over-enthusiastic bulbs

gentian21 gentian21@comcast.net
Mon, 05 May 2008 14:00:51 PDT
Star of Bethlehem has to be the worst.  I got "free" bulbs with a bulb order 
50 years ago and didn't like it at all so tried to get rid of.  I still have 
some.  Every time I see a bloom in the garden I stop what I am doing and 
pull bloom off.  I know of a garden (former, LOL) that people think it is a 
lawn even though there is no grass at all.  Squill is  one that takes over 
before you can even decide if you want it.  My favorite weedy bulb is 
Corydalis solida.  It can have the whole neighborhood as far as I am 
concerned.  If only Cyclamen would do that for me. The only other one that I 
consider a weed is Pinellia.  I really don't consider anything a weed unless 
you can't remove them or they spread to the neighbors yard.  So something 
like Corydalis lutea is easy to pull to keep the ones where you want them.
Frank Cooper
central Illinois, zone 5b

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Diane Whitehead" <voltaire@islandnet.com>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 3:01 PM
Subject: [pbs] over-enthusiastic bulbs


> We have lists of bulbs that do well with no fussing, bulbs that won't
> do well even if you do fuss a bit, and now, how about bulbs that over-
> extend themselves?
>
> Sometimes these are ones that are difficult to get started, like lily-
> of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) and Peruvian lily (Alstroemeria
> aurantiaca).  Once they decide to grow, however, they're off!
>
> Some produce copious seed and offsets, like Spanish bluebells
> (currently Hyacinthoides hispanica, I think) and various Muscari.
>
> I don't think any bulbs invade natural areas on their own, though
> Alstroemeria can explode their seedpods and shoot their seeds a short
> distance. The more usual method of invasion is by tidy gardeners who
> have been observed trundling wheelbarrow loads of them into the
> woods.  Once there, they spread.
>
> So - what bulbs would you warn against in your area?
>
> Diane Whitehead
>
>
>
>
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