Save time in your garden next year with naturalizing
Naturalizing refers to establishing a plant in a new area where it will grow and thrive and expand without care. Naturalized plants settle in to return each year, increasing in number over time. They tend to be informal plantings due to the very nature of naturalizing, and for that reason the favored locations for naturalizing bulbs are lightly wooded areas, lawns that are not bombarded with fertilizers and chemicals, and rock gardens. (The term "bulbs" is used loosely here, to include rhizomes, tubers and corms).
Daffodils are far and away one of the most popular garden subjects. A few standout varieties for naturalizing include:
Smaller cupped daffodils
Actaea
Barrett Browning
Cheerfulness
Yellow Cheerfulness
Thalia, sometimes called the Orchid-flowered narcissus.
Large cupped daffodils
Carlton
Flower Record
Ice Follies
Professor Einstein
Salome
Dwarf or miniature daffodils
February Gold
Hawera
Jack Snipe
Minnow
Peeping Tom
Tête à Tête
Jet Fire
Large Trumpet daffodils
Dutch Master
King Alfred
Mount Hood
Daffodil foliage doesn't ripen until lawn grass is high, making them less suitable for naturalizing in the suburban lawn. A better place for naturalized daffodils is on the edge of a woodland or along a fence where the grass can be allowed to grow into late spring while the daffodil foliage fades into dormancy naturally.
Small early-flowering species of bulbs are well suited to lawns because they grow about the same height as the grass blades and the bulb foliage fades out almost imperceptibly just about the same time that a first mowing is needed.
Versatile small bulbs that do well in lawns include snowdrops (Galanthus), grape hyacinths (Muscari), winter aconites (Eranthis), glory of the snow (Chionodoxa), striped squill (Puschkinia scilloides), and Siberian squill (Scilla). Be forewarned: in the Chicagoland area, Siberian squill will easily colonize large lawns and woodlands and may turn out to be more than you've bargained for. A good place to witness "scilla gone wild" is off Route 31, in west-suburban Geneva's Fabyan Forest Preserve where in any given spring the entire grounds turn a brilliant shade of sky blue. Spanish Bluebells (Scilla campanulata) are a bit taller and less vigorous than Siberian squill.
Crocuses are generally carefree and well behaved. Some of the best varieties for naturalizing:
Barr's Purple
Blue Pearl
Jeanne d'Arc
Remembrance
Ruby Giant
Dog-Toothed Violet (Erythronium) and Camassia are nice native plants to try in a partly shaded location.
Tulips in general are not the best choice for naturalizing since our summer climate does not promote tulip bulb growth. Most hybrids are considered short-lived perennials in Chicago gardens; however many species tulips are reliably persistent from year to year and should be tried for naturalizing. These include varieties of Tulipa clusiana (Lady Jane; chrysantha), T. greigii (Maria Christina; Red Riding Hood), T. kaufmanniana (Waterlily tulip), T. praestans (Fusilier; Moondance) and T. tarda.
Other bulbs worth trying:
Guinea Hen Flower (Fritillaria)
Ornamental onions (Allium)
Dwarf iris
Crested iris
Plant bulbs in mid-fall for flowers the following spring. Smaller bulbs look best in naturalized groups of at least 50 and larger bulbs in tapering drifts of 25 or more. Scatter the bulbs on the ground and plant them where they land. Most require good drainage and do well in somewhat sandy or gritty soils.
As any form of gardening, naturalizing has its occasional challenge or two.
• Unusually early hot weather can force spring bulbs into early dormancy, before they've had a chance to replenish their food stores.
• Soggy soil can be deadly for bulbous plants. However, Camassia actually prefers a moist to wet organic soil.
• Lawn mowing, if started before the bulb foliage has died back naturally, can reduce the vigor of naturalized bulbs.
• Lawn treatments, especially weed killers and Preen. Forget about naturalizing anything except lawn grass if using these products.
• Friendly neighbors who use lawn chemicals. Try to establish a dialogue and/or a physical barrier. Landscape cloth or a painter's canvas drop cloth stapled to the lower half of a privacy fence can help reduce the drift of chemicals onto your property. Berms will help divert runoff from their yard away from your garden.
• Voles, chipmunks, mice all occasionally dig up and feast on your bulbs. On a good day, they assist the naturalizing process by reburying the bulbs in a new location.
• Turf grass that is very thick and very healthy may make it difficult for smaller bulbs to compete and spread.
A naturalized swath of spring bulbs is a truly welcome sight that first year after planting and given a thoughtful selection and proper planting the drifts of flowers will grow bigger and better every year.
• Beth Gollan is a horticulturist affiliated with The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. Call (630) 293-1040 or visit planterspalette.com.