Bulb gardening in the southwestern and southern United States presents challenges unknown in cooler climates. Bulbs that turn Holland into a kaleidoscope of color droop and fade in our mild winters, hot summers, and uncertain rainfall. Yet hundreds of native and naturalized species of bulbs thrive in these same conditions and offer as many colors, shapes, and fragrances as even the most demanding gardener desires. These are the bulbs that Thad Howard describes in this comprehensive guide to bulbs that will grow in USDA gardening zones 8 and 9. Writing from more than forty-five years' experience in collecting and cultivating bulbs, Howard offers expert advice about hundreds of little-known, hybrid, and common species and varieties that grow well in warm climates. His species accounts, which are grouped by family, describe each plant and its growing requirements and often include interesting stories from his collecting expeditions. Lovely color photos illustrate many of the species. Howard also gives reliable information about refrigerating bulbs, using them in the landscape and in containers, choosing scented ones, making potpourri, buying, collecting, cultivating, and hybridizing bulbs, and dealing with pests and diseases. He concludes with lists of plant societies and suppliers and a helpful glossary and bibliography.

Bulb gardening in the southwestern and southern United States presents challenges unknown in cooler climates. Bulbs that turn Holland into a kaleidoscope of color droop and fade in our mild winters, hot summers, and uncertain rainfall. Yet hundreds of native and naturalized species of bulbs thrive in these same conditions and offer as many colors, shapes, and fragrances as even the most demanding gardener desires. These are the bulbs that Thad Howard describes in this comprehensive guide to bulbs that will grow in USDA gardening zones 8 and 9. Writing from more than forty-five years’ experience in collecting and cultivating bulbs, Howard offers expert advice about hundreds of little-known, hybrid, and common species and varieties that grow well in warm climates. His species accounts, which are grouped by family, describe each plant and its growing requirements and often include interesting stories from his collecting expeditions. Lovely color photos illustrate many of the species. Howard also gives reliable information about refrigerating bulbs, using them in the landscape and in containers, choosing scented ones, making potpourri, buying, collecting, cultivating, and hybridizing bulbs, and dealing with pests and diseases. He concludes with lists of plant societies and suppliers and a helpful glossary and bibliography.

There are hundreds of choice bulbs that revel in southern warmth and humidity, and Scott Ogden profiles the best of them in this fascinating, comprehensive volume. In a series of chapters that takes us through the gardening year, Ogden introduces the plants that help to give southern gardens their distinct regional flavor, many with charmingly descriptive names: rain lilies, oxblood lilies, jonquils, crinums, and scores of others. Weaving in bits of history and lore, Ogden details each plant's appearance and growing requirements. Originally published to widespread acclaim in 1994, Garden Bulbs for the South has been updated and significantly expanded in this edition to include information on new varieties as well as nearly one hundred new photographs. This book is only available through print on demand. All interior art is black and white.

Dubbed the Bulb Hunter in a 2006 New York Times feature story, Chris Wiesinger took his passion for bulbs to vacant lots, abandoned houses, cemeteries, and construction sites throughout the South in search of botanical survivors whose descendants had never seen the inside of a big-box chain store. The vintage specimens Wiesinger sought came from hardy, historic stock, adapted to human neglect and hot climates, reappearing faithfully over decades without care or cultivation. Traveling back roads, speaking to strangers, looking for the telltale color of a remnant iris or lily, Wiesinger started digging, then began trying to grow and share the bulbs he collected. From its humble beginnings on an East Texas sweet potato farm, his Southern Bulb Company has now grown into a full-fledged business known throughout the world, propagating and selling the rare, tough, heritage plants Wiesinger still seeks out and champions. Nicknamed “Flower” by his fellow cadets at Texas A&M University, Wiesinger relates his adventures in bulb hunting, telling stories of the bulbs he has discovered and weaving in his own life story as a student, plantsman, and small business owner. He then teams with veteran horticulturist William C. Welch to provide advice on how to grow and appreciate the bulbs that have been rescued and reintroduced. This “primer” gives gardeners information on what bulbs to grow where, when to plant them and when they bloom, and how to incorporate them with other plants in the landscape. Finally, Welch describes how bulbs have enhanced his personal gardens and brought him and Wiesinger together in the common cause of heirloom gardening. Entertaining, informative, and loaded with beautiful photographs, The Bulb Hunter is sure to be a favorite of gardeners and plant lovers everywhere.

Bulbs can be grown in pots on a sunny windowsill or naturalised in generous swathes across the lawn. 'Gardening with Bulbs' provides a comprehensive guide to growing bulbs in all climates and seasons - from planning and designing with bulbs to lifting and storing them for next season.

An illustrated guide to more than 200 different bulbs which thrive in warm climates.

The world of bulbs contains countless treasures that are truly outstanding but not well known in cultivation. This book brings these to the attention of gardeners and collectors around the world but is especially relevant for those in warmer climates. It includes many unusual species from South Africa and South America along with representatives of the better-known genera - all chosen because they are considered to be worthy garden subjects. An introductory section covers the numerous uses of bulbs in landscaping - including naturalising under trees or on banks, in the border, in rockeries, and in containers. Suggestions are made for combining a variety of bulbs with complementary attributes, and for interplanting with annuals, perennials, shrubs, ferns, grasses and ground-covers. Chapters with general information on cultivation, propagation, pests and diseases, and growing bulbs in containers are also included. The main part of the book, in alphabetical order, comprises descriptions and detailed cultural information on over 120 genera and 800 species and cultivars. Each genus is illustrated with at least one colour photograph, making this an invaluable reference work as well as an inspiration.