Top 50 Bulbous

The best grown from , tubers or rhizomes, to to help our pollinating insects

List Curated by Thomas McBride From research data collected and collated at the National Botanic Garden of Wales

NB: Butterflies and Moths are not studied at the NBGW so any data on nectar plants beneficial for them is taken from Butterfly Conservation Introduction

The majority of Garden Plants, excluding shrubs, are herbaceous which means they grow each year and have no lasting woody stems above ground. Bulbous plants are a subsection of herbaceous as they have significant storage organs near to the ground which remain over the plant’s dormant period; providing energy and allowing for vigourous growth the following year. Due to this adaptation, bulbous plants are often (but not always) fast growing and may be earlier flowering than their herbaceous relatives. Many bulbous plants are monocotyledonous, meaning they Potato Tuber have one sprout (cotyledon), such as . A few bulbous plants are dicotyledonous such as in the and Ranunculaceae. It is important to note that, while all significant, subterranean storage organs are known as ‘bulbs’ in horticulture, botanists distinguish true bulbs from rhizomes, and tubers. True bulbs, with the exception of some , are exclusively found in the monocots whereas Tubers and Corms tend to be such as and Anemones respectively. Rhizomes are found throughout many taxa. Planting with Bulbs – Rhizome, or Tuber – Does it matter? Bulbous Plants can be some of the easiest to grow as they require little attention once they’re established and will often spread over a large areas such as bluebells or grape hyacinths. The majority of bulbous plants prefer being planted only a few cm under the soil so light and air can easily penetrate. Botanically, whether a bulb is a true bulb, rhizome, corm or tuber, is important, but it makes little difference in horticulture to how the plant is grown. However the differences are as follows:

True Bulbs have multiple fleshy scales Corms are also modified separated by layers of epithelium tissue. underground stems but are made These layers are essentially underground from solid tissue rather than leaf- . A common example of a true bulb is like layers. Corms, such as the the onion (fig.1) which shows clear layers. crocomia (fig. 2) have nodes just The growing point of a bulb is the centre like standard underground stems. which is a modified underground stem. Key Key cormous plant families bulbous families include , include Iridaceae, Colchicaceae, Fig. 1 and some Oxalidaceae. Musaceae and some Cyperaceae Fig. 2 Planting with Bulbs – Rhizome, Corm or Tuber – Does it matter? Fig. 3 Tubers are modified lateral . Unlike bulbs and Rhizomes, also known as rootstalks, Fig. 4 corms, they will send out roots from any point of are the final sort of ‘bulb’ and are the their external surface such as Sweet Potato tubers least like a true bulb. They tend to be (fig. 3). Other examples include Dahlias and narrower than other storage organs Anemones. Tuber, in Latin, means ‘swelling’ and and are simply a partially widened tubers can also refer to tuberous stems such as underground stem. Examples include potatoes and yams. These are very thick rhizomes Irises (fig. 4), Alstroemeria, many and may produce stolons so are capable of growing grasses and also members of the both stems and roots! Stem tubers often decrease ginger family (Zingiberaceae). significantly in size following rapid growth of leaves. When growing bulbous plants, remember to allow them time to photosynthesise before cutting them back or pulling up the bulbs. Early flowering species such as Daffodils require some weeks after the have finished to obtain energy before they will naturally allow their foliage to die back. Pulling up too early each year will cause stunted growth or even blind (non-flowering) stems. Bulbs may produce bulblets which can be planted separately. Likewise, rhizomes and others may multiply and will do better if they are split and thinned out once in a while. This can be great for the gardener as you will have new plants. Map Maps depict the native area of the plant (in green) Guide to using these pages: They also show areas the plant is naturalised (in purple)

Latin Binomial All maps shown Name are derived from ‘Plants of the Common World Online’; English courtesy of Kew Name Gardens

Flowering Period Photograph (this is when it is good of the plant for pollinators!) in

Plant Family

Insect groups known to Growing habit favour the and mature size nectar of this of the plant plant

Useful knowledge or warnings about the plant RHS AGM of this species (or a related species occasionally) i Key to these Pages Warnings

Additional information on these garden plants

This plant would only be The flowers suitable for meadow-style and/or leaves planting have a Pleasant Plant tissue is highly scent toxic if ingested

The plant has edible parts that are Sap may cause irritation Plant is often used in commonly eaten or (Wash hands after touching traditional Herbal Remedies used in cooking or avoid touching)

ii Temperature RHS Hardiness Scale

Some of the plants listed in our Top 200 are not fully H1a - Above 15ºC hardy in all or some parts of the United Kingdom. H1b - Minimum 10ºC Plants without a thermometer symbol are fully hardy in the severest UK Winter; equating to H5 or hardier. H1c - Minimum 5ºC Plants with a coloured thermometer symbol are hardy to varying degrees as follows: H2 - Minimum 1ºC

