Heirloom Spring-Planted Diverse

Order these spring-planted bulbs NOW for delivery in April.

‘Pearl Double Tuberose’

WHY GROW THESE DIVERSE TREASURES? Whether you seek fragrance, tropical exuberance, or something easy and different, you can find it here among our Aztec tuberoses, pixie rain lilies, star-like crocosmia, and one spectacular canna. Explore and enjoy!

TIPS, RAVES, & MORE — For planting and care advice, click the “Care” link in our bulb descriptions. For tips and raves, the stories behind the bulbs, links and books, history, news, and more, see our Spring-Planted Diverse Newsletter Archives.

Intro to Heirlooms, Spring sampler heirloom bulbs

For an easy summer-time adventure, try this fabulous collection of our spring-planted treasures – and save! We’ll send you at least $40 worth of diverse, time-tested summer-bloomers for just $35. They’ll all be labeled, great for your hardiness zone, and may include dahlias, glads, daylilies, iris, tuberoses, and other treasures. It’s fun, it’s easy, and it’s a deal! Diverse Spring care.

Graceful, spectacular, and decidedly different, this landmark canna is topped by arching sprays of dangling, bell-shaped, deep rose flowers that may remind you of fuchsias. Though widely praised by late Victorian gardeners, it doesn’t store or ship as easily as other cannas so it all but disappeared in the 20th century. But now it’s back, and it’s a thrill! 5-7’, green leaves, minimum zones 8a or winter indoors, from Michigan. Chart, care, and learn more.

As easy to grow as gladiolus, crocosmia are longer-blooming, never need staking, and their small, star-like flowers blend well into the garden and bouquets. No wonder so many gardeners today are as excited about them as gardeners were a century ago.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS: We’ll say it again – crocosmias are as easy to grow as glads. Give them well-drained soil and a sunny to lightly shaded site. They’re hardy perennials in zones 7 and warmer, or you can dig and store them like glads. Beware though: all crocosmia can become invasive in warm climates, and the original antique montbretia is especially vigorous – so please handle with care. Learn more

This landmark yellow was introduced by head-gardener George Davison, the first Englishman to breed crocosmias. With loads of star-like, honey-gold flowers on heavily branched stems, it’s “highly recommended” by David Fenwick, former holder of the British National Collection – and us! 36”, mid-summer, zones 7a-9b(10bWC) or store like glads, from Holland. Chart and care.

Although most of our true lilies are FALL-shipped only (see them here), some are harvested so late that they have to be held in high-tech cold storage for us all winter long, and we ship them in the spring ONLY.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS: Most lilies like their heads in the sun but their feet in the shade to keep their roots cool. Learn more.

Though absolutely gorgeous – with 15-40 turk’s-cap flowers of dark raspberry narrowly edged with silver – ‘Black Beauty’ is even more prized for its wonderful vigor and long life in all sorts of gardens. The first lily voted into the NALS Hall of Fame and one of our customers’ favorites year after year, it’s one of the 20th century’s very best. Sturdy 5-7 foot stems, mid-summer, zones 5a-8a(10bWC), from Holland. View a five-year-old clump in front of our original headquarters. Chart and care.

This voluptuous Japanese wildflower was the “Queen of Lilies” in late Victorian gardens and stars in John Singer Sargent’s famous painting Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose. Its broad, open, luxuriously fragrant flowers are white with gold stripes and often cinnamon sprinkles. It prefers a cool spot with bright but filtered sun and requires acid soil to return well. Oriental, 3-4’, mid-late summer blooming, zones 5a-7b(9bWC), from Holland. Chart and care.

This exquisite lily produces dozens of small, martagon-like flowers of gold blushed with pink and dotted with maroon. It was bred by the great Frank Skinner who introduced over 300 roses, lilacs, lilies, and more from his home in zone-2 Manitoba. Happiest in light shade, it never needs staking and is much more vigorous than its parents, L. martagon and L. hansonii. 4-5 feet, zones 3a-7b(8bWC), from Holland. Chart and care.

We’re big fans of this willowy Chinese wildflower that was brought back by Irish plant collector Augustine Henry from remote limestone gorges in Hupeh. Enhanced by green nectaries and chestnut brown “whiskers,” its golden-orange petals swoop back like the wings of a falcon. Blooms happily even in light shade and alkaline soils. Mid-summer, 4-6’, zones 5a-7b(9bWC), from Holland. Chart, care, and learn more.

