Best Dutch Bulb Selections for 2012

This post is a little later than planned but there is plenty of time left to order and plant Dutch bulbs, but here goes.  I can think of no better antidote for this miserable year than enjoying yourself laughing with joy in your heart while buying some foolproof Dutch bulbs as if to say “You can’t get keep me down, I will win with spring bulbs”. It works for me anyway. What about you?

Heirloom is all the rage. But the people who were into heirloom before heirloom was cool can be found at Old House Gardens. The fascinating thing about OSG is they have researched when said bulb was introduced and normally a few little more insights. Scott has trolled the world looking for heirlooms and more importantly finding suppliers. You can have a ball reading all the descriptions. Here are a few tantalizing delicacies:

Broken Tulips were featured in the Old Masters paintings from the 1600s (Left).  According to Maureen Gildmore from the Yardsmart blog, these tulips are broken, diseased and  infectious. What makes the colors break and lead to the feathering and flame designs? Our good old friend the aphid carries a benign virus that breaks the colors of the flower without harming the bulb.  Until recently, the only tulips that poorly simulated the broken are referred to as Rembrandt tulips. Ironic because Rembrandt hardly ever painted flowers. But the broken are so more dramatic. Until recently, any tulip that carried anything that looked like the virus were destroyed.  I asked Scott at OSG to see what changed to allow him to offer the bulbs. He said he gets the bulbs from the Hortus Bulborum garden in The Netherlands that is preserving over 2,500 bulbs mostly commercially extinct. Can you fathom that kind of commitment to heirlooms. The  Bulborum works with growers who have special permission to grow the bulbs and they must be grown in small plots far away from other fields. So these are very, very special bulbs. Scott warns not to plant near other tulips or asiactic lillies.

Most of the broken varieties at OHG have already sold out.  Insulinde  is one exception because there was an unusual bumper crop so they received 1,000 bulbs offering them at 1/3 the price at $4.50. Yes most of them are around $15 a bulb. I’d love to see Insulinde because it starts out yellow feathered with rose and transforms into white flamed with purple. See what I mean about wanting so see it. Since I started this post Insulinde is now sold out. You’ll have to wait next year to pay $90 for 6 bulbs. Yikes but if I had the money, I’d have to buy a few. ‘Silver Standard’ is the last broken tulip in stock. It’s a  beautiful white with the red feathering typical for broken tulip bulbs. Also what’s typical is the  high price of $12.50 a bulb,

My major purpose this fall was a dramatic, I mean dramatic grouping of three types of black bulbs named befittingly the Black Blend. By black I mean so dark purple it appears black from a distance . It includes Queen of the Night that I’ve been growing since I was a teenager. That’s over 30 years ago so that’s my longest relationship for a plant or woman.  Is that cool or pathetic? Also included is a double peony form name Black Hero.And the star of the dramatic evening is the tri-color blended Gavato which is rich purple laced with yellow and white. Can’t wait to see all rich purple at the entrance to my nursing home.

I’ve received the John Scheepers catalogs but never peaked my interest enough to take a a look.  So I was not prepared for the depth and breadth of their product offering.   I want to focus on one thing that is close to my heart which are species tulips. These are the petite tulips which hybridizers over many years have used to create today’s modern tulips. The typical catalog may offer 5 or 6 choices including Tulipa bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’ and T. humilis ‘Persian Pearl’ . I’ve grown and love the small white flower with a blue steel base with the longest name of T. humilis alba coerulea oculata. And the steel blue description is totally accurate.

But JS offers another 23 selections. While sold separately, the image at left is of ‘Little Beauty’ and ‘Little Princess’.  I can just see the two greeting you by the front porch on an early March morning, even better with a touch of snow on the ground. Most selections are only 5-6″, so a high traffic area by an outside door is the way to go.

htpp://www.johnscheepers.com

White Flower Farm has an impeccable  product line and commitment to customer service typically at a price. They have a charming  mix of so called minor bulbs titled Rhapsody in Blue. This smashing mix includes two types of grape hyancinths, anemone blanda, chionodoxa, iris riticulata and others. This mix could also be used in the woodland garden but my creatives juices are a flowing thinking of its use as an under planting for daffodils or early flowering yellow tulips. Priced at $33  for 100 bulbs, the bloom time covers from mid-April through early June at their company HQ in Vermont. Trying to under plant that many bulbs is not for the novice gardener. Please let me know of any results.

