This list of autumn flowering bulbs was never intended to be a ‘top Ten’ but after I had collated my list of good autumn flowering bulbs, I see that is the way it has gone! I am sure that I will get an email or so with a few omissions. In keeping with the rest of the section about flowering bulbs, I have included a few tuberous plants.
Spring and summer is the time normally associated with flowering bulbs, but autumn can also be an important time for autumn bulbs. The bulbs (and tubers) mentioned here will all extend the garden colour by a few months. The only problem being, that if you are reading this in the autumn, then you are generally too late to do anything about it for this year.
Autumn flowering bulbs should have been planted back in the early summer. Autumn bulbs simply refers to the flowering time - not the planting time. But of course, you can buy - and plant - autumn bulbs in pots from the garden centre when in full flower - a colourful sight for autumn sales of plants! Summer is their period of dormancy, unlike the spring flowering bulbs which have their dormancy in the autumn. (More of this later!)
Some of the bulbs listed will flower a little earlier than autumn maybe even mid-summer, but all shown here will also be happy to show off their colour even into the first frosts.
None of these late flowering gems should be mistaken for autumn planted bulbs. Those planted in the autumn are for spring flower. There are exceptions of course one of which is the Colchicum group. Colchicums are normally sold in garden centres during the autumn months often flowering direct from the bare bulb. (It makes commercial sense for the supplier. Why go to the bother and expense of planting these in pots, when they can be sold as impulse sales with a few flower buds showing during the autumn!)
The list is basically divided into two sections. The first being the true hardy garden bulbs and the second being of those few tender tubers which also do much to extend our season of colour.