Contents
The Basics of Bulbs
How to Choose the Right Bulbs for Your Garden
How to Buy Bulbs
How to Store Bulbs
When to Plant Bulbs
How to Plant Bulbs
How to Grow Bulbs from Offsets
How to Care for Bulbs
How to Store Tender Bulbs
During the Winter
How to Pre-Chill Bulbs
How to Force Bulbs
Other “Bulbs”
Corms
Rhizomes
Tubers
Tuberous Roots
Learn more with these titles from Barnes & Noble
 |
- How to choose the right bulbs for your garden
- What to look for when buying bulbs, and how to store them once you get home
- How to plant, pre-chill, force, and propagate bulbs from offsets
|
 |
|
 |
|
The Basics of Bulbs
Certain types of plants spend a portion of their life cycle in a dormant state as an underground structure called a bulb. A bulb enables a plant to store food and protect itself from periods of harsh weather. Then, when the weather improves, the plant uses the food
reserves in the bulb to grow. If a plant bulb is grown in a region with a climate appropriate for that type of plant, the bulb will grow as a perennial—meaning that it will live and produce a shoot and flowers for at least three years, and often much longer.
Anatomy of a Bulb
Most bulbs are round or onion-shaped and have the following parts:
- Tunic: Most, though not all, bulbs have a papery outer covering called a tunic, which protects the bulb from bruising or drying out. Bulbs that have a tunic are sometimes called tunicate bulbs. Bulbs that lack a tunic are more delicate than tunicate bulbs and may require special care.
- Scales: Beneath the tunic, the majority of a bulb consists of layers of modified leaves, called scales, that surround the developing shoot located at the bulb’s center. The scales store the energy that the plant uses to sprout. Once the plant has sprouted, it uses some of the energy that it gathers during the growing season to produce new scales—the layers closest to the center of the bulb are the most recently added and richest in energy, while those on the outside have already been used up by the plant in previous growing seasons. In this way, the plant replenishes the bulb from the inside, so that the bulb remains fully formed underground for as long as the plant is alive.
-
Basal plate: The basal plate is a flat region at the bottom of the bulb that serves as the bulb’s base. The scales, roots, and shoots of the plant grow from the basal plate.
-
Offsets: Bulbs
occasionally
grow clones
of themselves, called daughter bulbs or offsets. When an offset grows large enough, it will start to produce its own plant.
Gardeners often call bulbs true bulbs as a way to distinguish them from a number of other bulblike plants that are routinely lumped into the general category of “bulbs.” These false “bulbs”—which include corms, rhizomes, tubers, and tuberous roots—are similar to true bulbs in their life cycles and in the gardening care that they require, but there are some differences (for more information, see Other “Bulbs”).
Why Grow Bulbs?
Bulbs are a popular choice for gardens because of their:
- Early-season flowers: Many bulbs grow and bloom in early spring, before most other types of flowers bloom. So you can use bulbs to get your garden started early.
- Beauty and diversity: Bulbs produce beautiful flowers and come in a wide variety, which gives you more options for your garden.
- Ease: Bulbs are generally the easiest of all flowers to grow. If you plant a bulb in the right way, at the right time, and in a suitable environment, it’s almost certain that it will grow and produce beautiful flowers for you to enjoy over many years.
Even so, bulbs are usually not grown as the focal point of a garden. Most bulbs sprout and bloom early, so if you try to use them as your garden’s centerpiece, you’ll often end up with a garden composed of yellowing foliage for much of the main growing season. Instead, bulbs are best used as an accent in the garden, providing early-blooming borders that surround and set off perennials.
| Acknowledgments & Disclaimer |
Tags
No one has tagged this page yet... Be the first.. Log in using the link below and return to add your tag
