2 'layer' bed?? narcissus/hyacinths with alliums/dutch iris?

I have a small bed (12x8' diamond) that I was going to plant with:
1 fritillaria imperious rubra
10 hyacinth Blue Jacket
several dozen narcissus
a couple hundred grape hyacinth, hoping these come up in mid-spring, and also

12 Allium globemaster
10 Allium Christophii
50 Allium moly Jeaninne
~50 dutch iris hoping these come up late spring.

Will this work? Will the narcissus and hyacinth foliage overcome the alliums?


Susan Mc aka zonkel

I layer plant bulbs and they all do fine. My reason for doing layers is that it deters the squirrels from the tulips when I plant daffodils over them. Alliums work well as deterents also.

That will be a beautiful bed when it flowers next spring.

Thank you CLScott!!!

I have not planted bulbs before and was not sure about how it would do. You've given me peace of mind about what I was planning.

Susan

Sounds Beautiful!!!

Rose

Thanks to you, Rose! I could not have afforded the globemaster without you!

Susan

zonkel,

I'll be interested to hear how yours do. Your bed sounds like it's going to be really nice and the planting concept is interesting.

I have not had good luck with alliums here. Actually I planted some drumstick alliums last fall and they were beautiful this spring, and hopefully they'll return, but others I have attempted in the past, not so.

Dutch Iris have been a true perennial for me here and I just love them and plant them all over the place - they always seem to return strongly and while I don't see much press on them, I feel they're really underutilized in gardens. Mine always bloom between the end of March and the first week or two of April as a reference point and actually seem to go for quite a long time.

I also have lots of hyacinths and daffs and both seem to do well.

Good luck and give us your results please!! :-)

I would love to give you the results! Hopefully by then I will have learned to download pictures to show results next spring!!!!

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Dutch Iris. Do the Dutch Iris bloom March-April then have foliage through the summer; how long does the foliage last? Would I be able to plant any perennials on top of where the iris is planted?

I know I am overplanting this tiny piece of real estate, I just don't know how long the various bulb foliage will last.

I know the fritillaria probably won't naturalize or perennialize, but it looks so cool like a mother alien spaceship....
++++++++++

I have another small bed around the mailbox with
Tulip Clusiana Lady Jane
Leucojum aestivum - Summer snowflake; snowbell
English Bluebells - Hyacinthoides nonscripta (All 3 from a Sams' package)
plus some daffodils and grape hyacinth
and choc-full of some Lycoris red 'Naked ladies' I dug out of ditches near our house.

I have no idea how the foliage will play out in that bed either, but it will be interesting!

I overplanted it with dianthus and some perennials that should fill in.

I can't wait to see how these bulbs bloom next spring!!!!!! I'm SOOOOOOOO excited about them!

Susan

Anybody who has many squirrels:An old english gardener gave me this advice which works very well indeed.
I plant the bulbs very deep, about 20" and spread on them chili pepper flakes. This year I added in half the hight- muscari.
Than I cover the lot and again have chili flakes all around.
We live in the woods, with so many squirrels. I guess one is tasting and screaming for all his friends and family to go away...

I use hot chili pepper or cayenne on the bulbs too. It seems to wear off with rain and snow. I covered the newly planted bulbs with evergreen branches this year and that seems to be protecting the bulbs from the squirrels.
Caroline Zone 3 Calgary

Hi Susan,

Well the Dutch irises here send up leaves in the fall - in fat they're a foot or so high right now...but around April 01, give or take a week, they start to bloom. The leaves go brown several weeks after blooming and look really ratty so you'll want to pull them then. Just be careful with Dutch Iris leaves as they often seem to remain firmly attched to the bulb even after yellowing - and if you "yank" them you can easily pull the bulbs up. The leaves can get two or three feet tall and are stiff, thin and wiry, and not really what I'd call attractive though they do add some interesting texture before and during bloom.

As far as planting perennials - I suppose you could do that. I mix perennials in all of my bulb beds but generally not right on top of the bulbs, but rather "interlaced" with them. Daylilies and phlox are good plants with which to do this, or even roses or peonies as long as they have sufficient room. Let's see what you decide to do!

I have never planted Fritillarias but i am thinking of picking up one or two at one of the garden centers and planting them just to experiment, like you. Will be interesting to see how they do and I really like the big ones - "Rubra" and "Lutea"

I think your bed sounds nice - and sometimes a more random, scattered planting looks more natural and prettier than something overly formal and organized. Just my opinion though. I am eager to hear of your experiences! I plant lots of bulbs each year and have many that perennialize and even naturalize - daffodils and lilies are the best at returning and multiplying. Hyacinths return pretty well for me but don't really multiple quickly. Some tulips return but as a rule I consider that one an annual. Tulips are also the only bulbs I refrigerate prior to planting.

Here is one of my beds last year with some Dutch Irises, lily stalks coming up, Sir Winston Churhill daffodils (which I have found bloom with the DI's and look really good ith them). You can see that, depending on variety, the DI's can vary quite a bit in height.

A beautiful spring bed of flowers!
When was that taken?---time of year.
Here we can not grow the Dutch Iris as they are not winter hardy here.

Thanks Steve, and thanks for the picture! I just wasn't sure about all of the foliage and timing- it isn't in any literature I found.

I am now digging the bed by hand- builders clay- oooph! It is good for my abs, though! ;-) I'll amend it with organic matter, bone meal and some compost from our pile.

Can't wait until I see some results. Yours is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Susan

Thanks you guys :-)

Well CL - at least tulips likely return well for you - we are not so lucky.

Taken April 7th, 2008.

Good luck Susan! Let us know how it goes!

This message was edited Nov 4, 2009 7:24 PM

Yes, tulips do very well here. They are not always as perennial as I would like ,but the first year they are great. And if the spring is long and slow the flowers last for some time.
Caroline zone 3 Calgary

Caroline,

You also have enough chill hours to grow honeycrisp apples and cherries; we don't.

I think every zone has it's 'perks' and its disadvantages.

Susan

Yes, each region has it's merits for gardeners.
And I suppose some drawbacks.
It is fun to hear what other regions can or can not grow successfully.
I hope that perhaps next spring we can post pics of our flowering bulbs.

Caroline