City Gardening

Naked Ladies

Are there naked ladies in your garden? Calm down, I’m not talking about nude gardening; I’m referring to flower bulbs that bloom in the fall.Naked ladies, also called autumn crocus and known botanically as Colchicum, are bulbs that can be planted right now that will bloom this fall – unlike other hardy bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils, there’s no need to wait through the winter until next spring to see them flower.

These fall bloomers are called naked ladies because they flower without their leaves, which are produced in the spring instead of the fall. (When you see their strappy looking leaves next spring, don’t cut them down; they’re collecting energy for fall blooms.)

Autumn crocuses are very easy to grow and their waterlily-like flowers often burst from their bulbs before you can get them into the ground. Colchicums bloom in shades of lilac and pink, and there’s a white one too.

These ground-huggers look good edging a sidewalk or border where they can be admired up close. They provide a splash of fall colour under green-foliaged shrubs, such as forsythias and rhododendrons, which finish flowering in spring. Autumn crocuses also make great container plants – pop them into a pot of fading summer annuals for a fresh fall look.

But naked ladies aren’t the only bulbs that will bloom in autumn. Fall crocuses (not to be confused with autumn crocuses) provide as welcome a shot of colour as their vernal sisters. There are several different kinds to watch for in garden centres and nurseries right now, including the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) – it’s the one harvested for its stamens used in cooking – which has lovely violet-coloured flowers that contrast beautifully with its orange stamens. Another fall-blooming species is Crocus speciosus, which grows slightly taller than the saffron crocus, topping out at about 15 centimetres, and flowering with bright blue petals. There’s also a pure white form that looks great planted in drifts around shrubs. One of the hardiest of the fall crocuses is Crocus kotschyanus (also known as zonatus), which forms a carpet of lilac-lavender flowers when planted en masse.

Like all bulbs, fall bloomers require well-drained soil and they prefer lots of sunshine. Plant fall crocuses five centimetres deep; autumn crocuses (Colchicum) should sit 10 centimetres below the soil surface; and winter daffodils should be deeply planted at about 15 centimetres.