California Gardening: Fall/Winter Bulbs in California, 1 by chrisw99

chrisw99 wrote:
The Fall rains have caused many of my bulbs to sprout. We are so fortunate to be able to grow the tender bulbs and have them blooming as the days get shorter.

The season starts for me (Zone 8b-9) with the golden Sternbergia lutea in Sept/Oct. Then in mid Nov I have Narcissus tazetta 'Ariel' blooming--a nice big white flower that doesn't flop over and Narcissus 'Golden Rain' .--bright yellow, double, but they tend to grow so tall that they flop over--may be becuase mine are shaded by the eves? Around the garden I also have other N. tazettas---'Ziva'/'Galilee', 'Bethlehem', 'Texas Star', 'Grand Monarque' that have sprouted and 'Ziva' has buds. All these multiply and form nice clumps that come up year after year. Eventually they need to be dug up in the summer and divided. My first sprouts of N. italicus are up as well as N. 'Erlicheer'.

New this year is Crocus medius which is blooming now--see photo--a rare patch of purple at this time of year. It's a crocus from the Riviera region so should naturalize here. I am making a note in my garden journal to plant some C. medius around the feet of the N. 'Ariel' next year.

What bulbs are blooming in your garden? I am always looking for ideas.

Chris