High Elevation Gardening Web Log "Blog"

Armitage’s introduction was simple – most bulbs are easy to grow, not expensive, and pretty cold hardy. He thinks gardeners should ‘Just go for it and have fun!’ His talk covered the basics of bulb growing and he introduced many less common bulbs that are often overlooked. Here’s some of what I learned.

Most bulbs do best in well-drained, sandy to sandy loam soil. Clayey soil, like that found in many parts of Flagstaff, is too heavy for many bulbs. To remedy that, dig in lots of compost or other organic matter and work it at least 12 inches into the soil.

Planting depth is less of a concern. For the smallest bulbs, it often doesn’t matter how deep you plant as long as there’s at least an inch of soil above the tip of the bulb. Armitage says ‘Just scratch ‘em in’ but then he has never gardened in our heavy rocky clay.

For larger bulbs, Armitage offered this rule-of-thumb: plant three times deeper than the diameter of the bulb. In areas with lots of freezing and thawing, e.g. Flagstaff, plant deeper. This will also delay bloom which may get some flowers through the worst of the spring snows.

One of Armitage’s favorites and one of the prettiest of the early spring bloomers is the reticulated iris (Iris reticulate). Its name comes from the netting or reticulation that surrounds the bulb. It is the easiest of the bulb iris to grow, inexpensive, and perfect for rock gardens and forcing. Due to its diminutive size, it is best to plant in mass with 25-50 bulbs in a spot.

Another early bloomer is glory of the snow (Chionodoxa spp.) which often blooms through the snow, hence its name. Considered deer-proof, the star-shaped flowers will reseed and naturalize in your garden.

Starflower (Ipheion uniflorum) is a long bloomer that flowers later in the spring. Its grass-like foliage has a garlicky smell, a give-away that it is a member of the onion family, but the blue or white star-shaped flowers smell like violets.

There are many superb late spring to early summer blooming bulbs. Ornamental onions are an excellent choice for high country gardens as they are deer and rodent resistant, hardy, easy to grow, tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, and just plain fun to grow. Patience is required for this group as you must let the leaves turn yellow before cleaning up the foliage. Most have ball-shaped flower heads that range in size from 1-10 inches.

One of the lesser known alliums is drumstick chive (A. sphaerocephalon) which has a distinctive burgundy-colored flower head that is egg-shaped and very oniony smelling foliage. Another is Star of Persia (A. christophii), a showstopper with its enormous 10” flower head that is made up of hundreds of tiny star-shaped flowers.

Not many ornamental bulbs are native to the western United States but several species of Camassia can be found in bulb catalogs. Blooming in late spring, this genus has grass-like leaves that send up spikes of star-shaped flowers. Often found in moist meadows, camassias prefer wetter conditions so plant them near your downspout. This is also one of the few bulbs that will do well in partial shade.

Fewer still are fall-flowering bulbs suitable for cold climates as most bulbs that fall into this category are tropical. One that works here is Colchicum, a crocus-type bulb that produces foliage in spring and flowers in the fall. It’s a little too late to plant these this year as it should be planted in mid-summer.

To find these less common bulbs, gardeners will need to seek out mail-order companies that specialize in bulbs. Order soon and you can plant right away.

You can learn more about the American Horticultural Society at www.ahs.org. Membership is only $35 and you don’t have to be a horticulturist to join.

By Hattie Braun
The author is the Master Gardener program coordinator for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call 774-1868 ext. 17 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.