September 14, 2003|By Nancy Taylor Robson | Nancy Taylor Robson,SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Trendy is not the first word that springs to mind when you mention bulbs. Yet, flowering bulbs go in and out of fashion just as miniskirts and platform shoes do. For example, streak-petaled Rembrandt tulips were the hottest new thing in the early 1600s. Tastemakers paid the equivalent of thousands of dollars for a single bulb. They now cost about $1 each. Though the cost of flowering bulbs has gone way down and the number of varieties way up, the yen for the newest / hippest thing is unchanged.
So what's new?
As with fashion, sometimes what's old is what's new in bulbs. For example, the distinctive tassel hyacinth (Muscari comosum) with its bright lavender-blue flowers -- the newest thing for 2003 -- actually dates back virtually unchanged to 1596.
Another 2003 introduction is a new take on an old heirloom. Fritillaria persica alba 'Ivory Bells' is the striking white yin to the yang of Fritillaria persica, whose dusty dark purple bells on tall spires have been around since the mid-1700s.
"It's a perfect companion," says Jo-Anne Ohms, owner of John Scheepers Inc., a bulb company in Bantam, Conn. "The contrast puts more energy into the original persica."
Some new varieties are the result of a "sport" (a spontaneous mutation of an old favorite) that hybridizers loved and propagated. But most are hybrids that have taken years to develop and bring to market.
"Right now, you are seeing colors that are reflecting women's fashions like the oranges and bright cerise pinks," says Steve Frowine, horticulturist at Dutch Gardens in Burlington, Vt.
Bright pinks are the "in" color for a range of flowering bulbs, including traditionally yellow daffodils. This year, there is 'Delnashaugh,' a huge-flowered daffodil with brilliant white petals and a deep pink pompom at its center; 'Jubilee,' which has a dark orangy-pink cup; and 'Chromacolor,' which finishes as a lipstick pink.
"When the pink cup varieties come up and look too pale, hold on because they get darker as they get older," advises Frowine.
Another trend is multi-stemmed tulips with five blooms each, a kind of bouquet-in-a-bulb. T. 'Cloud Nine,' a multi-stemmed newcomer, is white with pinky-violet edges that bleed into the creamy petals, while multi-stemmed T. 'Antoinette' morphs colors like a slow-motion sunset.
"People marvel at it," says Debbie Van Bourgondien, owner of Van Bourgondien, a bulb and perennial company in Babylon, N.Y.
Fringed tulips, with petal edges as tattered as Annie Oakley's skirts, have hit the scene in recent years, but this season's introductions are eye-poppers. 'Cummins' is deep pink fading to icy white fringes, 'Canova' is pale cobalt blue shading to pale pink, and 'Aleppo' is a robust red / orange.
T. 'Carrousel' is a fringed Rembrandt type with French vanilla petals streaked with scarlet, and velvety-mauve T. 'Gypsy Love' is not only fringed, it's multi-stemmed.
"To appreciate the frilled edges, you need to get up close," says Ohms. "The fringed tulips are more an accent plant than one for mass plantings."
In considering where to plant bulbs of any kind, first look at their bloom time. Early tulips can be put in the middle of an empty border, where they will stand out in early spring before anything has sprouted. Then as they finish, later bulbs and perennials can obscure their foliage, which must remain untouched until it's virtually paper-bag brown to feed the bulb for next year's bloom.
Consider the height of the bloom. Short bulbs like grape hyacinth usually bloom in April but still may be hidden behind the foliage of later bulbs and perennials that are busily growing up for mid- to late-May bloom. Put short things at the front of the border.
Plant bulbs in a sunny location. Earliest blooming sun-lovers can go beneath deciduous trees that will leaf out later. When planting, dig down about 12 inches to loosen soil and encourage root growth. Frowine says one mistake is planting bulbs too shallowly.
"Plant tulips 6-8 inches or even 10 inches deep," he says. "When they're too high, they tend to produce more bulblets, rather than growing bigger and stronger."
Throw a little slow-acting bulb food -- available at garden centers and through bulb companies -- or bone meal into the hole. Plant bulbs from mid-September until the ground freezes. But most important, plant them as soon as you get them. If you must hold bulbs before planting, store in a cool dry place.
Nine new must-haves
1. Tulip 'Cummins' -- Bicolor fringed tulip with dusky pink petals.
2. Daffodil 'Pink Wonder' --Creamy white petals with ruffled pink centers.
3. Fritillaria persica alba 'Ivory Bells' --Spikes of sage-tinged white bells with tiny yellow clappers.
4. Narcissus 'Sinopel' -- A fragrant late bloomer with white petals and a green cup.
5. Tulip 'Aleppo' -- The petals are a red-orange with a paler fringed edge.
6. Daffodil 'Dottie's Dream' -- Lemon yellow with a pale apricot ruffle at the edge of a creamy cup.
