Mar
20
Posted under
Flower bulb care
Are you looking for some inside information on flowers? Here’s an up to date report from flowers experts who should know.
Bulbs are among the most interesting, most beautiful and easiest to grow of all flower varieties. Tulip bulbs were once so prized in Holland that it led to one of the best known financial bubbles in history, and even today, tulips are a leading export from that part of the world.
Even though bulbs are not quite so highly prized today as they were in 17th century Holland, they are still loved for their scents, their colors and their shapes, and gardeners love the fact that most bulbs are hardy and easy to grow.
Many of the most popular varieties of flowers are actually grown from bulbs, including tulips, crocuses, daffodils, irises, lilies, daylilies, dahlias and snowdrops.
One thing all bulb based plants have in common is that they grow from structures located under the ground. These underground structures provide the nutrients and energy the plants need to grow.
Even though bulb based plants are collectively known as bulbs, there are actually five distinct types of bulb plants the true bulb, the corm, the tuber, the rhizome and the tuberous root. This article will provide examples of each type.
The True Bulb
The true bulb is in reality an underground stem base containing an embryonic plant. The embryonic plant contained within the steam base already contains the leaves, stems and flower buds, all ready to burst forth once optimal growing conditions are provided. This setup allows the plant to lie dormant during adverse conditions, and thus to survive droughts and other environmental challenges.
If your flowers facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don’t let important flowers information slip by you.
The embryonic plant contained within the stem base is surrounded by scales (modified leaves that overlap in a manner reminiscent of reptile or fish scales). At the bottom of the bulb is a basal plate; this basal plate holds the scales together and produces the roots of the plant.
Examples of true bulbs are such popular flower varieties as daffodils, tulips and lilies.
True bulb varieties of plants are susceptible to dryness and must be handled carefully. When properly cared for, however, individual bulbs can live for many years without being planted.
The Corm
A corm, like a true bulb, also contains a stem base, but the tissue of the base is solid, and it lacks the scales seen in true bulbs. The roots grow from a basal plate which is located at the bottom of the corm, and the growth point is located at the top of the corm.
Popular types of corms include gladiolas and crocus. Each corm lasts for a single season, and as the corm shrinks away after blooming, a new corm forms on top of it. In addition, small increases, called cormels, are produced around the base of the corm’s basal plate.
The Tuber
Like corm and true bulbs, a tuber is actually an underground stem base. Unlike corms and a true bulbs, however, the tuber does not contain a basal plate. Instead, the roots of the tuber grow from both the base and from the sides. A tuber will have multiple growth points spread out over its top surface.
The Rhizome
The rhizome is actually a thickened stem that grows either partly or completely underneath the ground. The largest growth point on a rhizome is located at one end, and additional growth points are located along the sides. The most well known rhizome is the bearded iris.
Tuberous Roots
Unlike other types of bulbs, which are actually specially adapted stems, the tuberous root is not a true root. Instead, fibrous roots designed to absorb nutrients and water grow from the sides and the tip of the tuberous root. Most tuberous roots grow in a cluster, and swollen tuberous parts radiate out from a centralized point. The growth points of a tuberous root are found on the bases of the old stems and not on the roots themselves. Dahlias and daylilies are the best known examples of tuberous roots.
That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.
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Jun
26
Posted under
Flower bulb care
I often notice when visiting gardens the great quantities of Daffodils and other early bulbs that we plant to herald in the spring. But how do we ensure we have a great display each year?
The early flowering bulbs
Quite a few seasoned gardeners have had their first horticultural experience by the planting of a few Daffodil or Tulip bulbs, thus spurring them onto more adventurous plantings. At the end of April the very early flowering bulbs will come to the end of their blooming season. This group of early bloomers includes Daffodils, Hyacinths, Bluebells, Crocus, Snowdrops and early Tulips. All these bulbs will flower well for any gardener the first growing season but for them to bloom well the following seasons we must give them some care.
