Bulbs for Shady Places -- Part 2


© Marge Talt
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Page 2

Nov 11, 1997


I have also found that these, like Galanthus, are not really happy about being dried off for sale. So from a dozen rhizomes, you may only get a few coming up in spring. Soaking the rhizomes in lukewarm warm water overnight before planting will increase the number that show up for you in spring.

Muscari (Grape Hyacinth)

Information about Muscari, including medicinal uses from: A Modern Herbal
There are about 40 species of these bulbous perennials herbs. Muscari come in a variety of forms and colors. The most carefree and long lasting in my garden is probably Muscari armeniacum, although I can't swear to the botanical epithet as I got my bulbs so long ago. Whatever it is, it's the deep blue flowered variety most commonly found in fall bulb catalogs and garden centers. This one is happy in sun or part shade and seeds with abandon. They also increase by offsets. The foliage starts to emerge in early fall and persists all winter, so you have to be a bit careful where you put them.
More information on and photos of:
There's a white flowered variety, Muscari botryoides alba (White Grape Hyacinth) that is very similar in form to the common one. I've not grown this yet and really have to remember to order some next year.

One I have tried, and liked a great deal, although it didn't like me well enough to stick around was Muscari plumosum (Plume Grape Hyacinth or Feather Hyacinth). This is an incredibly neat plant. It gets a bit taller than M. armeniacum or M. botryoides, but is otherwise similar in habit, although blooming a bit later in mid-spring. My clump lasted only a couple of years. I need to try it again. This is actually a cultivar of M. comosum from Western Europe and North Africa. It's supposedly hardy from USDA zones 2 to 10, so it should have been hardy for me. Do any of you have experience with this one?

There are still more bulbs for shady places. I'll tell you about some of them next time. See ya' later.

MORE LINKS

  • If you have a bulbous plant and you don't know what it is, the International Bulb Society can help you. This site is rich in bulb information, including a good bulb FAQ

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages
8.   Nov 14, 1997 5:49 PM
Barbara,

Veerrryy interesting! I would have thought they'd have rotted, too, under those circs. Just goes to show you. Now, I bet if I tried to put some in a really soggy spot, they'd rot in a f ...

-- posted by Marge_Talt
7.   Nov 14, 1997 1:09 AM
It fills up and drains away but stays soggy at times. The second year they were there it was WET as in way too slurpy muddy to dig all spring and then continued to stay muddy all summer -- that was t ...

-- posted by Cottage_Garden
6.   Nov 13, 1997 9:20 PM
Barbara,

Hmmm...sounds like the underlying muscari color (purplish blue) is a dominant gene. I think we both need to get some -- you to see if they are more interesting that the first time and me ...

-- posted by Marge_Talt
5.   Nov 13, 1997 5:53 AM
Marge, it was a long time ago, but I think they were a purplish sort of gray. I was expecting clean white (I said it was a long time ago! way back when before I realized white could mean many differ ...

-- posted by Cottage_Garden
4.   Nov 12, 1997 11:08 PM
Barbara,

I wish I knew! What I read didn't say anything about the degree of dampness wanted, just that they liked it damp. Now, where I've tried them has been under oak trees and the areas get pr ...

-- posted by Marge_Talt



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