What follows bulbs

Lots of good discussion on this topic. The one suggestion that captures my
attention is growing portulaca over the bulbs... a showy low-impact annual
cover. Portulaca haven't much up a root system, so that could work well, plus the
flowers make a good season-long show until cut back by frost. And they'll
reseed year after year. How about another portulacaceae, namely Talinum. The
perennial, mildly invasive eastern USA talinum species (teretifolium,
parviflorum, et al), have almost no root at all, pull out with ridiculous ease, yet
provide a flurry of tiny magenta cups all season long.

The issue of "what follows bulbs" invites a couple other considerations:

1. If one grows a genus like allium, it's possibly to have alliums in bloom
from early spring to late autumn... natural succession. In my Allium beds,
it's difficult to be diligent enough to deadhead to prevent seedlings of various
species from mixing in, thus promoting the mix of species. So, late summer
blooming alliums (like A. stellatum) seed into beds with earlier flowering
allium or spring-flowereing-summer-dormant alliums. With careful planning however,
it would be possible to have a garden of alliums that always had bloom and
leafage, from spring to fall, yet without obvious empty spots where certain
species are dormant.

2. Share the same space with at least one other plant. I like the idea of
underplanting small trees and shrubs with bulbs, and can attest to the success
of bulbs grown in this situation. The species of tree and shrub does have an
important role, as some trees are just too surface rooted to allow sharing the
space right around the tree or shrub. I make generous "rings" around each
tree or shrub, which is mulched. I particularly like to use late-sprigging
shrubs (like Hibiscus syriacus, rose-of-sharon), allowing the crocus, frits, dwarf
tulipa, etc., to flower and ripen, enjoying their season, to be followed by
the shrub leafing out and taking the center of attention in mid to late summer.

In my experience, keeping large generous rings around trees and shrubs, well
mulched, significantly benefits the health of the woody plants growing in
them, but at the same time, provides a terrific microcosm to underplant with a
rich variety of bulbs; the bulbs able to dry out and prevented from becoming
overly sodden because of the thirsty roots of the host shrub/tree. Some trees are
too aggressive in this manner (such as Stewartia pseudocamellia), but other
more deeply rooted trees/shrubs seem to provide the perfect symbiotic
relationship (such as Magnolia, Hibiscus, Chionanthus, Oxydendron).

I uploaded 3 photos to my website taken in the yard today, in the rain,
showing the Hibiscus and Oxydendron tree rings. Normally I make webpages for
images I upload, but below are the 3 individual links direct to the JPG images. In
the 2nd picture, you'll notice lots of little green labels in the soil around
the base of Hybiscus syriacus 'Blue Bird'... the labels marking the spot for
more than a dozen crocus species, plus some allium and tulipa as well.

http://www.plantbuzz.com/buzz/shrub_rings_1a.jpg
http://www.plantbuzz.com/buzz/shrub_rings_2a.jpg
http://www.plantbuzz.com/buzz/shrub_rings_3a.jpg

Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States
antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5
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