Summer bulbs, summer beauty, summer fun!

Often when we think of bulbs, we think of planting spring flowers like daffodils, tulips and crocus in the fall of the year. However, there are many beautiful flowers that are planted in the spring for summer flowers and are dug up and stored before a freeze.

GLADIOLUS

These easy to grow flowers are tall and stately and bloom in a range of colors and bi-colors. They can grow to three or four feet and have trumpet like flowers up and down a long stalk. Planted a week apart, Glads will bloom for a long period. In the past I did not like Glads because I felt they looked too stiff and formal, but with time I’ve learned to like these majestic flowers. They are hardy in zones 7 to 10 and need full sun. In zones 7 and below, they need to be dug up and stored for the winter months.

CALADIUM

Caladiums are one of my favorite bulbs to brighten up dark shady areas of my garden. They are great for containers and added to pots of other shade loving plants like begonias. While they have a small white flower, they are grown for their wildly colorful variegated leaves. The colorful leaves are as nice as any flowering plant. They love heat and humidity and give your garden a tropical flair. They are a tropical plant and need to be dug up and stored for the winter.

CANNA

While more of a root or a rhizome, these tall tropical looking plants are planted in the spring after the ground has warmed up. They are available in a variety of colorful and variegated leaves and produce flowers in a range of colors on the top of the plants. Canna grow 2 to 8 feet tall depending on the variety. You can find them with green, nearly black, red, and variegated foliage. Some feel they resemble banana plants and definitely give a tropical feel to your garden. Often during the summer, the roots will multiply, adding to the number of your plants that you can share with your gardening friends. They need to be removed from the garden and stored for the winter.

DAHLIA

These incredibly beautiful flowers are planted as root clumps in the spring. They range from small potted plants to tall six feet tall plants with flowers as large as dinner plates. They are available in a huge range of colors and bi-colors. People who grow Dahlias often seem to become addicted to these amazing flowers and can’t stop buying and adding them to their garden! They grow best in moist soil and full sun. They are hardy to zones 7 and upward. Zones 6 and below, they need to be dug up in the fall and stored for the winter.

PEACOCK ORCHID

These bulbs, part of the Glad family, produce nicely scented, white flowers with dark burgundy centers. They have long sword like foliage and some people feel the flowers resemble orchids. They bloom in late summer and like full sun. They are hardy in zones 7 to 10. Below zone 7 they need to be dug up in the fall and stored for the winter.

TUBER BEGONIA

There are a wide variety of Begonias. Tuber Begonia grows from a fleshy tuber that is often planted in hanging baskets. They produce non-stop rose like flowers in a range of colors that bloom from mid-summer to fall. They do well in shady areas and enjoy the heat and humidity of warm summers. They are hardy in zones 9 to 11 and below zone 9 need to be brought in for the winter.

RAIN LILY

These small flowers only grow one to two feet tall. In their natural environment in S.E. US, Central and S. America, they bloom after heavy rains. They bloom in a variety of colors and do well in containers. As with other tropical bulbs, they need to be dug up and stored for the winter.

PERUVIAN DAFFODIL

These exotic beauties are sometimes referred to as a summer daffodil. They produce fragrant white or yellow flowers with a trumpet center and six spidery flower petals. They grow up to two feet tall and bloom in mid-summer. They are hardy in zones 8 to 10. Below zone 8 they need to be dug up and overwintered indoors.

Be a little adventurous this summer and try some of these unique and beautiful plants. They are worth all the effort of having to dig them up and storing them for the winter, and will reward you with amazing beauty year after year!

Image by Jan Haerer