Beyond Tulips: Beautiful Substitutes to Fall Planting.

As the prices of tulip bulbs have soared, and supply is dwindling because of bad harvests, a lot of gardeners are reconsidering their approach to spring bulbs this autumn. The good news? And there is a universe of beautiful spring bulbs, which are generally cheaper and more dependable than tulips, and are far more readily available. Let us consider some of the four wonderful options that should find place in any garden.

Why Not the Alternatives to Tulips?

The reason why it makes sense to branch out this year is because:

Price and supply: Tulip bulbs will be estimated to be 30-70 percent higher in 2025 and most of the popular varieties have already been out-of-stock at large suppliers.

Dependability: The majority of tulips are beautiful to flower once, and then die or die away. The options that we are discussing tend to reoccur and multiply over years.

Resistance by wildlife: Squirrels, voles and deer eat tulip bulbs. Daffodils and alliums by themselves have repellent properties to most pests.

The ability to extend the bloom time: You can have flowers all the way through February until June by planting a combination of types of bulbs as opposed to the short-lived tulip season.

Minimal upkeep: These options typically require minimal maintenance and fertilizing to appear attractive year-after-year as compared to tulips.

Daffodils: Simple and Reliable.

Daffodils are not fussy. Once planted, they will be there decades later, and in many cases, they will multiply to produce larger displays annually. They are also deer and rodent resistant- the bulbs have toxins that are not preferred by animals.

Why Daffodils Work

• Advantages over tulips:
• Lasts 5-10+ years reliably (some types last 50 years or more).
• Dispersed to form bigger clumps with time.
• Bloom later, protracting your spring.
• Wildlife won’t touch them
• Generally 30-50% cheaper per bulb
• There are hundreds of varieties available.

Bloom timing:
The early daffodils begin in late February or March, and late ones continue into May. With a mix, you receive six weeks of nonstop flowers.

Varieties Worth Growing

• For Early Blooms:
• February Gold: A bright yellow 12 inches high and flowers at the end of winter.
• Tete-a-Tete: Miniature golden daffodil, 6 inches, pots.
• Rijnveld, Early Sensation: trumpet, classic yellow, in blossom, February.

For Mid-Season Colour:
Ice Follies: Huge white petals having lemon-yellow cup, 16 inches.
Carlton: Old yellow daffodil, smelly, 18 inches.
Thalia: White, having several flowers to the stem, sweet-smelling.

For Late Season:
Cheerfulness: White and cream center, sweet, end of April.
Actaea: White, red rimmed yellow cup, May, blooming.
Pheasant’s Eye: This is a small white flower with red centres, the last flower to bloom.

For Something Different:
Pink Charm: soft pink trumpet petals, white.
replete: white and coral-pink, as small a peony.
Jetfire: Orange trumpet, cyclamineus, matted-back yellow petals.

Planting Daffodils

Depth and spacing:
Big bulbs: 6-8 inches deep, 4-6 inches spacing.
Small types: 4-5 inches deep, 3-4 inches spacing.

Where to plant:
Daffodils grow in most places that are well drained. They’re perfect for:
Naturalizing in lawns (have the foliage wither before it is mowed)
Deciduous tree woodland borders.
Eternal fences (they bloom as evergreen wakes up)
Containers and pots
Difficult-to-maintain slopes

Design tips:
Plant daffodils in irregular, not straight drifts. Plant handfuls of bulbs tossed around and have them look natural. Combine early, mid, and late varieties within the same region to get long blooms.

After Care

Daffodils are not no-maintenance, they are low-maintenance:
Allow foliage to turn yellow fully and then cut (takes 6-8 weeks after flowering)
Deadhead was used to make flowers sterile.
Lightly fertilize at the beginning of the spring when the shoots appear.
Subdivide lumps after every 5-7 years when they are overcrowded and have less bloom.

Alliums: Architectural Drama.

The Alliums introduce an element that the tulips lack, structural, sphere-shaped flowers that float over the garden like purple or white planets. They flower in late spring through summer to fill the void created by tulips and preceding summer perennials.

Why Alliums Work

Advantages over tulips:

• Bloom afterwards, and spring was stretched.
• Deer and rabbit proof (they stink of onions)
• Winter interest is provided by dried seed heads.
• Draw pollinators such as crazy.
• Very low maintenance
• Often return and multiply

Unique features:
Plantings are given structure and height by the globe-shaped flowers. They both work in formal and naturalistic designs that tulips can not always do.

