Evaluating Spring Bulbs in Warm Season Lawns.

In the transition zone, warm season turfgrasses can experience dormancy for up to six months out of the year. Early spring bulbs could add color to dormant lawns, yet their persistence in highly-competitive turfgrass environments is largely unknown. In addition to aesthetics, flowering bulbs might also provide early season forage for honeybees and other pollinators and afford additional pollinator habitat in low-maintenance turf situations. Previous research conducted at the University of Arkansas demonstrated that Crocus tommasinianus ‘cv. Ruby Giant’ could persist in an established stand of Zoysia japonica ‘cv. Meyer’. The objective of this study was to investigate a broad variety of early spring bulbs in warm season turfgrasses in order to gauge flowering, persistence of the bulbs, and pollinator preference. Bulbs were selected based on established flower/foliage heights, and time of flowering (early, mid or late spring). Bulbs were planted in late November 2015, in established blocks of bermudagrass (Cyandon dactylon ‘cv. Riviera’) and buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides ‘cv. Cody') that were maintained as lawns. Each bulb treatment was evaluated for emergence, flowering abundance and period, height of flowers, height of foliage, and senescence.