Also from WFF is an exciting  new double late tulip named ‘Champagne Diamond’ with such an unusual color. As per the typical WWF signature descriptions, the color is described as a silvery, old rose tint and the creamy hue of a cafe latte macchiato. Beware newness in tulips has its price at  $14.95 for 6 bulbs.

http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com

Over at Van Bourgondien (dutchbulbs.com), you’ll find some interesting allium or ornamental onion. I’ve grown and am a big fan of Allium schubertii that is a volleyball-sized, loose, spidery, rose-purple flower with star-shaped florets on stalks uneven in lengths. Coming in at a height of 2′, schubertii flowers in June-July. I like that height for wind considerations. Some of the large show stopper varieties such as ‘Globemaster’,  which I think are gaudy, come in at heights of 4′ plus and are at disaster waiting to happen in our cruel Midwest winds.

Also at VB you’ll find a workhorse of a bulb in Allium aspchaerocephalon, or more appropriately known as the Drumstick Allium which must be planted in groupings of no less than 9 bulbs to be effective. The wiry stems reach 18-30″ tall with grass like foliage and a little larger than a quarter sized, dark maroon bloom heads of tightly held florets blooming in early to mid summer. Works well coming out of low growing perennials such as short daylillies. It’s a long lasting perennial that spreads by little bulblets and is priced at 18 for $5.  So at that cost you can be generous  spreading Drumsticks among perennial plantings.

http://www.dutchbulbs.com

I haven’t forgotten about daffodils but there not my favorites because of the dry down factor.  All bulbs need to grow out after blooming to create energy for next year’s flowers. Tulips foliage dies quickly and is not that unsightly especially when planted around perennials or under planted with annuals. Daffodils however are just a mess and the total dry down can take up to one month. And decorative braiding or tying together is not a recommended practice as it does not allow the foliage to effectively photosynthesize and build up energy for next year’s bulb. So bottom line, plant daffodils in perennial places where the dying material is covered up by surrounding perennial foliage Amongst daylillies is an excellent standby option.

Brent & Becky’s in CT have been the daffodil experts for over thirty years now. B&B ‘s biggest weakness is it’s one of the worst designed web presences out there. Based on all that, I’ll share with you two nontraditional daffodils. I’ve grown Sir Winston Churchill’  which is as B&B puts it “a sturdy name for a sturdy plant”. Each stem holds 3-5 silver dollar-sized creamy white flowers with unpredictable orange flecks. But what’s its biggest claim to fame is its incredible fragrance. When he opens up, you know it.  It’s priced at $4.72 for 5 bulbs, so at a buck a piece, don’t be shy about using him in the right location.

My last selection from B&B is the white and salmon flowered ‘Reggae’. Where does a pastel colored daffodil come up with a name like Reggae? We’ll never know but regardless this is one beautiful bulb. With white petals and a salmon cup, Reggae doesn’t scream I’m here like good old ‘King Alfred’. It’s simply charming and does work well with lavender or purple tulips. I think you’ll enjoy ‘Reggae’

http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com

McClure & Zimmerman is another one of my favorite bulb companies and I really like the of the Burning Heart Darwin Tulip.  Often described as a Rembrandt tulip as discussed at the top of this post.

I love to  see  bulbs that have been naturalized in settings. Naturalizing means plantings that are randomly distributed in garden or woodland settings, This look is achieve by scattering the bulbs by tossing them in the air and planting them where they land. I had some fun with crocus I naturalized in the lawn. They bloom and the foliage dies down before the first delayed lawn mowing. ‘Ice Follies’ is the most common and highly recommended daffodil selection for this approach. M&Z also offers three other varieties they recommend for this purpose.

http;//www.mzbulb.com

So hopefully this little (I guess by now, it’s not little) roundup might help you with some selection this fall. But I can think of no better antidote for this miserable year than enjoying yourself laughing with joy in your heart while buying some foolproof Dutch bulbs.