I'm in southeast VA and I've never had that problem. I've got tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, and lots of summer flowering bulbs as well. They all come back for me.

It depends on the particular bulbs, and the particular location where they will go. May I ask, what does 7a/8b mean?

I am a little west of Greenville!

Is it 7b/8a? I know I used to be 7b, and they bumped me up to 8a a few years ago. Funny, it seems the same for me.

What bulbs are they saying are annuals? Or is it just general?

FWIW, I grew up in Ohio, and while living in a zone with much hotter summers has had some challenges, I've found that it's more than worth it for the perks. Longer growing season, more that can overwinter in the ground here than would ever survive the winter further north, and a lot of different kinds of plants that I've really enjoyed learning how to grow.

I am a little north of Greenville and have had no problems with bulbs. I have almost everything: daffodils, tulips, gladiolas, irises, hyacynths and grape hyacynths, Asiatic, Siberian, and Oriental lilies, dahlias, etc. Did lose some this year because of all the rain, one area did not allow it to run off so the ground has been wet for months.

Oh, good! I just didn't want to invest a lot of money and time for a 'one season' show.

Tulips are the ones that don't do well. Daffodils are perfectly fine. Ordinary tulips often don't get enough chill time and won't reliably bloom in subsequent years. I've heard that "species tulips" do better.

Tulips are treated as annuals here. The weather is not cold enough and the voles love them.
Daffodils are finicky. Newer varieties do not colonize as well as the heirloom varieties. The heirloom varieties can live for years.
I am in upstate SC.

Tulips, hyacinth, and most crocus require a cold dormant period in order to return predictably. Contact your local extension office for helpful regional advice about where you fit in. Investigate the "species tulips " that esh mentioned.

As for flowers (annuals and perennials), there's no reason why you can't have a huge variety where you now live. Just know your environment and select your plants accordingly.

You may not be able to grow everything that you're used to.....but there's a huge variety of other wonderful plants ready to bloom for you from "quarter til spring " to "fall thirty ".

That you feel like you're 'in flower withdrawal ' tells me that you haven't acclimated to your new environment yet. You're a transplant. Take some time to learn about what will do well for you in SC. Visit some good LOCALLY owned garden centers to pick some experienced brains. Avoid the big box stores where good information will not be available.

Your area of SC is a gardener's delight.

This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Sat, Sep 7, 13 at 8:22

I'm a transplant from 5b central OH to 8b, extreme southern AL. You'll get used to it, eventually, and be confounded and delighted - constantly! I used to think of bulbs as an ephemeral spring thing, but down here, there are so many, you can get pretty much year-round blooming just from bulb plants if you find enough different ones. In trade for tulips one can have Amaryllis, Lycoris radiata, Oxalis crassipes, Cannas, Crinum, Zephyrahthes, Hymenocallis, Gladiolus, Dahlia, Caladium, Cucurma, and others I can't think of this early in the morning. (Not all of these may be hardy where you are, but I don't know where the line is drawn for each. Should be easy to find for those you like.)

The local Agricultural center helped me alot! We moved from New Jersey to Florida. What a change that was. I live in SE GA now. I can grow Easter lilies, canna lillies, daffodils and amaryllis with no problems. Some winters we get down to 9 degrees.

Learn to live without them! There are tons of other things that grow in the south...even as perennials...that won't thrive further north. How about hibiscus? Gorgeous flowers and if you're far enough south, they bloom the year round. Blooming gingers, canna lilies...a whole slew of tropical and semi-tropical plants. Ya go with the flow.

Bletilla striata hasn't been mentioned here yet.
Curcuma.

for your spring bulbs, stick with the narcissus and daffs.
for late summer, one that has not been mentioned that i grow is acidanthera (recently moved into the gladiolus clan from what i have read).
it would not have been hardy where you moved from but is hardy in zones 7-10. they grow to about 1.5' tall with gladiolus-like foliage but the flowers are white w/purple throat, nodding on stems and very fragrant!
gave some to sis in florence (zone 7b) and they returned for her (in container).

I noticed some green in the dormant grass next door, empty lot. Sure enough Lycoris radiata someone had planted in a row, who knows how long ago, being mowed at least the 7 years I've lived here. I just finished digging up about 200 bulbs, as well as about 100 Alliums of unknown species, a handful of daffs, and a lone Gladiolus. I'm still finding Lycoris in our yard though I thought I got them all last year.

Time to inspect for bulbs in the grass!

This is no joke, I just found about 500 more bulbs in a ring in the grass next door (no house there, it burned & was torn down, empty lot is for sale.) Probably originally planted around a long-gone tree. Very cool!

To be gardening on New Years' eve eve is still an awesome novelty to this geographically adjusted person!

Lycoris radiata, tucked in the shed for the night, I'm out of oomph for today & it got too gloomy to see what I was doing. The smaller red bucket is at least a 1-gallon.

Jeff, I wanted to chime in on the acidanthera, because I have been so delighted with mine! In my experience, they've done very well for me with no special treatment and the flowers lasted a lot longer than my other summer bulbs. I think that's an awesome recommendation!

Someone HAS written a book about gardening with bulbs in the south - Scott Ogden. I can't think of the exact title, maybe "Garden Bulbs For The South" It came out about 5 years ago. There are a number of daffodils that will do fine here, and even some species tulips. Not all grape hyacinths are supposed to do well here, but the species neglectum is supposed to be good and armenicum not.

\