In late summer, the most beautiful bulbous flowers compete for your favor as the planting season begins. Now the question is going through your head: What is the frost tolerance of flower bulbs? Read a well-founded answer with useful tips here.
Can flower bulbs tolerate frost?
Flower bulbs generally tolerate frost and even need cold stimuli to bloom in spring. Frost-tolerant species such as snowdrops, crocus, tulips and daffodils rely on subzero temperatures, while summer-flowering bulbs such as dahlias and begonias are sensitive to frost.
Can flower bulbs tolerate frost?
Most flower bulbs can tolerate frost. Evendeep sub-zero temperatures have no harmful effects on bulb flowers in the garden soil.
No frost without flowers
Flower bulbs need frost. The large association of the bulb flower industry iBulb, Hillegrom, draws attention to this every year. A frostycold stimulus is essential so that onion flowers sprout and bloom in spring. For this reason, flower bulbs are best planted in the fall. Caution: This statement does not apply to all onion plants. Please read on.
Which flower bulbs can tolerate frost?
Early blooming flower bulbs tolerate frost and rely on sub-zero temperatures to induce flowers. As the experts at iBulb explain, early bloomers transform stored reserve substances into the plant's own antifreeze. Aprotective mechanism is built up, which lowers the freezing point in the underground storage organ. Once planted, you can leave the flower bulbs in the ground without worry. These flower bulb types are protected against frost:
- Snowdrop (Galanthus)
- Crocus (Crocus)
- Tulips (Tulipa)
- Daffodils (Narcissus)
- Märzenbrecher (Leucojum vernum)
- Anemone (Anemone blanda)
Which flower bulbs cannot tolerate frost?
Most summer-flowering bulbs cannot tolerate frost. The majority of the bulb plants come from subtropical regions and arefrost sensitive The flower bulbs are planted in spring and dug up in autumn for overwintering under glass. These include:
- Dahlias (Dahlia)
- Begonias (Begonia)
- Calla (Zantedeschia)
- Gladiolus (Gladiolus)
Tip
Protect potted flower bulbs from frost
The winter hardiness of flower bulbs reaches its limits in pots and balcony boxes. There are three options to choose from for protected overwintering: Put away the planter with the tulip bulbs and overwinter frost-free. If there is not enough space, dig up the flower bulbs after pruning, wrap them in newspaper and store them in a wooden box in the cool, dark winter quarters. Outside, cover the pot and balcony box with fleece (€34.00 on Amazon), place it on wood, mulch the substrate with autumn leaves.