Dieback not tieback
All bulbs leaves must be allowed a minimum of six weeks after flowering to die down, so if these bulbs are planted in a lawn that area of lawn must remain uncut for six weeks. Refrain from tying your Daffodil leaves in knots to neaten their appearance, also avoid folding them over and securing with rubber bands. If the bulbs leaves are naturally allowed to die back then they will take in the energy for next years flowering. I would also recommend nipping off the spent flower heads on bulbs once flowering is finished, this will prevent the bulb using vital energy for seed production instead using all that energy to bulk up its food store for next season.
Don’t forget to feed
The final tip for blooming bulbs next spring is to feed your bulbs, this is especially important if you have a hungry soil. Apply a foliar feed to the fully emerged leaves before the blooms start to form. Choose a general purpose purpose liquid feed.I would also advise you to feed your bulbs just as the blooms have faded with a granular bulb fertiliser applied around the bulbs base. This is the most important feed they will receive. Ensure this feed has a higher potassium or potash content than nitrogen content. Apply according to the manufacturers instructions and heed safety warnings.
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Jun
10
Posted under
Flower bulb care 
Bulbs are among the most interesting, most beautiful and easiest to grow of all flower varieties. Tulip bulbs were once so prized in Holland that it led to one of the best known financial bubbles in history, and even today, tulips are a leading export from that part of the world.Many of the most popular varieties of flowers are actually grown from bulbs, including tulips, crocuses, daffodils, irises, lilies, daylilies, dahlias and snowdrops.Even though bulb based plants are collectively known as bulbs, there are actually five distinct types of bulb plants the true bulb, the corm, the tuber, the rhizome and the tuberous root. This article will provide examples of each type.If your flowers facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don’t let important flowers information slip by you.True bulb varieties of plants are susceptible to dryness and must be handled carefully. When properly cared for, however, individual bulbs can live for many years without being planted.Popular types of corms include gladiolas and crocus. Each corm lasts for a single season, and as the corm shrinks away after blooming, a new corm forms on top of it. In addition, small increases, called cormels, are produced around the base of the corms basal plate.The Rhizome
The rhizome is actually a thickened stem that grows either partly or completely underneath the ground. The largest growth point on a rhizome is located at one end, and additional growth points are located along the sides. The most well known rhizome is the bearded iris.That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.
Related Blogs
Jun
05
Posted under
Flower bulb care
Buying flower bulbs to plant and grow is an exciting experience that begins in the fall and continues through the spring. Dutch flowering bulbs are usually delivered to American ports by the month of September for fall planting. Major Dutch bulbs offerings include Dutch Amaryllis and African Amaryllis; daffodil bulbs and the famous, Tulip bulbs.
Amaryllis flower bulbs grow the showiest blooms and are pre-cooled to force fast flowering in 3 weeks after containerizing. Dutch bulb importers of Amaryllis offer a larger variety of selections and more bulbs to tempt the buyers. The African growers of Amaryllis bulbs appear to be enslaved to the Dutch Amaryllis importers distribution network, however, the African flowers that emerge on the Amaryllis stems are superior in many respects to the Dutch Amaryllis. The African Amaryllis blooms appear to offer clearer colors, more compact flower stalks, leaves that grow as the flowers appear, and more numerous flower stalks and grow from smaller bulbs. The large array of bloom colors from amaryllis includes red, pink, lavender, orange, yellow, white, green, maroon, red stripe, white stripe, pink stripe, and bi-color. Double numbers of petals on Amaryllis flowers are fast growing to be very popular choices to buy, since the petal count is increased to 12, instead of 6 that grow on most Amaryllis bulb flower stems, looking very similar to a huge carnation flower.
Daffodil flower bulbs are important Dutch bulbs for fall planting, because of their reasonable market cost, the ease of planting, and the growing of flower stalks in the Spring in various colors of yellow, white, orange, and the rare pink daffodil. Daffodil bulbs are easy to naturalize to bloom again every year.
Tulip bulbs are a native flowering plant of Turkey, but long ago tulips were hybridized on a large commercial scale by Dutch bulb growers. The cost of Dutch tulips has not always been inexpensive to buy, but tulip buyers today still love the spring flower colors of red, pink, orange, yellow, blue, purple, white, and bi-color. Cities and government organizations anxiously buy tulip bulbs in huge numbers during winter seasons to grow in beautiful landscape displays for the Spring.
