Bulbs: Deep South Bulbs, 1 by dmj1218

dmj1218 wrote:
Today I'm really busy, unusual cool snap so need to work outside before it gets to hot. I'm inside scarfing down a PBJ sandwich because its probably all I'll have time for today.

Parts of the following thesis (LOL) are really cut and pasted from a closed to the general public International Bulb Society forum topic of the week entry I made this morning to stress the point of how easy bulbs really are to do in the garden (a point sometimes lost on them as they argue about DNA counts, etc). The topic of the week was Sprekelia's.

But I also wanted to make this point on this thread about bulbs in the ground. I will often post pics of them in pots--I need to do this for reasons that most gardeners don't. But do know that are all growing in the ground somewhere on the property--I just may not be able to get a "garden" picture that day due to a number of factors.

CUT AND PASTED PARTS OF CONVERSATION:

I’m going to take a little different approach to the Sprekelia TOW this week.

First, a little climatic/gardening conditions background here. I have lived in the unincorporated area west of Houston on the remnants of what was once known as the great Katy prairie for 22 years. I am not located in the “banana belt” of Houston (those of you involved in Hippeastrum societies and other tropical gardening forums will recognize that term). In other words, I am located north of I10. It does freeze here every winter, usually 3-6 times—with temps usually about 29-31F; I have very rarely seen it 26-27F at my house. I am at least 60 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. That means a lot of commonly grown southern shrubs such as Hamelia patens and Clerondendron ugandense freeze to ground level every single winter here, no exceptions; but re-emerge in spring. These plants are often evergreen in the “banana belt” of Houston proper. This area is now classified as zone 9a. We are very hot and humid from May until the end of October. Basically 5 gardening “waves” here; winter, spring, early summer, “deep” summer, and fall. We’ve been sliding into early summer here for about a week or two. That’s basically marked by the end of Louisiana Iris season here (and also in New Orleans), early daylily season, and the tomatoes are 4’ high with prime fruit setting time on those. I’ve talked to several Louisiana Iris hybridizers in Louisiana over the last week—we are always sad to see the season end. I do not breed LA Iris but do have an extensive collection—they are definitely one of my passions. Highs have been around 80-85F with night time temps running about 60-70F for about a couple of weeks. We did get a cool snap with a front yesterday; its 70F out there now, with a predicted high of 76F and a low of 58F tonight. We are really enjoying this because we know it will be of very short duration and we won’t see this again until late October (if we get lucky)!

Many folks are unaware that Sprekelia formosissima does very well as a garden/ground specimen (and actually in zone 8a too) in the south. Contrary to a lot of the literature, it handles high levels of winter moisture and light freezes very well. It usually blooms about the same time or slightly later for me than the hybrid and species Hippeastrums; which, for the most part, I also grow in the ground. I’m always eternally grateful that my bulbs/plants can’t read. One thing we have been lacking this year is our normal spring rainfall—other than a shower early Saturday morning—I haven’t seen any rain in at least a month. That is very unusual and has resulted in my Sprekelia’s running a bit late this year; but they are sending up scapes in response to the last shower. I find them to be rainfall influenced, like Zephyranthes and Habranthus. I have them located in several areas on my property; but most of the groups are located in rich, moisture retentive soil. I never fertilize them other than the occasional foliar feed of an organic 6-11-5 that everything around them also receives. They are quite content alongside a miniature tropical hibiscus, a phlox ‘John Fannick’, Cypella herbertii (which is also blooming now for a couple of weeks), and the Texas native Pavonia lasiopetala. I will get rebloom on those in the fall if conditions are just right—very dry late summer and if the first fall rainfall is very heavy.

I’m aware that my garden will never win any House and Garden awards—I do a lot of very strange things like tuck a tomato on the edge of the LA Iris bed; and my back fence is propped up with 2x4’s in anticipation of the subdivision replacing that soon. But I think it will make my point of just how easy this bulb really is to grow in the ground, year round, with no special fuss. If you want to decrease your bulbs in pots collection, this makes a great candidate for in the ground. I’m always looking to do that, especially as my collection or bulb obsession seems to increase exponentially every year. Mine are also only just sending up scapes; but if you look closely (in the box to the left) you can see them. Our native Allium canadense var fraseri is also blooming now—definitely not the bubil and seed spitting form. Our native Allium texanum is also sending up scapes—but my garden always seems to run behind the TOW by a week or too. Probably because it knows that will aggravate me.
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End of the cut and paste part--the following pic is what I'm showing above and was taken this morning.
=)