The first Asian lily to reach American gardens, this sturdy, salmony orange turk’s-cap lily is an easy cottage-garden classic. It’s a pass-along plant throughout the South, but it thrives just as well at abandoned homesites in icy Minnesota. Tiny bulblets on the stem fall and root themselves for easy increase. Formerly L. tigrinum, 3-5 feet, zones 4a-8b(10bWC), from Holland. Chart and care.

An especially fine form of Lilium speciosum rubrum, ‘Uchida’ was propagated by farmer Hirotaka Uchida to help save the last wild survivors of that spectacular Japanese lily – described in 1830 as “all rugged with rubies and garnets and sparkling with crystal points” – after a century of relentless over-collection. Lightly fragrant, late-summer, 4-5’, 5a-7b(9bWC), from Holland. Chart and care.

Luxuriously fragrant, the big, trumpet-like flowers of ‘Pink Perfection’ are a dusky burgundy-pink highlighted by orange anthers and a dramatically dark pistil. Although its coloring is deeper in cool summers or with light afternoon shade, it is always beautiful. 4-6 feet, zones 5a-8b(10bWC), mid-summer blooming, from Holland. Chart and care. If you’d like to be notified when it’s back in stock, click here to sign up for an email alert.

The Aztecs held the tuberose sacred to their goddess of art, beauty, and love. By 1730 it grew in Williamsburg; and in 1893 a Boston gardener wrote that “everyone who has a garden knows the Tuberose.”

TIPS FOR SUCCESS: Tuberoses need full sun, moist soil and plenty of nutrition to do their best. In the NORTH, we recommend growing them in pots , starting them inside and then moving them outside when nights warm up into the 60s. In the SOUTH, you can bloom them successfully in the ground, where singles often do better and bloom earlier. Plant in a hot sunny spot with well-drained soil. Keep soil moist and fertilize regularly.

The heavenly fragrance of tuberoses is as big a pleasure in August as ice cream. Their simple white flowers are clustered on 3-4 foot stalks above short, daylily-like foliage. Most gardeners grow them in pots (always best in the North) or dig and store in fall (we’ll send easy directions), but they’re perennial in zones 8a-11b. Although many sources offer bulbs too small to bloom, our big, fat, healthy bulbs – from an Illinois family farm where they’ve been grown since the 1930s – are sure to reward you gloriously. Learn more. Chart and care.

Just as blissfully fragrant as ‘Mexican Single’, ‘Pearl’ is a bit shorter, later-blooming, and double, with pale pink buds that open into flowers like tiny gardenias. Discovered by NY nurseryman John Henderson in 1870, it became a Victorian favorite, often sold under the name ‘Excelsior’. Hardy in zones 8a-11b, elsewhere it’s handled like glads (in the winter, just put the pot in the basement). We send big bulbs, sure to bloom! Chart, care, and learn more.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS: Short and charming, rain lilies are enjoying a resurgence in popularity. To bloom well, they need hot summers. Though they prefer full sun and moist loam, they are very easy to grow in a wide range of conditions, even damp clay. In their native Argentina the white ones actually grow in marshland! In colder areas, they can make interesting plants for summer pots. Learn more.

“Luscious as a bowl of raspberry sherbet” wrote Elizabeth Lawrence of this, “the best known of all zephyr lilies.” With grass-like foliage and rosy pink flowers on 6-10 inch stems, mostly in early summer, it was brought to the US from Central America in 1825. If you’re north of zone 8, try some in a pot, once a common sight on porches. In winter, simply set the pot dry in the basement. For inspiration, read one Wisconsin family’s story of their 100-year love affair with pink fairy lilies in zone-4! Zones 8a-10b, from Holland. Chart, care, and learn more.

“Absurdly easy and prolific,” writes Scott Ogden in Garden Bulbs for the South of this cheery little flower. Over grassy foliage, its short, white, crocus-like flowers open after late-summer rains. Discovered by Spanish explorers in the 1500s, it grew so thickly along Argentina’s Rio de la Plata that it inspired its name: River of Silver. Praised by Bostonian E.S. Rand in his 1866 Bulbs, it’s easy in pots in the North and perennial in zones 7a-11b. 5-7”, from Holland. Chart and care.