Agapanthus bulbs are often called ‘Lily of the Nile’, and Agapanthus grows profusely along the Nile River in Egypt, and the blooms captivated the ancient African plant explorers who dug the bulbs for shipping back to European gardens. Blue and white colors of Agapanthus rhizomes have been hybridized in recent years to intensify colors, and some Agapanthus plants are cold hardy down to zero degrees F., whereas, the older clones of native Agapanthus were considered to be tropical in nature and not very cold hardy, so they were not introduced for planting in more Northern locations until recently, when gardeners from more Northern States experimented with new Agapanthus hybrids and determined their cold hardy tolerance.
The Canna lily rhizome has been long considered to be tropical in nature, with very little cold hardy resistance. The early American botanist and explorer, William Bartram, wrote in his book, Travels, in 1773, the discovery of Canna indica in Alabama near Mobile, Canna indica is surprising in luxuriance, presenting a glorious show, the stem rises six, seven, and nine feet high, terminating upwards with spikes of scarlet flowers. Bartram also discovered the native Canna flaccida, growing near Fort Frederica, Georgia, located on the Island of St Simon’s. Canna lily colors are broad, red, white, pink, lavender, orange, yellow, speckled, bi-color and others. Some Canna flower growers plant cannas with variegated leaf forms that are striped with red, green, yellow, white, and pink. Dutch distributors of canna rhizomes still flood retail box store, garden centers with Victorian-age canna bulbs of poor quality; varieties that had declined, run out, 50 years ago, and they should have been discontinued and not presented to buyers at a garden center nursery.
Ginger lily rhizomes grow flowers with fragile, delicate blossoms many looking like miniature orchid flowers. The foliage of Ginger lilies is interestingly variable, growing in colors of green, yellow, maroon, and stripes of yellow or white. Interest in planting ginger lilies has surged in 20 years, because of the realization that many ginger lilies are cold hardy, surviving temperatures as cold as zero degrees F. The foliage and the flowers are pleasantly aromatic.
Daylilies are actually not bulbs but rhizomes, but are sold extensively as daylily bulbs. Thousands of named varieties of Daylily bulbs have been easily hybridized by legions of backyard gardeners and the selection improvement and flower quality is absolutely astonishing. The improvement has resulted in growing double flower daylily, miniature daylily, cold hardy daylilies, and compact clumping or large clumping daylily plants. It is staggering to realize all these many colors red, white, yellow, orange, purple, pink, and bi-color originated from an original native plant a seedy, yellow daylily growing wild on the forest edge.
Elephant Ear bulbs are very variable, some growing into bulbs and others into rhizomes. Gardeners have always been fascinated that the Elephant Ear plants grow large in the landscape into huge clumps with that unforgetable tropical appearance. Great interest in Elephant Ear bulbs has resulted in recent years by a nationally tested demonstration that Elephant Ear bulbs are cold hardy enough to survive temperatures of zero degrees. Curious leaf patterns appear on hybrid Elephant Ear plants, and the extensive variegated patterns that appear on the leaves add a stunning, mysterious attraction from their random markings and splashes of yellow, white, and maroon on the surfaces of various leaf sizes, some large enough to hide the body of a mature man or small enough leaf to place in the palm of the hand. Elephant Ear bulbs can grow as large as the human head or the size of a quarter. Offset bulbs are abundant from Elephant Ear bulbs in the fall as the plants grow dormant to regrow when replanted in the spring. In the wholesale trade of Elephant Ear bulbs, it is a common practice to divide them into two major commercial categories, the Alocasia, and the Colocasia, based on many taxonomical growth characteristics.
