j3707
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Location: Pacific Northwest, Zone 8, 48" annual rainfall, dry summers.

Flowering bulbs - Drought Tolerant & Likes Clay Soil?

I would like to get lots of flowering bulbs planted this fall and sure would appreciate learning from all y'all's experience. I need plants that are happy in clay soil and drought tolerant. Any height is OK as I've got several spots I'll be putting these. I'm open to mass plantings of a single type and mixed plantings too.

This is for full sun all the way to full shade. Wooded space and sunny grassy space...I want these to naturalize. Spreading is very OK.

If you had your choice, what would you plant?

Thank you! 8)

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

Wow... that's a tall order. There are thousands and you haven't given us any way to narrow the choices down.

Drought tolerant and clay soil sounds like narrowing it down, but it isn't really. Most of the fall planted bulbs are drought tolerant in the sense that they are dormant in the summer and do not want any water while dormant. Clay soil you just amend with compost/ leaf mould/ peat moss while preparing your beds for planting.

Things that will do particularly well in those conditions include crocosmia, allium, daffodils/narcissus, grape hyacinth, cyclamen for shady areas, tulips (but look for the ones that say "for naturalizing")

With so little guidance, all I can say is get a good bulb catalog (I'm being inundated with them) and have fun looking at all the pretty pictures, see what appeals to you.

Since it helps me think about it to have some kind of limits, I will specifically address the shady, woodsy area. Along with cyclamen, good choices for that would be bluebells, virginia bluebells, bleeding heart, anemone, hardy begonia. All the early spring blooming stuff is good because they bloom before the trees leaf out, so dogtooth violet/ aka trout lily, snowdrops, squill, crocus, jack-in-the pulpit, winter aconite. Not all of that is specifically bulbs, but it can all be fall planted.

j3707
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Posts: 306
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:11 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest, Zone 8, 48" annual rainfall, dry summers.

Thanks rainbowgardener, that's helpful.

I won't be amending the soil, aside from putting some bone meal in the planting hole, so bulbs that can thrive in heavy clay soil are important.

I like your woodland suggestions...how about bulbs for a hillside that gets full sun?



Thanks!

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Daffodils and jonquils, grape hyacinths, (not bulbs but) irises.

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rainbowgardener
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Well, if we can quit being limited to bulbs, my top recommendation for the sunny hill side would be daylilies

They come in a million different gorgeous colors and color combinations:


Image
https://southernlivingthedailysouth.file ... ilies1.jpg

They are sun tolerant, drought tolerant, tolerant of a wide variety of soils, spread rapidly and are totally easy care. Different cultivars have different bloom times, so by planting a mix, you can have a pretty long season of bloom.

Others would be camassia, asters and golden rod for fall bloom, coreopsis. All of it is not bulbs but could be fall planted as bare root plants.

j3707
Green Thumb
Posts: 306
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:11 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest, Zone 8, 48" annual rainfall, dry summers.

Thanks for the suggestions applestar.

Rainbowgardener - I'm not getting a lot of flowers out of my daylilies (I only have a few), but they are not well established yet either. Figure it may take a few years. I sure would like to see them spread! Slugs eat my coreopsis. Shoot, they eat daylilies too come to think of it.



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