DIVERSE ARCHIVES — For customer tips and raves, the stories behind the bulbs, links and books, history, news, and more, see our Newsletter Archives.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS — Most of the bulbs in this section are easy to grow, but their needs, of course, are diverse. To help you choose wisely for your garden, here’s our best advice for their planting and care.

CROCOSMIA, MONTBRETIA — CAUTION! In warm climates, Crocosmia multiply vigorously and can easily become INVASIVE. Do NOT grow near water. Do NOT compost corms, plants, or the soil they’ve grown in. Plant in well-drained soil, in full sun in the North or full sun to part-shade in the South, and about 8-10” apart. Learn more.

RAIN LILIES — To bloom well, rain lilies need hot summers. Though they prefer full sun and moist loam, they are very easy to grow in a wide range of conditions, even damp clay. In their native Argentina the white ones actually grow in marshland! In colder areas, they make interesting plants for summer pots. Learn more.

TUBEROSES — Tuberoses need full sun, moist soil and plenty of nutrition to do their best. In the North, we recommend growing them in pots, starting them inside and then moving them outside when nights warm up into the 60s. In the SOUTH, you can bloom them successfully in the ground, where singles often do better and bloom earlier. Plant in a hot, sunny spot with well-drained soil. Keep soil moist and fertilize regularly. Learn more.

PLANTING & CARE	ABOUT US	WHY HEIRLOOMS?
Beginners Start Here	About Us	10 Virtues of Heirlooms
Complete How-To	Blog	Heirlooms in Our Newsletter
Winter Forcing	Our Facebook Page	Why Order from Us?
Bulbs in Bouquets	OHG in Articles & Blogs	Customer Praise
Hardiness Zones	Books, Groups, Sources	GardenWatchdog.com
Local Advice	Working at OHG

Intro to Heirlooms, Spring sampler
Sampler

COS-INT $ 35
ADD TO CART

Canna,
Ehemanii canna 1863
Rarest

SP-44 $ 16.50
ADD TO CART

CROCOSMIA/MONTBRETIA

Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora,
George Davison crocosmia 1902

SP-42 $ 6
ADD TO CART

LILIUM/LILIES

Lilium
Black Beauty 1957

SP-63 $ 14
ADD TO CART

L. auratum platyphyllum,
gold band lily 1862

SP-58 $ 15
ADD TO CART

Lilium
Guinea Gold 1940

SP-60 $ 9
ADD TO CART

L. henryi,
Henry’s lily 1889

SP-62 $ 15
ADD TO CART

L. lancifolium ‘Splendens’,
tiger lily 1804

SP-24 $ 12
ADD TO CART

L. speciosum rubrum
Uchida 1960

SP-57 $ 16
ADD TO CART

Pink Perfection 1950

SOLD OUT

SP-46
SOLD OUT

POLIANTHES/TUBEROSES

Polianthes tuberosa,
Mexican Single tuberose 1530

SP-30 $ 11
ADD TO CART

Polianthes tuberosa ‘Pearl’,
Pearl double tuberose 1870

SP-31 $ 13
ADD TO CART

ZEPHYRANTHES/RAIN LILIES

Zephyranthes grandiflora,
pink rain lily 1825

SP-28 $ 10
ADD TO CART

Zephyranthes candida,
white rain lily 1822

SP-29 $ 9
ADD TO CART

Intro to Heirlooms, Spring sampler Sampler

COS-INT $ 35 ADD TO CART

Canna, Ehemanii canna 1863 Rarest

SP-44 $ 16.50 ADD TO CART

CROCOSMIA/MONTBRETIA

Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora, George Davison crocosmia 1902

SP-42 $ 6 ADD TO CART

LILIUM/LILIES

Lilium Black Beauty 1957

SP-63 $ 14 ADD TO CART

L. auratum platyphyllum, gold band lily 1862

SP-58 $ 15 ADD TO CART

Lilium Guinea Gold 1940

SP-60 $ 9 ADD TO CART

L. henryi, Henry’s lily 1889

SP-62 $ 15 ADD TO CART

L. lancifolium ‘Splendens’, tiger lily 1804

SP-24 $ 12 ADD TO CART

L. speciosum rubrum Uchida 1960

SP-57 $ 16 ADD TO CART