Crinum Lily bulbs offer to an adventurous hobbiest or gardener an antique garden bulb selection that has been reintroduced as improved crinum clones by the brilliant inductiveness of chemist, Lester Hannibal of Fair Oaks, California. Lester Hannibal back crossed and intercrossed many native crinum lily species to offer the gardener an excellent, cold hardy crinum, an interspecific hybrid, that can be grown as far North as Philadelphia, PA, zone 6, and to survive intense freezes of below zero temperatures. Many of Lester Hannibal’s crinum flower hybrids were a re-creation of obsolete but popular commercial crosses that were made by Cecil Houdyshel in the 1930’s, but largely improved upon from the original Powellii forms with clear, white and pink colors, an increase in the number of flowers in the umbel, extended flowering periods, an eliminatio of drooping flowers, an intensification of fragrance and early flowering after sprouting from the germination of the seed. The milk and wine crinum lilies were named, because the flowers were white (milk) and wine striped colors. Crinum colors are burgundy, red, pink, white, greenish-yellow, and orange. Crinum bulbs increase by growing into clumps of multiple offsets from the central mother bulb, or by planting the seed of some cultivars or species.
-Rare, Hard-To-Find Flower Bulbs of Merit-
Many rare minor flower bulbs are unavailable to buy anywhere, except by possibly exchanging plants with collectors and hobbiest. The Amazon lily, Encharist grandiflora, blooms with six white, daffodil like petals, and a green or glowing yellow cup radiating from the center. This delicate flower can be remembered from days past for its wonderful charming fragrance. The Bird of Paradise is known for the two tropical forms, the Strelizia reginae, the most common: brilliantly colored flowers with orange, red, and blue glaring blossoms; and the Strelizia nicholae that grows large, showy, white flowers. The Blood Lily, Scadoxus mutliflorus, forms baby-head sized globular flowers with red filamented petals and radiate fragile threads of red that are affixed to the to the center of the bloom, great for container culture. The Red Butterfly lily, Odontonema strictum, won the perennial plant award of the year in Florida in the year 2000, and butterflies and hummingbirds flock to visit the fiery red spikes, beginning in mid-August and continuing until the first hard freeze. The Calla lily, Calla palustrus, has been hybridized with many other Calla lily species to grow into many splendid colors, but the new hybrids are not as popular as the white, fragrant, winter-blooming, Calla aethiopica; and the yellow calla, Calla aethiopica. Clivia lilies, Clivia minata, are choice heavy shade-requiring plants that produce gigantic clusters of orange flowers, cup shaped, with a yellow throat, and often will re-bloom two or three times from large bulbs. The Gloriosa lilies, Gloriosa rothschildiana, a climbing vine that clothes itself with recurved, star-like flowers that are favored and admired by florists and flower arrangers, because the blooms last so well. The Inca Lily, Alstomeria aurantiaca, has become naturalized in America, as an escaped bulb from the tropical jungles of Peru. The Alstromeria flowers last well as a cut-flower, and waxy, greenish-red funnels begin blooming vigorously in the spring. Lycoris are a charming group of flower bulbs that called Spider Lily, and they bloom in floral colors of pink, yellow, white, and red, Lycoris radiata, which is the most widely grown. The Pineapple Lily, Eucomis bicolor, grows into flowers that are shaped like miniature pineapple fruits in colors of white and rusty-red. Scilla flower bulbs are grown in large numbers as bedding plants, many Dutch varieties are small and make good cut flowers, but the best cold hardy Scilla is the Scilla peruviana that forms and grows into glowing, purplish-blue flowers that either grow as well as bedding plants, or containerized plants. Voodoo lilies, Amorphophallus bulbifer, are strange and bazaar leafy bulbous plants, both in leaf and flower, with a suggestive look of snakes, cobras, and other vermin that may be lurking beneath the leopard-spotted menacing leaves. Zephyranthes are called rain lilies, and softly bloom in colors of pink, Zephyranthes grandiflora; yellow, Zephyranthes citrina; white, Zephyranthes atamasco; and a mind-numbing number of Zephyranthes bulb mongrels that are distributed by a retired breeder in San Antonia, Texas, who apparently has nothing better to do, than paralyze all the worlds earnest taxonomists into the task of assembling the records of his Mexican-American bulb-children lineage into a staggering Encyclopedia publication.
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Apr
12
Posted under
Flower bulb care
This article explains a few things about planting bulbs, and if you’re interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don’t know.
