Bulb Gardeners (flowers), Zone4?

[SJhawkins]

Been thinking of starting a bulb garden, we live in zone 4. Below is a list questions I'm trying to wrap my head around.

1. Know I want Hardy Bulbs (think anyway), want to plant the Bulbs this fall and divide every few years as needed. Not interested in digging them up in the fall to winter inside, etc.

2. Would like to have a mix that have blooms that come at different times. Is it possible to get blooms from May thru August give or take?

3. Deer and rabbit resistant would be helpful, maybe wishfull thinking!

4. Not planing on a raised bed, I could see maybe a mound or three after I experiment, planting more in rows to just learn and play. 12x30 give or take garden to start.

5. Have very well drained soil, think sand, was a corn field 40 years ago. Willing to admend the soil if it makes sense.

6. Good sources to buy Bulbs.

Open to thoughts and wisdom, maybe my grand idea is not so grand! 3 or 4 Bulb types that would be somewhat "easy" to start with to not get discouraged would be great if possible.

Below is list of Bulbs from our university that I found, from my understanding there are many varieties of the same name that have different characteristics. I'm sure others exist. Anything look good?

Hardy Bulbs for U.S.D.A. Cold Hardiness Zones 3 & 4

Scientific name
Common name

Allium aflatunense
Purple allium

Allium giganteum
Giant allium

Anemone blanda
Greek anemone

Chionodoxa luciliae
Glory of the snow

Crocus chrysanthus
Snow crocus

Colchicum autumnale
Autumn crocus

Erythronium spp.
Trout lily, dogtooth violet

Fritillaria spp.
Fritillaria, checkered lily

Galanthus nivalis
Common snowdrop

Hyacinthus orientalis
Hyacinth

Lilium lancifolium
Tiger lily

Muscari armeniacum
Grape hyacinth

Narcissus hybrids
Daffodil

Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica
Striped squill

Tulipa hybrids
Tulip

 

[TheWizard]

Just for fun, go visit the big tulip farm in Holland Michigan sometime. They have dozens of varieties for sale.
While Holland is zone six, their experts can tell you which ones will do well in cooler areas...

 

[ERD50]

I'm not familiar with all those, but we had bulbs in our Northern IL home, and lots of deer.

The deer destroyed almost every tulip, don't even try if you have deer problems, unless you can protect them somehow.

Daffodils and their variant, I think called 'paper-whites', did well, and the deer didn't touch them. But these are fairly early spring flowering. Crocus were deer-safe, these are small and very early.

Iris (more of a tuber than a bulb?) also were deer-safe, and those bloom a bit longer into the late spring.
Check out the Tiger lilies and other lilies - IIRC, those bloomed most of the summer?

Also, those early bloomers, like daffodils, just leave a rather ugly foliage after they bloom, kind of a mess. They say not to cut it back, that the plant needs that to generate enough energy for the roots for the next season, but we had some growing in a section of grass around a tree I had removed, and I'd just mow them down when I cut the grass, leaving them go for a little while ( a few weeks?) after they bloomed, and they always seemed to come back strong.

-ERD50

 

[pacergal]

investigate Calla lillies, many different colors, here they bloom throughout the summer, depending on variety.
Firecraker flowers

I have bought bulbs from Holland bulbs, Michigan bulbs, Brecks bulbs. You can go on their websites and investigate different bulb hardiness for your Zone.

 

[Born2BRetd]

Have you considered Watsonias? We planted some thirty years ago and have never dug them up. I live in San Diego so am in a different zone but it appears that it can be planted in Zone 4. It is on a deer resistant list and the rabbits have no interest in them.

 

[SJhawkins]

Lots of great replies, thanks, this gives me a good direction

 

[EarlyandLate]

I used to garden in zone 5. All the above suggestions are good. Also consider hostas. Some have showy blooms. Look up hosta plantaginea. It blooms in August with large fragrant flowers. Hybrid tulips are notorious for petering out after a couple of years. I had better luck with the older, less fancy tulip hybrids and tulip species.

 

[ivinsfan]

investigate Calla lillies, many different colors, here they bloom throughout the summer, depending on variety.
Firecraker flowers

I have bought bulbs from Holland bulbs, Michigan bulbs, Brecks bulbs. You can go on their websites and investigate different bulb hardiness for your Zone.

As a rural living zone 4 agree with you. for some reason the deer and bunnys have zero interest in any type of lily.


Depending on where you live in the zone you might want to zone up. I'm on the northern end of 4 and don't live urban (Which tends to be a little warmer) so I prefer Zone 3.


I see you are MSP but I might still lean towards think of a winter like last winter.

 

[SJhawkins]

The more I read about Lillies think that is what I'm going for the first time around, deer and rabbits are a challenge around here.

Now when I retire one thing on my list is a 8 foot or so fence for the garden and to make it bigger.

 

[FlaMariner]

We've bought from Breck's Bulbs for years......Dutch source.

https://www.brecks.com