It's not that late. I would just plant them since they are already here. What would you do with them if you don't plant them? They might be a little late, but at least you'll get to enjoy them.

At the edge of a concrete walkway I have a couple of hardy geraniums planted that I'm liking the looks of because of their low, mounding habit (less than 6 inches tall). Cultivar name is 'Biokovo.' It's blooming now and appears pest-free so far in my limited experience (2 years), with flowers in the blue/purple range. I also have G. 'Rozanne' and find it tends to grow quite a bit larger and encroach on the space of other nearby perennials whereas I haven't seen that tendency in 'Biokovo.' 'Biokovo' was still blooming late last season so I would say based on its performance in my part-sun garden, it's long-blooming + low-maintenance since I planted two and have done nothing to either one subsequent to planting them. Both returned again this growing season and are looking robust. My soil is sandy loam, gets no supplemental water or fertilizer. Bottom line: I'm well pleased with this perennial.

A little more about re-blooming. Earlier I said a bulb can bloom as many as three times a year. That is a general statement and how many times a bulb will bloom will depend on the genetic heritage it has. plant guy reports that none of his large-flowered Dutch hybrids has ever bloomed more than once a year. That is usually the case with most modern hybrids. One reason is that they will send up 1, 2 or 3 scapes at a time depending on the size of the bulb. In sending up 3 scapes, for instance, the bulb needs a year to prepare the next scape for blooming. If a medium sized bulb sends up only one scape, in 3-4 months (but sometimes less--it's not a hard and fast rule) a second scape may be ready to go. You may have seen this happen--just as the first scape has finally dried up, a second emerges. Sometimes it's 2 at once then a 3rd later, kind of in an extended blooming period, not so much like well-separated ones. Some years they may do one thing and the next they do another. If it doesn't happen, it's not necessarily anything you did or didn't do--you really can blame it on the bulb! They may lack that particular disposition due to genetic heritage. I wasn't specific enough when I said a Hippeastrum *can* re-bloom, it seems and it sounds like I meant *any* of them can. That's not what I meant you to get from that. Not all of them can re-bloom and should not be expected to. It *can* happen, a second or third blooming--but it depends on the specific bulb. Grow them all as best you can anyway! Cultural handling can vary from year to year and any combination of factors can play into this, as far as known re-bloomers goes. If I had a striatum that *didn't* give me at least one re-blooming after 3-5 months--something is wrong. Striatum is one species that regularly blooms 3 times a year under good conditions. Only one blooming a year--you could do better.....If you get a second blooming, you're doing better, but cultural conditions could still be improved.....3 cycles of bloom--that's the way to do it! Commercial breeders are interested in bulbs that *don't* offset prolifically and will send up multiple scapes all at once, *one time* a year. That is to benefit the cut flower trade as well as the home grower--one big show or one good "crop" of flowers is what it is all about. So many people are happy with a holiday Hippi blooming once--its scary how many people just toss them after that. That's all they want. As far as breeding good multipliers goes--this is counterproductive and the last thing commercial growers are interested in. The offsets pull on the mother bulb and slow it's increase. They are not needed in large commercial ventures: they section or chip the bulbs for rapid increase and do not rely on offset production. So anyway, some modern cultivars *will* re bloom. In my small collection, this year I had a second flush from Rilona, Dancing Queen, Piquant and as I said, H. striatum. Right now I have a third flush on one of my striatums. This is my first season with the three named hybrids, so I don't know how reliably they will re-bloom for me, but I'll be expecting that it is quite possible based on what happened this year. Is it possible that the re-blooming was due to their being newly planted bulbs? Could be...I just couldn't say. Next year will be interesting....... Robert.

White forget-me-not. If your timing's right - White Nancy Lamium. For me, Jetfire has usually gone over before the white Epimedium starts but it could be a possible. If it doesn't have to be flowers - the early leaves of Brunnera Jack Frost can be good, or Majeste Pulmonaria. Trouble is - Jetfire is such a successful multiplier that the clumps need fairly frequent management so a long-term perennial is not always a smart move (telling myself, and probably not listening...lol) Another possible is white primroses with a strong yellow centre, or a soft yellow primrose. They make useful clumps and it's easier to manage the bulb groups than if the groundcover is total.