How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.
There are many varieties of flowering plants, but few offer all the advantages of bulb plants. For starters, bulbs are generally inexpensive to buy, and they can be purchased through the mail or over the internet, since they are durable and easy to ship.
Bulbs are also beautiful, and some of the most beloved flowers in the garden, such as hyacinths, daffodils and of course tulips, are bulb plants. In addition, many bulbs can remain in the ground through the winter and bloom the next year.
Even though bulbs are among the hardiest of all plants, it is important to exercise caution when planting them, and to buy only the best and most healthy bulbs. By choosing the healthiest bulbs, it will be easy to create a beautiful and healthy garden year after year.
When shopping for bulbs, it is important to look for the firmest, plumpest bulbs you can find. A good, high quality bulb will seem surprisingly heavy for its size. It is important to avoid bulbs that are too soft, since softness is often a sign of bulb rot. In addition, bulbs that are very light in weight, or that appear shriveled or cracked, should be rejected. These bulbs may have lost too much of their moisture to bloom in the garden.
The best blooms are generally provided by the largest bulbs. For instance, the largest daffodil bulbs will generally provide the biggest daffodils, and the biggest tulip bulbs will produce the largest tulips. Since bulbs bloom again and again, however, a most cost effective approach for the patient gardener is to buy small bulbs and allow them to grow over time. Each bloom will be larger than the last, and letting your own small bulbs grow can be a real treat for the gardener.
After you have bought the best bulbs you can find, it is important to exercise care when planting them. In order to thrive and grow, bulbs should be provided with a good well drained flower bed. If you have a poor draining soil, you may want to plant them on a slope or used a raised bed for better drainage.
Many people like to prepare an entire bed only for bulbs, while others prefer to intersperse their bulbs with other kinds of plants. Either approach can be great, but it is important to do the planting properly. To plant an entire bed of bulbs, you should first remove weeds and other vegetation from the bed. You should then spread between one and three inches of organic matter over the soil, then put down a small amount of a high quality fertilizer. When using fertilizer, it is important to follow the instructions on the package. After you have tilled and raked the soil, it is time to plant the bulbs.
Most bulbs should be planted three times as deep as the bulb is wide, so the average two inch wide bulb should be planted to a depth of about six inches. In sandy soils or hot climates, the bulbs should be planted a little bit deeper, while in heavy soil they should be planted a bit shallower. While it is fine to space bulbs close together, the more closely spaced the bulbs the more need there will be to divide them in a few years.
Using a bulb planter is a great idea when planting bulbs. If you do not have a bulb planter handy, you can use a garden trowel to dig the holes. Each hole should be dug a few inches deeper than needed, and a tablespoon of fertilizer should be placed in the base of each hole. The fertilizer should then be covered with a thin layer of soil, on top of which the bulb should be placed. The rest of the hole should then be filled with soil.
After planting the bulbs, you should be sure to water the bed thoroughly in order to get them off to a good start. Proper moisture at the start will allow them to establish a healthy root system.
Is there really any information about planting bulbs that is nonessential? We all see things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one may be crucial to another.
Related Blogs
Feb
26
Posted under
Flower bulb care
This article explains a few things about understanding flower bulbs, and if you’re interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don’t know.
Bulbs are among the most interesting, most beautiful and easiest to grow of all flower varieties. Tulip bulbs were once so prized in Holland that it led to one of the best known financial bubbles in history, and even today, tulips are a leading export from that part of the world.
Even though bulbs are not quite so highly prized today as they were in 17th century Holland, they are still loved for their scents, their colors and their shapes, and gardeners love the fact that most bulbs are hardy and easy to grow.
Many of the most popular varieties of flowers are actually grown from bulbs, including tulips, crocuses, daffodils, irises, lilies, daylilies, dahlias and snowdrops.
One thing all bulb based plants have in common is that they grow from structures located under the ground. These underground structures provide the nutrients and energy the plants need to grow.
Even though bulb based plants are collectively known as “bulbs’, there are actually five distinct types of bulb plants – the true bulb, the corm, the tuber, the rhizome and the tuberous root. This article will provide examples of each type.
