Care and How-To - Bulbs
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Lycoris squamigera, or surprise lily, is flowering bulb with a unique growth habit. Foliage dies back by early summer and pink flowers appear in late summer seemingly out of nowhere (surprise!). Learn more about how to grow these interesting flowering bulbs.
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Find a native plant well-suited for any spot in your Iowa landscape.
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There are several species of Allium or onion that are grown exclusively for their flowersand are not planted in the vegetable garden but in beds or borders with other perennial flowers. Flower heads on ornamental onions appear in late spring to mid-summer. Learn more about these late spring beauties.
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Learn how to protect plants from frost and freeze damage in fall and spring. Get tips on covering plants, using cold frames, and when to bring plants indoors for the season.
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Discover how to grow and care for amaryllis bulbs, from potting and forcing to after-bloom care. Learn about various types, colors, and cultivation tips!
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Many of our favorite bulbs are Eurasian natives, but there are some great bulbs native to North America to include in your garden. Learn about camas, trout lily, and various native lilies and ornamental onions.
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Tulips (Tulipa spp.) are the quintessential spring blooming bulb. The wide range of colors, sizes, and patterns make them a spring favorite for Iowa gardeners. Learn more about these fascinating plants including information on planting, caring, transplanting, dividing, and forcing as well as information on how to select the best kind of tulip for your garden, how to deal with problems that may arise, how to use them as cut flowers, and the unique history and cultural impact this bloom from the mountains of central Asia has on gardeners.
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Tender perennials are attractive additions to the home landscape. Since they are not reliably winter hardy in Iowa, tender perennials must be planted outdoors each spring. Tender perennials include gladioli, dahlias, cannas, tuberous begonias, caladiums, and calla lilies, among other plants.
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True lilies (Lilium) are classified into nine horticultural divisions based on parentage and flower characteristics. Learn more about Asiatic, Oriental, Martagon, trumpet, and other lily types to find the right type and cultivar of lily for your garden.
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Daffodils (Narcissus) are a welcome sign of spring. Their bright, cheery blooms are some of the first to open in an Iowa spring. They are long-lived, winter-hardy, and relatively pest and disease-free, making them an easy addition to the landscape. Learn about daffodil selection, planting, care, and more below.
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A popular symbol of Easter is the trumpet-shaped, white, fragrant flowers of the Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum). Plants are available from flower shops, greenhouses, and other retail outlets.
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A healthy garden has properly spaced plants. Use this guide to help determine how many plants you need based on their recommended spacing.
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Some plants in the landscape need a little extra protection to make it through the winter months. Here is what you need to know to successfully overwinter plants in Iowa.
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The fall months are a great time to select and plant spring-flowering bulbs for next year. Gardeners can choose from traditional spring-flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths, or the more uncommon like winter aconite, crown imperial, giant onion, or guinea-hen. A small investment of time and money in fall will reward you with beautiful flowers next spring.
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Many plants in our gardens make great cut flowers. Learn which flowers to plant and harvest to get flowers and foliage for vases and floral arrangements.
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Lilies can be propagated by division, bulblets, scaling, bulbils, or seed, offering several ways to grow new plants. While methods vary in complexity, all will produce new blooming plants after a few years.
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Most modern tulip cultivars bloom well for only 3 or 4 years. Their vigor declines each year, eventually leading to plants with leaves and no blooms. For this reason, these tulip types are often treated as annuals.
However, some tulip types (classes) bloom well over a longer period. These varieties make better long-term additions to the garden and will bloom each season reliably. Choose from the following types if you want perennial-type tulips.
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Explore over 200 species of irises, including bearded, Siberian, and Japanese varieties. Learn about their unique features, growing conditions, and care tips.
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Learn all about effective maintenance in the perennial bed. Mulching, watering, deadheading, and proper fertilization all help keep perennials healthy and ensures a beautiful garden year-round.
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When buying mulch, you need to know how much to purchase based on the size of the garden bed and the depth you wish to spread the mulch. Use this guide to help determine how much mulch to purchase.