Get your bulbs ready before spring springs forth

Just as the late days of September and October send us to the catalogs for spring flowering bulbs, the waning days of winter signal the time to shop for the bulbs of summer.

Many of these are familiar -- dahlias and gladiolus are staples of the summer flower bed -- but there is a wealth of lesser known bulbous plants that beg to be discovered.

Bulb catalogs tend to lump any plant that has the ability to regenerate from a modified root into the bulb category these days. The result is that you may find such tuberous, rooted, native wildflowers as trilliums and merry-bells next to bananas and elephant ears. All of these have this storage capacity in common, though often for different reasons.

Whereas many of the common bulbs -- tulips, daffodils and such -- have this arrangement to store energy through periods of cold, others such as many of the South African subjects are storing energy to get them through cyclical periods of drought. Native woodland wildflowers may be storing up energy gathered during that brief period of sunlight before the canopy fills in.

To the gardener, these forms indicate that these plants want a period of rest, usually in the winter. They also make for easy commerce and continuously developing delight and surprise.

Glory, glory

I have grown particularly fond of the Gloriosa lily, Gloriosa rothschildiana, named after the second Baron Rothschild, as are numerous birds, animals and insects. Rothschild, quite the eccentric, once managed the world's largest natural-history museum and went riding about in a cart drawn by zebras.

The gloriosa is a weird combination of bulb and climber, and, to make things weirder still, it climbs with its leaves. Each leaf tip has a tendril-like tip that spirals around its supporting host. A mature gloriosa can reach 6 feet or more, so it requires a small trellis to climb on.

I planted the long, slender tubers in a pot filled with potting soil, and made a teepee of bamboo stakes above it. I put the pot on the porch, where it received some protection from the hottest afternoon sun, and the vine was soon up and on its way.

The flowers on this plant live up to their name. They are glorious in both form and color. The petals sweep back into the shape of a shuttlecock, with their edges undulating in regular waves. They are the color of flames -- orange and red -- a color that grows more intense and deepens as it ages. All aspects of the petals are reminiscent of fire. Below this flare of 4- to 5-inch petals is a splayed, spidery arrangement of stamens.

Gloriosa may survive outside here with extra winter protection, but I prefer not to take that risk. Instead I took the pot up after a light frost and stuck it in the basement. As the weather warms the plant can be brought back out for another round. Gloriosa reproduces fairly rapidly and the slender tubers can be separated to provide plants to friends. That is how I got mine. Just keep the tubers cool and slightly moist until planting time.

Very beautiful

Sprekelia , the Jacobean or Aztec Lily is another you may find in the catalogs or on the hardware store shelf. These brilliant red lilies, which hail from Mexico, grow a foot or so above the ground. They are related to amaryllis, but their flower petals are more open than funnel-shaped. The petal arrangement calls to mind cattleya orchids.

The botanical name for this flower is Sprekelia formosissima meaning "very beautiful," and like the description for gloriosa, it is more than apt. There is a lot of flower on that little stem. Leaves are the typical strap-like arrangement one would expect from this group.

These bulbs like to be crowded and dry during their dormant period, making them a good subject for a pot that can be stuck in the garage or in the basement. Like the gloriosa, this one needs protection if you are going to attempt it in the ground. They want bright sun.

There are dozens more unusual bulbs to be planted in the spring. An arrangement of several would make for an interesting container grouping. Others to consider are the blue lily of the Nile, Agapanthus, with its spheres of striking blue flowers. Scadoxus, the blood lily from South Africa, has a powder-puff globe of red flowers 8 inches above the soil. The spidery, white flowers of hymenocallis are daffodils having a bad hair day.

Many of these could find a spot in the garden or simply in a pot on the porch.

The following are good sources of unusual bulbs: Brent and Becky's Bulbs, www.BrentandBeckysBulbs.com, 804-693-3966; McClure and Zimmerman Bulbs, www.mzbulbspring.com,800-546-4053.

■ If you have a gardening question or story idea, write to David Bare in care of Features, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27101-3159, or send e-mail to his attention to gardening@wsjournal.com.