The True Bulb
The true bulb is in reality an underground stem base containing an embryonic plant. The embryonic plant contained within the steam base already contains the leaves, stems and flower buds, all ready to burst forth once optimal growing conditions are provided. This setup allows the plant to lie dormant during adverse conditions, and thus to survive droughts and other environmental challenges.
The embryonic plant contained within the stem base is surrounded by scales (modified leaves that overlap in a manner reminiscent of reptile or fish scales). At the bottom of the bulb is a basal plate; this basal plate holds the scales together and produces the roots of the plant.
Examples of true bulbs are such popular flower varieties as daffodils, tulips and lilies. True bulb varieties of plants are susceptible to dryness and must be handled carefully. When properly cared for, however, individual bulbs can live for many years without being planted.
The Corm
A corm, like a true bulb, also contains a stem base, but the tissue of the base is solid, and it lacks the scales seen in true bulbs. The roots grow from a basal plate which is located at the bottom of the corm, and the growth point is located at the top of the corm.
Popular types of corms include gladiolas and crocus. Each corm lasts for a single season, and as the corm shrinks away after blooming, a new corm forms on top of it. In addition, small increases, called cormels, are produced around the base of the corm’s basal plate.
The Tuber
Like corm and true bulbs, a tuber is actually an underground stem base. Unlike corms and a true bulbs, however, the tuber does not contain a basal plate. Instead, the roots of the tuber grow from both the base and from the sides. A tuber will have multiple growth points spread out over its top surface.
The Rhizome
The rhizome is actually a thickened stem that grows either partly or completely underneath the ground. The largest growth point on a rhizome is located at one end, and additional growth points are located along the sides. The most well known rhizome is the bearded iris.
Tuberous Roots
Unlike other types of bulbs, which are actually specially adapted stems, the tuberous root is not a true root. Instead, fibrous roots designed to absorb nutrients and water grow from the sides and the tip of the tuberous root. Most tuberous roots grow in a cluster, and swollen tuberous parts radiate out from a centralized point. The growth points of a tuberous root are found on the bases of the old stems and not on the roots themselves. Dahlias and daylilies are the best known examples of tuberous roots.
That’s the latest from the understanding flower bulbs authorities. Once you’re familiar with these ideas, you’ll be ready to move to the next level.
If you base what you do on inaccurate information, you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences. Make sure you get the whole understanding of flower bulbs from informed sources.
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Feb
25
Posted under
Flower bulb care 
Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there’s more to Bulb Flowers than you may have first thought. When choosing bulbs for your garden, it is important to choose the firmest and largest bulbs. The size of the bulb is important, since large bulbs are more likely to provide many blooms. The firmness of the bulb is a good indication of its health, and bulbs that are soft or mushy are unlikely to bloom. Bulbs are particularly susceptible to water damage. It is important to choose a bulb that is not to soft, but it is also important to look for cracks or scars. Bulbs with cracks or scars may have become too dry to bloom. Likewise, any bulbs that have begun to spout roots should be avoided, as they are unlikely to bloom properly once planted.Bulbs should be planted in a well prepared soil, and the depth they should be planted will be determined by the type of bulb. For example, crocus bulbs are generally planted four inches deep, daffodil and hyacinth bulbs six inches deep and tulip bulbs at a depth of eight inches.It is important to use a small amount of fertilizer at the bottom of each hole you dig when planting bulbs. The fertilizer should then be topped with a thin layer of soil, and the bulb carefully placed on top of the soil. It is important not to place the bulb directly on top of the fertilizer, as doing so could damage the bulb. Bulbs are always planted with the pointed end stick up and the flat, rooted side lying on top of the layer of soil. After the bulbs are in place, the rest of the hole should be filled with soil and the garden should be given a thorough watering.Taking care of the bulbs over the winter is important as well. In warmer climates, many bulbs can remain in the ground over winter. It is important, however, to remove tender bulbs such as dahlias, even in warmer climates. These bulbs should be stored over the winter in a cool, dry location.Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.
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