March 2023 Spring Bulbs and Flowers
This is a short commentary on some of the most popular bulbs for spring planting in our area. Some are grown in the yard some may be planted in pots in the house. They range in size from a foot to six feet, or more. All are growable in our planting zone. Typically, all will require moist, well drained soil and may be overwintered in place outside. Most will require full sun – which is typically defined as at least 6 hours of direct sun during the day. Most of these, even if they do not have full sun, will still bloom but the best colors and growth will require full sun. You should also realize that the morning sun is weaker than the afternoon sun.
Of the plants shown the following are their sun requirements. I have also attached a link to a web site which will give detailed descriptions of these plants.
Full Sun Partial Sun Shade Dappled
Amaryllius Amaryllius
Begonia Begonia
Caladium Caladium
Calla Lily Calla Lily
Canna Lily
Dahlia
Day Lily
Hosta
Gladiolus
Most of these flower bulbs are available locally. You will certainly find all of these online as well. Now is the time of the year when most vendors will have their best selections and prices. All of these I have planted at some point in time.
Gladioli are the one flower I have enjoyed the most. Gladioli are stunning, growing to a height of five feet with large spikes of colorful flowers. About every four years I dig all of mine up and remove the small corms that form on the old bulbs (corms) and replace the bulbs that die off. You will have to stake your flower stalks, or they will be falling over. I have bamboo available and use the stalks to cut my stakes from.
Amaryllis are easily grown in the yard or in pots to be used in the house. Using cuttings/chips you can clone your amaryllis bulbs. This takes time but you do get a clone of the original bulb.
At one-point I lived in Kentucky and had some gorgeous Hosta’s with leaves as large as a dinner plate! There are a few Hosta’s that do very well here but they are not the larger varieties. They do make a great understory flower.
Dahlias, canna lilies, day lilies do well here, and you will see them in a number of yards in Fairhope. You will probably have to stake your dahlias. Canna lilies and day lilies are, generally, strong enough that do not need staking.
Caladium you will find make great border plants for a yard. I have found that they will probably need to be replanted about every three years.
You will find other flower bulbs at various vendors as you browse the web that may strike your fancy. Try them out see how you like them and grow them again, plant them in your yard, put them in pots and gift them to others.