Varieties Worth Growing

For Height and Drama:
Globemaster: 8-10 inch diameter spheres, 30-36 inch high.
Purple Sensation: Deep purple, 4-inch, 24-30 inches high.
Ambassador: Large violet-purple balls, 36 inches in height.

For Mid-Height Plantings:
Millenium: Purple-pink, small, 15 inches long, long-blooming.
Christophii’ (Star of Persia): Lavender, metallic, 8-10 inch flower head, 20 inches high.
Gladiator: Rose-purple, 30 inch balls, 6 inches in diameter.

For Front of Border:
Drumstick’ (sphaerocephalon): Egg shaped flowers of burgundy-purple, 24 inches.
Hair (cernuum): 12-18 inch nodding pink flowers.
Caeruleum (Azureum): Sky blue, 8-12 inches.

For Something Different:
Mount Everest: 4-inch spheres, of pure white, 36 inches high.
Schubertii: This is a variety of pink flower that explodes firework-like, 24 inches.
Cowanii: White, dark centre, 8-12 inches.

Planting Alliums

Depth and spacing:
Big alliums: 6-8 inches deep, 8-12 inches spacing.
Medium alliums: 4-6 inches deep, 6-8 inches spacing.
Little alliums: 3-4 inches deep, 4-6 inches spacing.

Where to plant:

• Alliums work best:
• Here and there along perennial lines.
• In clusters of 5-7 focal bulbs.
• With ornamental grasses
• On gravel gardens or Mediterranean plantations.
• And roses (they keep the aphids away)

Design tips:
Alliums should be planted in groups of three, five and seven instead of even numbers. Allow them to push through the low groundcovers or through perennials. The plants turn yellow early on, and therefore should be planted where other perennials are coming up to conceal the withering leaves.

After Care

• Alliums are almost self-sufficient:
• Keep the seed heads erect–they are good months.
• Allow the dead to die.
• There is no need to fertilize at regular intervals.
• Split only in case of clumps becoming congested.

Crocuses: The Spring Gems.

Crocuses are the answer to your question, should you desire flowers before any other thing blooms. These little bulbs break through frozen soil, and occasionally they flower with snow still on them. They are rough, inexpensive and contagious.

Why Crocuses Work

Advantages over tulips:

• Flower 6-8 weeks sooner than the majority of tulips.
• Prices a percentage (most commonly 10-15 per 100 bulbs) lower.
• Diffuse at a rapid pace to form carpets of colour.
• Deep rooted, squirrel resistant.
• Plantings look great out in lawns.

Why they’re worth planting:
Crocuses can provide you with colour when it is really necessary–at the end of winter when all things are dismal. Drifts can be made with a few hundreds of bulbs (which are cheap).

Types of Crocuses

Early Species Crocuses:
Bloom February-March, smaller, but marvellous early:
Crocus tommasinianus: Lavender-blue, propagates rapidly.
Crocus chrysanthus types: Gold, cream, purple, white.
Ruby Giant: Deep purple and bigger flowers.

Dutch Crocuses:
Bloom March-April, more big flowers, bright colours:
‘Jeanne d’Arc’: Pure white
Pickwick: White striped purple.
‘Flower Record’: Deep purple
Yellow Mammoth: Yellow giant, big flowers.

Fall-Blooming Crocuses:
For a surprise autumn bloom:
Crocus speciosus: Lavender-blue, September-October.
Crocus sativus (Saffron crocus): Purple red stigmas.

Planting Crocuses

Depth and spacing:
3-4 inches deep, 2-3 inches apart
Plant in clusters of no less than 25 to be seen.
More than 100 bulbs make magnificent drifts.

Where to plant:

• Crocuses work well:
• Planted in lawns (do not mow until the foliage turns yellow)
• In the shade of trees and bushes.
• In rock gardens
• Front of borders
• Early patio colour containers.

Design tips:
Crocus in big, dishevelly heaps–not neat rows. Blend colours or plant mono colour sweeps. They appear in large groups of 50-100 bulbs. With lawns, drop bulbs in random spots and plant them.

After Care

Crocuses need almost no care:
Allow foliage to dry up (3-4 weeks)
No deadheading needed
They will self seed and naturalize.
Wait until late in April or May before beginning to mow in lawns.