H3 - Minimum -5ºC

H4 - Minimum -10ºC

H5 - Minimum -15ºC Almost Hardy Half-Hardy Not Frost Hardy Not Hardy (H4) (H3) (H2) (H1) iii Pollinators Our data on pollinators has been collected from studies spanning over a decade. Pollinator symbols appear when plants are proven to be good nectar (a) (b) plants for certain insects. It should be noted that all bee and hoverfly data is ours but lepidoptera data is taken from Butterfly Conservation.

Our data spans a wide range of different insect species. For simplicity, these species have been condensed into six easy icons to represent them: (c) (d) a) Honeybees c) Bumblebees e) Moths b) Hoverflies d) Butterflies f) Solitary Bees (Includes Moths)

(e) (f) iv caeruleum Central Asia Blue-flowered

- Species - Summer .

Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family

3ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Matt Fletcher 1 Allium hollandicum Persia Dutch Garlic, Persian Garlic

‘Purple Sensation’ Summer .

Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family

3ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Kerry Garratt 2 Mediterranean Yellow Garlic

‘Jeannine’ Summer .

Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph © Thomas McBride 3 N. America & Allium schoenoprasum Eurasia

None Summer .

Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Jakub Cabal 4 Wild Garlic, Ramsons

Europe

None Spring .

Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family

2ft Bulbous

Photograph © Thomas McBride 5 Alstroemeria x hybrida S. America Garden Peruvian-lily Complex group of hybrids of unknown parentage

Alstroemeria

‘’ ‘Sirius’ Late Summer - Mid Autumn ‘Spitfire’ ‘Tessa’

Alstroemeriaceae Peruvian-lily Family

3ft Tuberous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Terry D Lucas 6 Anemone blanda Eurasia Balkan Windflower

- Species - Spring . ‘White Splendour’

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

<1ft Tuberous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Dean Morley 7 Anemone nemorosa Wood Anemone

Europe

‘Allenii’ Spring . ‘Robinsoniana’

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

<1ft Tuberous

Photograph © Thomas McBride 8 Anemone ranunculoides Buttercup Anemone

Europe

- Species - Spring . ‘Pleniflora’

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

<1ft Tuberous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Teemu Lehtinen 9 quamash N. America Common Camassia

None Late Spring - Early Summer

Asparagaceae Family

3ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Jon D. Anderson 10 Colchicum autumnale Europe Autumn Crocus

‘Album’ Autumn . ‘Nancy Lindsay’

Colchicaceae Autumn Crocus Family

1ft Cormous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Bjorn S. 11 majalis Eurasia Lily-of-the-Valley

‘Fortin’s Giant’ Spring . -Species-

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

1ft Rhizomous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Todd Petit 12 Crocus vernus Europe Spring Crocus

‘Vanguard’ Spring .

Iridaceae Iris Family

<1ft Cormous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Andreas Rockstein 13 Crocus chrysanthus Europe Golden Crocus

‘Cream Beauty’ Late Winter - Mid Spring ‘Goldilocks’

Iridaceae Iris Family

<1ft Cormous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Andreas Rockstein 14 Caucasus & coum Levant Eastern Sowbread

- Species – Late Winter - Mid Spring Ssp. Coum

Primulaceae Primrose Family

<1ft Tuberous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Bjorn S. 15 coccinea C. America Red Dahlia

‘Bishop of Llandaff’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Happy Single series’

Asteraceae Daisy Family

3ft Tuberous Perennial

* Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy, bring Photograph from Flickr (CC) Chipmunk_1 tubers indoors in winter to rest before planting16 in Spring Dahlia imperialis C. America Tree Dahlia

None Summer .

Asteraceae Daisy Family

6ft Tuberous Perennial

* This plant will struggle to survive below -5’c night Photograph from Flickr (CC) Chipmunk_1 temperatures so plant in a sheltered spot and wrap the stems/mulch the base during the winter17 period. Dierama pulcherrimum Angel’s Fishing Rod

South Africa

None Summer .

