Guides / Bulbs
Bulbs
Seasonal plants grown from bulbs, corms and tubers.
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Bearded Iris
Iris germanica
How to grow bearded iris, Iris germanica. Why the rhizome needs a hot, dry summer to flower well and rots readily where summers stay humid, planting it sitting on the soil surface rather than buried, and the sap that raises a rash during division.
Blue Flag Iris
Iris versicolor
How to grow blue flag iris, Iris versicolor. Why this is the one iris that needs wet feet, planting it at a pond margin, dividing congested rhizomes, and the sap that can irritate skin and cause vomiting in pets if chewed.
Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
How to grow English bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta. Telling them from the Spanish invader, planting in the green, and why you must never cut the leaves.
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Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
How to grow chives, Allium schoenoprasum. Cutting for tender regrowth, dividing congested clumps, the edible flowers, and why a herb you can eat is dangerous to cats and dogs.
Crimson Flag Lily
Hesperantha coccinea
How to grow crimson flag lily, Hesperantha coccinea. Why it flowers into November when almost nothing else in the border still is, why it is not a true lily despite the name, and the constantly moist soil it needs to grow well.
Crown Imperial
Fritillaria imperialis
How to grow crown imperial, Fritillaria imperialis. Why its strong, musky, foxlike smell keeps rodents away from bulbs planted nearby, why the bulb has to go in on its side rather than upright, and why a mild winter with no real cold can leave it leafy but flowerless.
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Dutch Hyacinth
Hyacinthus orientalis
How to grow Dutch hyacinths, Hyacinthus orientalis. Why a forced bulb's first indoor display is never matched again, the blistering rash bulb handling can cause, and the winter chill it needs to flower well.
Dwarf iris
Iris reticulata
How to grow Iris reticulata. Planting deep enough to stop the bulbs splitting, keeping them dry in summer, and why a brilliant first year is so often followed by grass.
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Garden Tulip
Tulipa gesneriana
How to grow garden tulips, Tulipa gesneriana. Why they go in late, how deep to plant, why the second year disappoints, and how to spot tulip fire before it spreads.
Giant Allium
Allium giganteum
Practical guidance for growing giant allium, Allium giganteum, including its tall stems, dense round flower heads, deep planting, dry summer dormancy, and toxicity to pets.
Giant Snowdrop
Galanthus elwesii
How to grow giant snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii. Why dry autumn bulbs fail and planting in the green succeeds, telling it apart from the common snowdrop by its double-marked petals, and flowering as early as December.
Glory of the Snow
Chionodoxa forbesii
Practical guidance for growing glory of the snow, Chionodoxa forbesii, including naturalising in turf, planting depth, dry summer dormancy, squirrel damage, and mild bulb toxicity.
Grape hyacinth
Muscari armeniacum
How to grow grape hyacinths, Muscari armeniacum. Planting depth, why the leaves appear in autumn and look untidy all winter, and how to stop it taking over.
Guernsey Lily
Nerine bowdenii
How to grow Guernsey lily, Nerine bowdenii. Why the flowers appear before the leaves rather than after, why a bone-dry summer rest matters more than any winter cold, and why dividing a crowded clump sets flowering back instead of improving it.
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Madonna Lily
Lilium candidum
How to grow Madonna lily, Lilium candidum. Why it needs planting shallow and early in late summer to grow the evergreen winter rosette most lilies never form, why it prefers lime rather than merely tolerating it, and the severe risk every part poses to a cat.
Martagon Lily
Lilium martagon
How to grow martagon lilies, Lilium martagon. Why a newly planted bulb can show no growth at all for a full year, the whorled leaves that mark it out from every other lily, and the fatal risk it poses to cats.
Meadow Saffron
Colchicum autumnale
How to grow autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale. The leafless autumn flowers, why it is not saffron, the colchicine that makes it lethal and how it differs from a true crocus.
Montbretia
Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora
How to grow crocosmia, Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora. Arching sprays of orange in late summer, dividing congested corms, and why montbretia escapes into the countryside.
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Saffron Crocus
Crocus sativus
How to grow the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus. Planting the corms in summer, picking the three red stigmas at dawn, and why the spice costs what it does.
Snake's head fritillary
Fritillaria meleagris
How to grow Fritillaria meleagris. Planting the fragile bulbs on their side, naturalising in damp grass, when to cut, and the lily beetle that strips them.
Snow Crocus
Crocus chrysanthus
Practical guidance for growing snow crocus, Crocus chrysanthus, including its earliest flowering time, naturalising in turf, corm dormancy, bird and rodent damage, and mild toxicity.
Snowdrop
Galanthus nivalis
How to grow snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis. Why to plant them in the green, how to divide a clump, and how poisonous the bulbs are.
Spring Crocus
Crocus vernus
How to plant and naturalise spring crocuses. Planting depth, why the leaves must stay, why sparrows shred the yellow ones, and how to tell them from the dangerous autumn crocus.
Star of Persia
Allium christophii
Practical guidance for growing star of Persia, Allium christophii, including its huge starry flower head, short sturdy stems, dry summer dormancy, self-seeding, and toxicity to pets.
Summer Snowflake
Leucojum aestivum
How to grow summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum. Why it flowers weeks before summer starts, needs soil that never dries out even in summer unlike almost every other bulb, and why several bells hang from each stem rather than the single flower a snowdrop carries.
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