Hyacinths: Everything About Perfumes.

Assuming that tulips are visual, hyacinths are scent. A single hyacinth has the power to scent up a room or section of the garden. They are thick, heavy and provide weeks of colour and smell.

Why Hyacinths Work

Advantages over tulips:
Strong perfume (several bulbs perfume a big space)
Thick stems do not bend down in the rain and wind.
Long bloom period (2-3 weeks)
Perform excellently in containers.
Reckoning a few years with good care.

What makes them different:
The thick spikes of flowers with small florets form another texture than any other spring bulb. They labor both formally and informally and the scent alone makes them worth planting.

Varieties Worth Growing

Classic Colours:
Blue Jacket: Rich navy blue, powerful fragrance.
Jan Bos: Early, bright red-pink.
Carnegie: White, very sweet smell.
Delft blue: Soft porcelain blue.
‘Aiolos’: White, with silted edges of soft pink.

Softer Tones:
‘Pink Pearl’: light pink, light at edges.
Gipsy Queen: Salmon-orange, queer colour.
City of Haarlem: Light primrose yellow.
Splendid Cornelia: spikes, large, lavender-purple.

For Something Different:
Woodstock: Rich burgundy-purple.
Types of multifloras: A number of smaller spikes on each bulb, looser appearance.

Planting Hyacinths

Depth and spacing:
6 inches deep, 6 inches apart
In their case, containers, they should be planted almost in contact with each other.

Where to plant:
Hyacinths work best:
Along pathways and doorways (to be able to smell)
In containers all around seating areas.
Mass-planted in formal beds
Through windows of foundations where perfumes fly.
Combined with tulips and daffodils of different heights.

Design tips:
Plant hyacinths in blocks of single colours not mixed–the thick spikes of flowers are more pleasing en masse. Use at least 9-12 bulbs per group. Pack them in containers tightly in a florist-style arrangement.

After Care

The hyacinths require somewhat more care than daffodils:
Plant high varieties where necessary (but the majority grow well on their own).
Bloodless and still retain foliage.
Let leaves change yellow full before snatching.
Fertilize lightly in spring
Note: The spikes of the flowers become smaller in later years and fragrance is intense.

Mixing It All Together

Interesting is the combination of these options instead of planting only one type. Here is the way to make a spring-long exhibition:

The “Extended Season” Garden

February-March:
Crocuses species cover the ground.
Early daffodils (‘February Gold’, ‘Tete-a-Tete’)

March-April:
Daffodils are overlapped by Dutch crocuses.
Hyacinths add fragrance
Mid-season daffodils ( Ice Follies, Carlton ].

April-May:
Late daffodils,–Cheerfulness.
Alliums begin blooming
Those tulips that were not taken (When you put some in)

May-June:
Alliums peak
Late alliums extend the show

When to buy:
Place an order at this point when tulip customers are not shopping. These bulbs tend to remain longer in stock, although popular ones (especially alliums) may run out towards the end of October.

Where to buy:
Local nurseries: Fresh bulbs, on hand now.
Internet experts: Greater diversity, volume discounts.
Big box stores: Favorable prices on generic ones.
Farmer markets: There are times when local farmers sell bulbs in the fall.

What to look for:
Look for bulbs that are:
Solid and dense (not light or lightweight).
Free of mold or soft spots
Big (larger than normal) bulbs (larger than normal flowers).
Placed under cool and dry circumstances.

Avoid:
Offer discounted bulbs after November (they have been lying around too long)
Plastic bag bulbs with condensation (danger of rot) inside.
Small bulbs (also known as landscape grade or the like)

Final Thoughts

The scarcity of tulips this year may be the issue but it is also the opportunity to find out which bulbs may be more successful than tulips in terms of long-lasting, easy-to-grow and worthiness. A garden of daffodils, alliums, crocuses, and hyacinths yield thee:

Flores between February and June.
Minimal maintenance
Year-after-year performance
Wildlife resistance
Better value for money
Greater diversity in shape, smell and consistency.

At first you may not see tulips. Yet in three years time, when your daffodils are two times as large, and your alliums are growing above the boundary, and your crocuses are laying out in carpets, you are not likely to think at all about tulips.

Ready to plant? Take a combination of these options this fall and have a spring garden that improves with every year rather than having to plant it again and again.

Happy planting!