When you shop for bulbs, you’ll see some labeled as âgood for naturalizing.â This means that they can be counted on to come up year after year, and spread informally throughout your garden. The following spring- and summer-flowering bulbs are reliably perennial in habit. Plant bulbs in autumn.
(Average blooming periods in parentheses.)
Alliums
Require sun. They can also manage on the sunny edges of woods.
Allium aflatunense — Ornamental garlic (summer)
Allium giganteum — Giant onion (summer)
Allium karataviense — Turkestan onion (summer)
Allium moly — Lily leek or golden garlic (summer)
Allium neapolitanum — Naples onion, daffodil garlic, flowering onion (summer).
Allium oreophilum — Ornamental garlic (early summer)
Allium sphaerocephalon — Drumsticks, ballhead onion, round-headed garlic (summer). The best allium for naturalizing.
Anemones
Need sun and are beautiful in borders.
Anemone blanda âBlue Shades’ — Greek anemone, windflower (spring)
Anemone blanda Mixed — Windflower mixed (spring)
Anemone blanda âPink Star’ — Windflower (spring)
Anemone blanda âWhite Splendour’ — Windflower (spring)
Crocuses
Come in a wide range of colors and will spread quickly.
Crocus ancyrensis — Golden bunch crocus (late winter/early spring)
Crocus âBlue Bird’ — Botanical crocus (early spring)
Crocus âBlue Pearl’ — Botanical crocus (early spring)
Crocus Botanical Mixed — Species crocus (early spring)
Crocus âE. P. Bowles’ — Botanical crocus (early spring)
Crocus âCream Beauty’ — Botanical crocus (early spring)
Crocus âJeanne d’Arc’ — Dutch crocus (spring/early summer)
Crocus âPickwick’ — Dutch crocus (spring/early summer)
Crocus purpureus grandiflorus — Dutch crocus (spring/early summer)
Crocus âRemembrance’ — Dutch crocus (spring/early summer)
Crocus âRuby Giant’ — Botanical crocus (late winter/early spring)
Crocus âWhitewell Purple’ — Botanical crocus (late winter/ early spring)
Crocus Yellow — Dutch crocus (spring)
Irises
Don’t naturalize in a competitive area.
Iris danfordiae — Dwarf iris (late winter)
Iris reticulata âHarmony’ — Dwarf iris (early spring)
Iris latifolia — English iris, can cover whole yard (early summer)
Muscari
Tolerate late snowfalls and work well with crocuses.
Muscari armeniacum — Blue spike, grape hyacinth (spring)
Muscari botryoides âAlbum’ — Grape hyacinth (spring)
Daffodils
Bring sunny colors to the garden before the taller tulips are in bloom.
Narcissus âActaea’ — Small-cupped daffodil (late spring)
Narcissus âBarrett Browning’ — Small-cupped daffodil (midspring)
Narcissus âBirma’ — Small-cupped daffodil (midspring)
Narcissus âCarlton’ — Large-cupped daffodil (midspring)
Narcissus âFebruary Gold’ — Botanical daffodil (early spring)
Narcissus âFlower Record’ — Large-cupped daffodil (midspring)
Narcissus âFortune’ — Large-cupped daffodil (midspring)
Narcissus âHawera’ — Botanical daffodil (late spring)
Narcissus âIce Follies’ — Large-cupped daffodil (midspring)
Narcissus âJack Snipe’ — Botanical daffodil (early to midspring)
Narcissus âMinnow’ — Botanical daffodil (early spring)
Narcissus âMount Hood’ — Trumpet daffodil (midspring)
Narcissus âPeeping Tom’ — Botanical daffodil (early spring)
Narcissus âSalome’ — Large-cupped daffodil (midspring)
Narcissus âSuzy’ — Botanical daffodil (midspring)
Narcissus âTete a Tete’ — Botanical daffodil (early spring)
Tulips
Hard to naturalize. You must be cultivar-specific in choosing those you plant, as only certain ones will work. The following are recommended for a naturalized setting.
Tulipa âCandelaâ — Botanical tulip (early spring)
Tulipa âOrange Emperorâ— Botanical tulip (midspring)
Tulipa âDon Quichotteâ— Triumph tulip (midspring)
Tulipa âKees Nelisâ— Triumph tulip (midspring)
Tulipa âPraestans Fusilierâ— Botanical tulip (early spring)
Tulipa âPrincepsâ— Botanical tulip (early spring)
Tulipa âPurissimaâ— Botanical tulip (early spring)
Tulipa âRed Emperorâ— Botanical tulip (early spring)
Tulipa âRed Riding Hoodâ— Botanical tulip (midspring)
Tulipa âTorontoâ— Botanical tulip (early spring)
These showy, lilyflowering tulips will also spread:
Tulipa âAladdinâ— (late spring)
Tulipa âBalladeâ— (late spring)
Tulipa âMaytimeâ— (late spring)
Tulipa âRed Shineâ— (late spring)
Tulipa âWhite Triumphatorâ— (late spring)
Darwin hybrid tulips such as these are great multipliers:
Tulipa âApeldoornâ— (midspring)
Tulipa âApeldoorn’s Eliteâ— (midspring)
Tulipa âBeauty of Apeldoornâ— (late spring)
Tulipa Darwin Hybrid Mixed— (mid- to late spring)
Tulipa âGolden Apeldoornâ— (midspring)
Tulipa âHolland’s Glorieâ— (late spring)
Tulipa âOxfordâ— (midspring)
Tulipa âStriped Apeldoornâ— (late spring)
Also Good for Naturalizing
Brodiaea — Star flower (early summer)
Camassia cusickii — Quamash, Cusick camass (late spring)
Chionodoxa gigantea — Glory-of-the-snow (early spring). Need sun.
Chionodoxa luciliae — Glory-of-the-snow (early spring). Need sun.
Colchicum autumnale — Meadow saffron (autumn). Need sun.
Erythronium — Dog-toothed violet (spring). Good in shade.
Fritillaria meleagris — Guinea hen flower (spring). Very good at naturalizing.
Galanthus nivalis — Common snowdrop (late winter/early spring)
Ornithogalum umbellatum — Star of Bethlehem (early summer). Good in shade with some sun.
Puschkinia libanotica — Striped squill (spring)
Scilla campanulata Mixed — Spanish bluebells (spring)
Scilla siberica — Siberian squill (spring)
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