Iridaceae Iris Family

5ft Cormous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Nick Kenrick 18 Eranthis hyemalis Europe Winter Aconite

Species Mid Winter - Early Spring ‘Guinea Gold’

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

<1ft Tuberous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Peter Stenzel 19 autumnalis Autumn -lily

S. Africa

-Species- Late Summer - Mid Autumn

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Thistle Garden 20 Common Pineapple-lily

South Africa

‘Sparkling Early Summer - Early Autumn Burgundy’

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

2ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Yew Chan 21 Fritillaria imperialis Western Asia Crown Imperial

- Species - Spring . ‘Maxima Lutea’

Liliaceae Lily Family

3ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Emma Patsie 22 Fritillaria meleagris Snake’s-head Fritillary

Eurasia

- Species - Spring . var. unicolor ‘Alba’

Liliaceae Lily Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph © Thomas McBride 23 Galanthus nivalis Europe Common Snowdrop

‘Viridapice’ Winter . -Species-

Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Allan Harris 24 Gladiolus communis Europe Eastern Gladiolus

Caucasus &

Mediterranean

Subsp. Mid Spring - Early Summer byzantinus

Iridaceae Iris Family

3ft Cormous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) John Winder 25 Hepatica nobilis Common Liverleaf

Europe

- Species - Spring .

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

1ft Rhizomous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Priit Tammets 26 sieboldiana Syn. H. fortunei Giant Blue Plantain-lily

Japan

Var. aureomarginata Summer . ‘Frances Williams’

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

2ft Rhizomous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gary Lerude 27 Blue Plantain-lily

China

- Species - Summer . ‘Aureomarginata’

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gary Lerude 28 non-scripta Europe English Bluebell

None Spring .

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Peter O’Connor 29 Middle East Garden

* ‘Aida’‘Anna Marie’ Late Winter - Mid Spring ‘Gypsy Queen’

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

1ft Bulbous

* This plant will not survive below -10’c night temperatures, protect bulbs from very harsh winter nights Photograph © Thomas McBride 30 Leucojum aestivum Europe Summer Snowflake

‘Gravetye Giant’ Spring .

Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Takashi Hososhima 31 Lilium martagon Eurasia Turk’s Cap Lily

- Species - Summer .

Liliaceae Lily Family

4ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Ralf Wimmer 32 Lilium regale Regal Lily

China

- Species - Summer .

Liliaceae Lily Family

6ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Plant Image Library 33 armeniacum Eurasia Garden Grape-Hyacinth

‘Christmas Pearl’ Early Winter - Mid Spring -Species-

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Yves Merck 34 Anatolia Broad-leaved Grape-Hyacinth

Iberia

-Species- Spring .

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Josh Egan-Wyer 35 Narcissus pseudonarcissus Europe Wild Daffodil, Lent-lily

Ssp. Pseudonarcissus Late Winter - Mid Spring ‘Dutch Master’

Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Šarunas Burdulis 36 umbellatum Europe Garden Star-of-Bethlehem

South Africa

Related Species: O. nutans Summer .

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Manuel Martin Vicente 37 Oxalis adenophylla Chilean Sour-clover

S. America

- Species - Late Spring - Early Summer

Oxalidaceae Wood-sorrel Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Diego Patillas 38 multiflorum Europe Solomon’s Seal

P. multiflorum x P. odoratum Polygonatum x Spring . hybridum

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

3ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Kerry Woods 39 Pulsatilla vulgaris Europe Common Pasqueflower

-Species- Spring .

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

1ft Rhizomous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Rainer Stropek 40 scilloides Middle East Lebanon Squill

var. libanotica Spring .

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

<1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Ingeborg van Leeuwen 41 bifolia Europe Alpine Squill

-Species- Late Winter - Early Spring

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

<1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Katya Unchik 42 Mediterranean Portuguese Squill

None Summer .

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Tim Waters 43 Eurasia Wood Squill

-Species- Late Winter - Early Spring

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

<1ft Bulbous

Photograph © Thomas McBride 44 Sisyrinchium bellum N. America Californian Blue-eyed Grass

Similar Species: Mid Spring S. Idahoense var. - Early Summer macounii ‘Album’

Iridaceae Iris Family

2ft Rhizomous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Cliff Hutson 45 Sisyrinchium striatum N. America Satin Flower

S. America

None Summer .

Iridaceae Iris Family

3ft Rhizomous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Yew Chan 46 Tricyrtis formosana Taiwanese Toad Lily

Taiwan

None Autumn .

Liliaceae Lily Family

3ft Rhizomous

Photograph © Thomas McBride 47 Tulipa gesneriana Anatolia Garden Tulip

Hundreds of Spring . Cultivars

Liliaceae Lily Family

2ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Jyll & Tom Skinner 48 Tulipa saxatilis Candia Tulip

Anatolia

‘Lilac Wonder’ Spring .

Liliaceae Lily Family

2ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Adrien 49 Tulipa urumiensis Persia Late Tulip

Central Asia

- Species – Spring . ‘Tarda’

Liliaceae Lily Family

1ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Lotus Johnson 50