Bulbs: Tulip and Hyacinth Bulbs, 1 by SteveIndy

SteveIndy wrote:
Hi ms_merae,

I live in Ft Worth which is next door to Arlington, TX. I agree with loveshercowdog about tulips. I have had however good luck with both daffodils and hyacinths. I chose a different route though and plant my hyacinths deep, in a raised bed (10" high) filled with loam soil - and they have done pretty well for me. I have had one patch come back for four years running now. Our standard soil in this part of Texas is so heavy, solid and poor draining that it is inhospitable for most bulbs - but if you take some steps to improve conditions not only do many bulbs grow well here but even perennialize well. I agree about Easy to Grow Bulbs - good site. Most daffs do well here in N. Central Texas as well....a great source for daffodils is Old House Gardens, one of my favorites, but they can be expensive:

http://www.oldhousegardens.com

OHG has a wide selection of narcissus which do well in southern conditions. The thing I like about them is that they get very specific about zones and conditions in which bulbs do well - trust me - zone "8b" means many different things and really only tells you how cold a place gets.

Narcissus "Carlton", "Ice Follies", "Gigantic Star" and all Jonquilla daffs do well here. I was told "Marieke" was a more northern daffodil but I have a large patch which has come back and has done very well. I have some Tazettas but find our winters are sometimes too cold for them and they bloom early and look ratty - but in Austin you're a little warmer. I find the blue and white varieties of hyacinths are the best perennializers for me.

Good luck - buy a few varieties and experiment and see how you do! BTW the blue hyacinths in the below pic were planted in the fall of 2002 - ordered from Tulipworld - and I think they look pretty good for their 4th spring!

One thing to remember is that most spring-flowering bulbs like to be kept DRY during summer. Many of us run sprinkler systems in the summer here and moist or soggy soil means death to most bulbs. I don't think the climate here is so much the prtoblem as the soil and drainage/watering conditions. I find the bulbs that get the least water and where water does not stand do the best. And I no longer precool hyacinth bulbs - I fould through experimenting they do just fine (if planted deeply) without precooling. Tulips are another story however and I do refrigerate them. I did find out from Scott Kunst at OHG that hyacinths root at warmer temperaures than tulips so the two bulbs are not really in the same class as most bulb sources like to lump them. This is probably why hyacinths perform better here but again avoid excessive moisture.

This message was edited Sep 15, 2006 10:45 PM