In this article, we look at the some of the general summer varieties of bulb plants. Some are best suited to beds and some to pots.

In the previous articles in this series on bulb plants, we have looked at those bulbs indigenous to South Africa and those not. We have looked at colors, planting techniques and flowers. In all articles, I have used the southern hemisphere seasons, as the norm and I have converted metric measures to imperial.

We were looking at the general types and sub varieties of the species, in the summer types of bulb plants and were about to start, on the Dahlia family.

1, Dahlias

This is a large family and one of the best known bulbs. There are several sub species and some of them are:

Border - This plant grows to a height of about 60 cm (24 inches) and comes in blooms of Graz, Bluesettle, Park Princess and Carola.

Cactus - Grows to about 100 cm (40 ins) and comes in 19 different varieties in colours white, yellow, orange, red and pink.

Decorative - These come in 10 different varieties and colours are white, yellow, orange, red and pink. It grows to around 100 cm (40 inches).

Dinner Plate - These also grow to about 100 cm and range in varieties from White Perfection to Kelvin’s Floodlight, Red, Otto’s Trill and Lavender Perfection.

Pompon - These bulb plants grow to about 60 cm high (24 ins) and come in mixed colours, Serenity, Deepest Yellow, Amusing, Bell Boy and Lolly Pop.

Top Mix - This type of Dahlia like to grow in pots and reach heights of 40 cm (16 ins). They make a lovely colourful display and come in colours of white, yellow, red, Rose, Caerdinal Red, orange, Yellow Red and mixed colours.

All the above members of the dahlia family are best planted from mid September to November and like semi shaded to full sun conditions. Plant them 8 cm (3 inches) below the soil and about 35 cm (14 ins) apart. They flower from mid December to March.

Dahlias are one of the most popular bulb plants, around the world and are common to many gardens. They all vary colour, but are generally easy to grow. They are one of the prettiest flowers and are often included in bouquets and floral arrangements. The Top Mix makes a beautiful splash, of different colours and are mostly grown in window boxes.

Of all the wonderful types of bulb plants, we have discussed, so far, the Dahlia is probably the best known and for the most part, the flowers are of about the same shape and size, between the sub varieties.

We will stop here, for today and tomorrow, in part 7, we will conclude this series of articles, on bulb plants. 

A great read is “How to care for Orchids”. In this e-book, you will discover the mysteries of the orchids and the unusual biology of each orchid, in it’s natural habitat and preferred climate.
Get it here: http://www.dersalsites.com/gardeningtips/prod/orchids4u/

Sally Robson is a South African Internet marketer, who together with her husband Derek, have a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and other non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success on the internet, by overcoming the many obstacles facing them. They have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. Sally has a passion for gardening. For more articles and advice on gardening topics, visit Sally at: http://www.dersalsites.com/sallysgardeningtips/ 

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