When I moved from California to south Texas, there were a number of plants I had never seen before or worked with in gardening. To name a few – Pride of Barbados, esperanza, clump forming bouganvilla (in California it is always used as a large vine/tree on the sides of houses or fences – but that is another blog), Mexican ruella, and bulbine. When a friend gave me some bulbine initially – I was in such desperate need of anything green that I could garden with (our new house had very little garden space – that has now changed) that I took it, but I wasn’t very impressed. Well that has changed too.
Bulbine
Bulbine (my husband likes to call it bovine) isn’t the showiest of plants but it is one of those workhorses in the garden for me. It is almost indestructible. It takes drought conditions like a champ, and it takes very wet conditions. I have it in full sun, and in partial shade. It forms a clump and after several years you can divide it and put it in more places. All those things are nice – but what I really like about it, is that when you look at a group or a row of bulbine (I am starting to use it like a small hedge – instead of boxwood) - you can have flowers on it for about 10 or even 11 months out of the year. The flowers emerge and bloom at the top of the stem, and they continue to bloom, and continue to bloom, and continue to bloom with the stems getting longer and longer – eventually they fall over or you can cut them off with a pair of garden shears. But then, new flowers will have started, so you always have plenty of color. The flowers by themselves aren’t much to speak of, but when you mass them together you have a whispy type of flower that blows with the wind (similar to a gaura). When everything else is gone – the bulbine are still blooming and giving you some color.
The only drawbacks I have found is that bulbine may get a little frost damage (but not much and then you just trim it back). Bees really like it and are continually buzzing around. It only comes in 2 colors – an orange/yellow combo and a solid yellow (my preference). Snakes also tend to like to slither in it – there was a BIG rat snake in one this afternoon that we were moving. Even with those minor things, I keep dividing it and using it in my gardens. I am now edging one of my gardens all the way around it with bulbine. It is one of those plants that you don’t have to do much to – but it will work hard for you!