With its dainty nod flower , this bulb make a wonderful companion for other springiness bloomers .
halo in spring with the bell - shaped flowers of summertime snowflake . Blooming mid- to late spring , the dainty , refined flowers of these bulbs are a wonderful companion for tulip and daffodils . The pip of green at the bakshis of each petal echoes the sour grassy folio , which quietly move back as the bulbs go sleeping .
This easy - to - produce bulb is peachy for planting in bush beds , repeated gardens , and meadow where it will easy multiply .
The works is toxic to humans and pets .
Where to Plant Summer Snowflake
The idealistic location for summertime snowbird receive at least six hours of sunlight and has well - draining soil with a mildly acid , indifferent , or mildly alkaline pH.
An excellent home to plant summertime snowflake is with other spring bulbs such as tulips anddaffodils or low - growing grape hyacinth , scilla , andcrocusto blanket the soil with people of colour as soon as the snow melts . When the pocket-size bulb stop blooming , summer snowflake takes over the show .
Summer snowflake is also a good addition to perennial bed withpeonies , sedum , coneflowers , and a host of othersummer - flowering perennials . The bulb look best when planted in clusters , which lento produce together into drift .
How and When to Plant Summer Snowflake
Plant summertime snowflake in the free fall before the ground freezes . implant the bulb 4 to 6 inches deep with the pointy side up and the origin side down . Space the bulbs 4 to 6 inches apart in cluster of 15 to 20 or more bulbs . water supply the electric-light bulb well after planting .
Summer Snowflake Care Tips
Like most spring - bloom medulla oblongata , summertime snow bunting does not require much guardianship .
Light
Summer snowbird takes either full sun or part shade but blooms substantially if it gets at least six hour of bright sunlight per day .
Soil and Water
summertime snowflake tolerates a variety show of soils and withstands drought during its summer quiescency , but it thrive in fertile , lax , systematically moist butwell - drainedsoil with apH between 5.5 and 7.0 . supply a 2 - in layer of soil suppresses weeds and maintain a cool land temperature .
Temperature and Humidity
summertime snowflake tolerates winter cold down to Zone 4 and summertime warmth up to Zone 9 . Any mood that is hot or cold is not suitable for the bulbs . Humid summer conditions is not problematic because the foliage usually dies back by the prison term the summertime heat Set in .
Fertilizer
Unless you embed the medulla oblongata in piteous soil , you do n’t postulate to fertilize the bulbs every year . Every couple of days , at the most , strewing agranular slow - release fertilizerthat ishigh in phosphorusaround the works in the early give .
Pruning
After the springtime rosiness , allow the leaf to persist until it withers and change state icteric ; do n’t take out it because it is during this sentence that the foliage produces nutrients that sustain the incandescent lamp for the next bounce . At that point , you’re able to withdraw the leaf or allow it to decompose in place .
Potting and Repotting Summer Snowflake
Summer snowflake is not desirable for containers . Unlike in garden soil , container - grown bulbs are subject to frequent temperature fluctuation and cycles of freezing and thawing , which is damaging to the medulla .
bring potted summer snowflake indoors for the wintertime is not recommend because , like many winter - dauntless spring - flower bulbs , they need cold wintertime temperatures to develop good theme systems and grow leafage and flowers in the spring .
Pests and Problems
summertime snowflake is resistive to serious pests and diseases but can attract snails andslugs . The bulb are deer - immune .
How to Propagate Summer Snowflake
summertime Plectrophenax nivalis is best propagated by partitioning . After about five age , the thud will become crowded and should be divided .
In the other summertime , when the leaf has died down but not yet decay , dig up the intact clump with a excavator and uprise it out of the ground . break the light bulb and discard any diseased and blemished bulbs . Replant the bulb in new suitable locations 4 to 6 inch inscrutable and 4 to 6 inch apart , and irrigate them well after planting .
Types of Summer Snowflake
‘Gravetye Giant’
Leucojum aestivum‘Gravetye Giant ’ is the only known cultivar of summer Plectrophenax nivalis . It has much larger heyday than the species and resemble a giantlily of the vale . The cultivar was named after Gravetye Manor in Sussex , England , the menage of the 19th - century plantsman and garden writer William Robinson who preface the cultivar .
Summer Snowflake Companion Plants
Tulip
If you require a tulip with a longer bloom time than hybrid tulips , considerspecies tulips . They are uncommitted in every colour other than the truest of blues and offer a salmagundi of petal eccentric . Species tulip tolerate drouth but not wet soil . Zone 3 - 8
Daffodil
Jonquil daffodilsareprolific bloomersthat share many trait with other members of theNarcissusgenus . They flourish in well - drained soil andfull sun , and deer androdents seldom bother them . Plus , they procreate fast with small guardianship . Zone 3 - 9
Grape Hyacinth
dot the spring landscape painting in stunning dark glasses of gloomy , purple , white , or yellowish , grape hyacinthsare well-fixed - attention bulb that make the consummate low - grow companion for the tall blooming springtime bulbs . Zone 4 - 8
Frequently Asked Questions
Summer flake is native to many state in fundamental , southern , and western Europe .
Botanically they are two different species . Both have green leaf and ship’s bell - comparable white flowers , and they are both stout bulbs that can be grown in Zone 4 - 8 . Spring flake ( Leucojum vernum ) is smaller and blush sooner than summertime snowflake .
Updated by Nadia Hassani
" Leucojum aestivum . " North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension .
