Gardening : Early Start Needed for Fall-Blooming Bulbs : Many varieties are stocked by nurseries, but others have to be special ordered.
Too early to think about bulbs? Not really, because there are bulbs that begin blooming next month and must be planted soon. These are fall-blooming bulbs, some common at nurseries, but others uncommon enough to require ordering by mail, which means you must act soon if they are to be in the ground in time.
The most common of the fall-flowering bulbs are the colchicums. These fat bulbs will bloom before they are even planted, so determined are they to do so in autumn. In fact, that is how many people grow them, sitting bare as a baby on a windowsill where they will send up several flowers that look like huge pink crocus blossoms.
In the garden they should be covered with 3 inches of soil, according to Southern Californian George Harmon Scott in his book “Bulbs, How to Select, Grow and Enjoy” (HP Books: $7.95). I have only planted them outside once and snails quickly devoured them, but I would be delighted to hear of more successful plantings.
Becoming more common at nurseries are the saffron crocus ( Crocus sativus ), the bulbs from which that precious spice is harvested. These were as easy to grow in the garden--for me--as the colchicums were frustrating. They are one of those bulbs that comes back year after year as long as they are planted where they do not sit in soggy ground during summer, when they are dormant.
Harvests Saffron
In my own garden they have faithfully returned for three years now and each fall I harvest enough saffron to make a paella or two and some golden arroz con pollo. What you harvest is quite small (and when dried, even smaller), but you can’t miss them--they’re colored vermilion-red against the soft lavender-purple of the petals and botanically are the “styles.”
Don’t disfigure the flower by picking them the first day or two, but wait for the flower to fade and then make your harvest. Pluck the styles from the flower and let them dry for a couple of weeks and store tham in a glass vial. Flowers only last a day or two, but are replaced by more, and the whole show goes on for about a month.
I grow mine in the 2-inch gaps between stepping stones and at the base of some plundered San Gabriel River rocks that are scattered along the garden paths, which help mark their location when dormant. Around the bulbs the soil is heavily amended with sand so it dries quickly in summer when nearby plants are getting watered. I have also grown them under a ground covering of thyme, a happy combination of herb and spice.
In a similar situation I grow several other fall-blooming crocus, the best of which is Crocus goulimyi . This little bulb is generally not to be found at nurseries but you can order them from John Scheepers (R.D. 6, Philipsburg Road, Middletown, N.Y. 10940, phone (914) 342-1135; they also carry colchicums and saffron crocus).
Easiest to Grow
Burkard Nurseries in Pasadena also has carried them in the past, as well as stocking many other fall-flowering bulbs and rare and unusual bulbs in general. Why this crocus is not commonly available is a great mystery to me because it is certainly the easiest of crocus to grow in Southern California, and crocus are the most delightful of little bulbs. Perhaps it is that tongue-twisting name.
C. goulimyi blooms for a good month in the fall, sending up wave after wave of flowers, all colored a soft lavender, though alternating petals are darker. Next it grows leaves a trifle too long (which I cut back by about half) and these go dormant in spring.
It lies quietly underground for the summer and then flowers reappear the following fall, but in the meantime it has multiplied and there are more than ever. Full sun and gritty soil are all it seems to require, just as would be found in its native habitat in southern Greece.
There are two other crocus that bloom in the fall, both available from Scheepers. Crocus salzmannii is native to southern Spain and is pale lilac with a soft yellow throat. Crocus speciosus ‘Aitchisonii’ is similar, native to Turkey and Iran. Both seem to thrive here, but I have only a year’s experience with either.
Do not think that any of these bulbs are big and showy like tulips or ranunculus, they are dainty and subtle and need a special spot in the garden plan, but in autumn they are quite noticeable because there is so little competition from other plants.
