Bulbs for Continental climates, Upper Midwest--TOW
Russell Stafford, Odyssey Bulbs (Wed, 23 Apr 2003 07:22:45 PDT)

I second Mark McDonough's remarks on behalf of species tulips. As with
many of our bulbs, we grow a sampling of these in standard black poly
nursery containers and a standard coarse commercial potting mix, to verify
their identity. They stay under cover the first winter, but after that are
largely on their own, protected from the cold only by snow and from the
heat only by dappled shade, and fertilized and weeded rarely if ever. Yet,
they often rebloom in following years (species that have done so include T.
schrenkii, T. tarda, T. vvedenskyi, T. greigii, and T. agenensis). In the
ground, T. praestans, T. kaufmanniana, and other species persist and bloom
for at least several years. I will be testing many species over the next
few years.

A few comments on "marginally hardy" bulbs. Eucomis autumnalis and
Zantedeschia aethiopica 'Green Goddess' have wintered here for several
years. I'm certain some Agapanthus would, but I haven't tried them --
yet. Galtonia candicans winters and makes a good
summer-bloomer. Cardiocrinum giganteum has flowered here, weathering our
late spring frosts and summer heat. Quite a few others I'd like to discuss
-- perhaps later when I have a little more time.

Keep in mind that we're in the lea of Lake Michigan, with USDA zone 6
temperatures and lake-effect cloud-cover and snow.

Russell

Russell Stafford
Odyssey Bulbs
8984 Meadow Lane, Berrien Springs, Michigan
269-471-4642
http://www.odysseybulbs.com/