The last word on summer bulbs

Gardening

with

Bronwyn

Hodgson

THIS week's column brings us to the end of the series on summer flowering bulbs which should be available in most gardening outlets by now, and which can be planted right away in the warm-winter regions, and from about September in the areas which experience winter frosts.

Up to now we have dealt with sun-lovers, and there are still two which I will start with today, and thereafter we will deal with the shade or semi-shade lovers.

Tigridias have large, interesting flowers with very delicate petals, and thrilling colour variations within each flower.

They are considered a delicacy by moles, so ensure that they are well protected by using bulb baskets (available at most nurseries and garden centres) or line the bed with fine bird mesh before planting.

They grow to about 30cm in height and it is a good idea to provide them with some form of support in windy areas.

Zephyranthes are delightful little bulbous sun-lovers which multiply readily by self seeding.

The type which is available in bulb form is quite tall -- about 30cm, but there are various other varieties which you may be able to get from a friend, which may be very short -- 20cm or so -- or even taller than 30cm.

They may be pink or white, and while those available in bulb form have flattened strappy leaves, there are also some with narrow almost tubular leaves -- these are often incorrectly referred to as Crocus.

Everyone knows Montbretias -- those bright orange flowers with flat, iris-like leaves which pop up all over the garden in sunny or shady spots.

Those which pop up all over the place have relatively small flowers, but if you get new bulbs you will find the colour more intense, and the flowers larger.

I have seen bulbs of Montbretias which were brought over from Holland which are not uniform in colour, but streaked with yellow and brown.

They are easy to grow and pop up year after year, providing very valuable vase material, and brightening up both sunny and shady spots. The flowers do not loose their colour when they die, and this makes them valuable additions to pot pourris.

The Pineapple Lily, Eucomis, is a lovely bulbous plant for shady or sunny spots, which is sadly under-utilised in South African gardens.

They are tall growers, reaching heights of 75cm or so, and although the flowers are not brightly coloured, there are subtle variations of pale creamy green, bluish green and pinkish green.

The flower heads themselves are quite large --roughly red-hot poker size -- but the individual flowers, which attract bees and butterflies, are very small.

Amaryllis are well known by all with their larger-than-life, satiny-petalled blooms with long, yellow pollen tipped stamens in the centre.

They are ideal in pots, and may be kept in sun or shade where they will usually have only one flower stem the first season, and thereafter two per bulb.

If you repot regularly so that there is room for development of the bulb, the plants will multiply, and you will soon have fairly substantial plants which will produce multiple flower heads.

You may also separate the new bulbs from the parent bulbs to fill more containers. As with all bulbs, do not cut off the leaves and old flower stems as soon as they start to flop -- the plant will re-absorb most of the nutrients in them as it dies off. Keep Amaryllis dry in winter, and remember to start watering again in spring.

If you've never tried bulbs, give it a go this season -- you will not be sorry.