect for naturalizing in rock gardens and mixed borders and are hardy from Zones 5 to 8. Reticulata irises have small inner petals that stand upright (standards) and outer petals (falls) that open downward to reveal a contrasting color on the petal's spine. They grow four to six inches tall at flowering and produce erect, narrow leaves.

My favorite mini-iris is Iris reticulata, which bears solitary, fragrant, three-inch-wide, pale blue to purple flowers. Several cultivars are available and worth seeking out, including 'Cantab', which offers flax-blue standards and deeper blue falls with yellow crests. 'J.S. Dijt' bears reddish-purple flowers with a central orange mark on each fall.

Scilla siberica (Siberian squill)

I adore Scilla siberica because it reseeds with abandon to quickly carpet beds, borders, and lawns with sheets of spectacular, bright blue flowers in early spring. Each bulb puts out two to four short, erect leaves and a flower stem carrying loose clusters of four or five dangling, bowl-shaped flowers, each about a half inch across. Hardy from Zones 5 to 8, Siberian squill belongs to the lily family (Liliaceae) and is native to subalpine meadows, rocky slopes, and woodlands in central Asia and the Middle East. The cultivar S. siberica 'Spring Beauty' offers very deep blue flowers. A related species, S. mischtschenkoana, sports dense clusters of star-shaped, silvery blue-white flowers with darker midrib stripes and looks more like a miniature hyacinth to my mind.

The Rear Guard

Narcissus species (daffodil)

Move over mighty 'King Alfred', 'Mount Hood', and 'Spellbinder' and make way for your diminutive relatives. Of the 12 horticultural divisions of daffodils, the cyclamineus cultivars offer early-spring bloom with beautifully shaped, durable flowers composed of long trumpets surrounded by reflexed petals. All stand at 8 to 12 inches tall and are hardy from Zones 3 to 8. Members of the Amaryllidaceae, daffodils grow wild in meadows and woods in Europe and northern Africa.

There is a wonderful selection of plants to choose from in the cyclamineus division. Standouts are Narcissus 'February Gold', which boasts three-inch-wide flowers composed of reflexed, dark golden-yellow petals surrounding a long, slightly darker trumpet. As its name suggests, it can bloom as early as February. 'Jack Snipe' is an intriguing, long-lasting bicolor daffodil with creamy-white petals and a clear lemon-yellow trumpet. 'Jenny' offers gracefully reflexed, creamy-white petals surrounding a clear primrose-yellow trumpet that fades to cream. 'Jetfire' bears three-inch-wide flowers with golden-yellow petals around a bright orange trumpet.

Tulipa species (tulip)

You can't help but love the giant Darwin hybrid and emperor tulips (Tulipa fosteriana) for their classic form and magnificent presence, but the smaller species tulips, mostly native to central Asia, offer unique flowers in diminutive sizes, unusual shapes, and dazzling colors. They tend to bloom on the front end of the tulip season, which can last from early April through mid-May in colder climates. All tulips are members of the lily family (Liliaceae) and are generally hardy from Zones 3 to 8.

Among my favorite dwarf species is Tulipa acuminata, which sports four-inch, long-lasting flowers with very narrow, pointed red petals tinged yellow-green at their base. It grows to a height of 16 inches. Tulipa biflora normally bears three fragrant white flowers per four- to five-inch-long stem. Each bloom has a yellow base and flushes of greenish-gray or pink on the outside of the petals. Tulipa clusiana (lady tulip) boasts candy-cane-colored flowers: Its ivory-white petals have dark pink stripes on the outside, and they open to display purple stamens inside. Among my new favorites is T. humilis Violacea Group, with its deep violet-purple flowers and interior buttercup-yellow basal flush and purplish-blue stamens. It is a striking companion for the emerging, chartreuse-yellow foliage of Milium effusum 'Aureum' (Bowles' golden grass) in my borders.

Planting and Critter Control

It takes a bit more time to plant the little bulbs, but they are worth the effort. I don't recommend digging individual holes or using a bulb planter—that's too labor intensive! Instead, in beds and borders, dig generous holes four to six inches deep among perennials and shrubs. Space the bulbs randomly at two- to six-inch intervals, cover with soil, and mulch for the winter. To naturalize in your lawn, lift the sod in large pieces, dig a shallow trench, layer in the bulbs, and re-cover with the soil and sod. Delay spring mowing to allow bulb foliage to die back on its own, signaling that the bulb's energy supplies have been renewed for the next season.

If meadow voles, squirrels, deer, or other hungry critters pose a serious threat to your garden bulbs, try planting them in wire cages fashioned from hardware cloth or chicken wire. Treat the ground with a granular repellent after planting, or spray the bulbs with a liquid repellent (like Ropel or Hinder) prior to planting. Many of the little bulbs are listed as "deer resistant" in catalogs, but in my experience, only the daffodils are reliably unpalatable.

Nursery Sources:

Many species bulbs, including snowdrops and tulips, are threatened by collection in the wild for the horticulture trade. Gardeners should buy only nursery-propagated bulbs. All Dutch bulb species must be labeled either "wild collected" or "from cultivated stock."

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