"Gwen M. Morse" wrote in message
...
Vox Humana wrote:
"Brian" wrote in message
...

You have also included corms ~[crocus]. The Crocosmias have been very
much
improved and can now fill midsummer to late autumn.


To expand along those line, you can add iris, gladiolas, lilies, calla
lilies, alliums, and dahlias. If you add rhizomes, you can include
cannas.
I'm sure the list is quite long.

What about bulbs (rhizomes, corms, etc) that don't require being dug up
and stored over the winter?

I was very excited when I saw your suggestion for calla lilies (they're
my favorite flower), but, my mom burst that bubble when she said they
need to be dug up and stored for the winter.

I'm a lazy gardener -- I plant stuff with the expectation that I won't
have to come back to it. Irises (which are the fussiest flower I've
planted) are "supposed" to require winter storage, but, mine still bloom
every other year or so, which is good enough for me .


I don't recall you saying where you lived. I'm in zone 6 where the average
winter low is -10. My neighbor has beautiful calla lilies and she leaved
them in the ground all year long. Some people around here leave their
cannas in the ground. If you find a sheltered microclimate in your garden
you can sometimes push your zone. Glads are winter hearty here and I have
had dahlias come back year after year without lifting them. There are some
"bulbs" that simply won't tolerate the cold. One example is the caladiums
and their relatives the alocasias and colocasias (elephant ears). I have
never heard of anyone lifting irises. Tall bearded iris, Dutch Iris, and
Japanese iris are hearty to zone 4. Siberian iris are hearty to zone 3.