Well, of course fall is on the way. And though some parts of the U.S. are already enjoying moderating temperatures, we in the Deep South are not. So it's difficult for us to get into the mood to think about planting fall bulbs. In fact, one customer recently wondered whether there are any fall bulbs that perform reliably in our heat. For some of us, average minimum winter temperature is only 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So I decided to put together a quick list of fall bulbs that do well in warm climates.


As you scan the list below, you'll notice that a number and, usually, a letter follows each plant name. That is the warmest USDA climate zone where that plant is reported to succeed. If the plant does well in much colder zones, I feel it's unnecessary to state the climate range. However, there are some bulbs that are only successful in the warmest zones, so I noted their range, e.g. "9-11."


Rather than post a very long article including descriptions of these bulbs, let me refer you to the Resource Box which lists my web sites that contain this information according to the appropriate season. You will find the most complete and comprehensive information during the late summer and fall season when these bulbs are just becoming available.


* Allium aflatunense 9b
* Allium giganteum 9b
* Allium sphaerocephalum 'Hair' 9b
* Allium moly 9b
* Allium 'Mount Everest' 9b
* Allium neapolitanum 9b
* Allium oreophilum syn. ostrowskianum 10b
* Allium schubertii 9b
* Allium siculum syn. bulgaricum) 9b
* Allium sphaerocephalum 10b
* Anemone blanda 10b
* Anemone coronaria (De Caen) 10b
* Camassia cusickii 9b
* Camassia leichtlinii 9b
* Chionodoxa forbesii 9b
* Chionodoxa luciliae 9b
* Colchicum spp. 11
* Crocus sativus 9b
* Crocus speciosus 10b
* Crocus vernus 11
* Crocus zonatus 10b
* Erythronium revolutum 9b
* Freesia 8-11
* Fritillaria persica 10a
* Fritillaria uva-vulpis 9b
* Hippeastrum papilio (Butterfly Amaryllis) 8 - 10
* Hippeastrum hybrids ( Dutch and South African Amaryllis) 8 - 11
* Ipheion uniflorum 9b
* Iris danfordiae 9b
* Iris x hollandica 9b
* Iris reticulata 9b
* Lycoris aurea 10b
* Lycoris radiata 9b
* Lycoris squamigera 11
* Muscari latifolium 9b
* Muscari macrocarpum 9-11
* Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica 9b
* Ranunculus asiaticus 8a - 11
* Scilla hyacinthoides (syn. campanulata) 10b


The following narcissus are known to do well into zone 10b:


* Narcissus Accent
* Narcissus Actaea
* Narcissus Barrett Browning
* Narcissus Bell Song
* Narcissus Carlton
* Narcissus Chinese Sacred Lily
* Narcissus Dutch Master
* Narcissus February Gold
* Narcissus Fortissimo
* Narcissus Golden Bells
* Narcissus Grand Soleil d'Or
* Narcissus Hawera
* Narcissus Ice Follies
* Narcissus Jetfire
* Narcissus Mount Hood
* Narcissus Pheasant Eye
* Narcissus Pipit
* Narcissus Replete
* Narcissus Rijnveld's Early Sensation
* Narcissus Rip Van Winkle
* Narcissus Tahiti
* Narcissus Sir Winston Churchill
* Narcissus Tete-a-Tete
* Narcissus Thalia
* Narcissus Yellow Cheerfulness

To learn more, go to goGardenNow.com and click on the Bulbs and Such category. Also, be sure and read the blog.