Sep
06
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.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.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 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.
Aug
08
Posted under
Flower bulb care
When you look at any blooming flower, whether it is a tulip or a wildflower, you see the very last stage of its growth. Not all flowers start the same way, though. There is a difference between a tulip bulb and a seed that every gardener should know. To learn more, read the following information.
Let’s start with the basic definition of an ordinary flower bulb. There are many different definitions you can find on gardening websites. Here are two similar, but different definitions:
An underground leaf bud enwrapped in fleshy scales or coats.
An underground storage organ made up of fleshy scales wrapped around each other from which flowers and leaves are produced.
Let’s pull out the common elements. A tulip bulb is the bottom part of a tulip plant. When the bulb is planted in the soil and begins to come to life, roots and shoots break through the outer wall. Roots dig deeper into the soil to collect water and nutrients. Shoots grow upward and break through the surface of the soil and grow into the green plant that bears a tulip flower.
A bulb is a “storage organ.” It stores food in the “fleshy scales” around the “core” of the bulb. That core grows into next year’s plant.
According to Wikipedia, a seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. The seed coat is a hard case that protects the tiny plant inside. Seeds grow inside a flower or fruit. A seed can be harvested, cleaned, dried and planted to grow new flowers and plants.
You can find tulip seeds within the seed pod in tulip flowers. The pod needs to be pollinated so that the seeds will grow. When the flower dies, you can extract seeds from the pod and plant them the following September. Just be aware that it can take several years before you see a flower on a tulip grown from a seed. Some gardening authorities state that it can take five-to-seven years before these tulips to produce blossoms. A tulip bulb is different from a seed because a bulb will produce a tulip plant and flower the very next year. Make sure to plant either one in the right soil with proper watering and care.
A seed can be as tiny as a poppy seed or as large as a peach pit. The biggest seed in the plant kingdom is from a coco de mer palm tree found in the Silhouette Islands in the Seychelles. That seed can weigh up to 17.6 kilograms or 38 pounds!
Tulip bulbs are very large compared to most flower seeds. A tulip bulb is measured by its circumference. A typical tulip bulb is 11-12 centimeters in circumference which translates to 1.5 inches in diameter. An average tulip bulb measures between 1.5 inches and 3 inches long.
Here’s one more, significant difference between a tulip bulb and a seed. Seeds often grow at the furthest end of a plant, tree or flower. Bulbs do not. A tulip bulbs multiplies by dividing into two bulbs that are attached to each other near the roots of the plant.
Jan
23
Posted under
Flower bulb care
The only way to keep up with the latest about Caring For Your Plant Bulbs is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information. If you read everything you find about Caring For Your Bulbs, it won’t take long for you to become an influential authority.
How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.
Bulbs are generally among the easiest of all plants to care for, and this hardiness makes bulbs one of the most popular among all kinds of gardeners. Even though bulbs are easy to care for, however, it is still important to care for them properly to ensure you will have a garden full of dahlias, lilies, daffodils, tulips and other bulbs.
One great thing about bulbs is the colors they come in. Bulb plants come in a wide variety of colors, and a flower bed full of bulbs can be one of the most colorful parts of any garden.
As with any type of plant, it is important that your bed full of bulbs receive plenty of water, plenty of sunlight, proper fertilization and a good quality soil. Providing these basic elements is the best way to get your bulbs off to the best start.
When it comes to watering bulbs, it is important to remember that all bulbs need regular watering during their growth and blooming period. For most bulbs, the active growth period begins shortly after they go into the ground, and it continues until the foliage on the plant has died back. The die back generally occurs after the flowering has stopped, or in the autumn of the year.
If there is not enough rainfall available, the gardener should be sure to supplement the water with deep watering, deep enough to reach the root zone, as the roots will be growing underneath the bulb. In addition, providing a good layer of mulch will assist the roots in retaining their all important moisture content. It is important to note here, however, that the bearded iris should never be mulched, since mulching it will cause it to rot.
Proper fertilization is also very important to successfully growing bulbs. The fertilizer should be applied at the time the bulb is planted, in the bottom of the hole, and covered with a thin layer of soil. The bulb should never be placed directly on top of the fertilizer. In addition, the bulbs should be fed with a high nitrogen content fertilizer at the start of the growing season. Providing this extra feeding will help the bulbs to produce more attractive flowers.
After the bulbs have completed their blooming cycle, they will have used up a great deal of their nutrient content. For the bulb to do well the following season it is important for those nutrients to be replenished. There are two steps gardeners should take to ensure that their bulbs will bloom well the next year.
The first step is to be certain that the foliage is left on the plant, even if the foliage looks poor, until the foliage has yellowed and pulls off easily. That is because the leaves will continue to make food for the plant as long as they are green, and this food will help the plant bloom better the next year.
The second step is to provide a good quality fertilizer right after the flowers have begun to fade away. It is important to fertilize with a bulb food which is high in phosphorus and potassium, as this will help the plant thrive the next year.
In order to be their most effective, the phosphorus and potassium in the bulb food must be able to reach the root zone, and for this reason the fertilizer should be placed as close as possible to the roots. For a planting that has already been established, the fertilizer should be stretched slightly into the soil to help it move deeper, and the feeding should be followed by a deep watering.
There’s a lot to understand about Caring For Your Bulbs. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.
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Dec
28
Posted under
Flower bulb care
In case you are just starting out gardening, or you have a number of years of gardening experience, there is every possibility that you may consider planting bulbs. Most seasoned gardeners always make it a point to grow bulbs due to their toughness, convenience, and vivid hues.
Bulbs are capable of unfailingly blossoming several times in very season without the need to replant them, and if you properly schedule and tenderly plant them, you can enjoy those gorgeous bulb hues from the end of winter to about June.
After the bulbs are planted, they require very little maintenance and are quite simply are placed in the garden area or in containers.
Then, what exactly are bulbs? These are plainly, a kind of a nursery meant for the plant seed or embryo; now, in this nursery, adequate food and shelter are made available to the plant embryo. The moment the bulb is planted in the soil, there is nothing much to do save for watering it regularly, observe it slowly growing, and appreciate the attractive hues on display by early February or March!
So, now we come to the issue of selecting the suitable kind of bulbs for your garden. In the first instance, as usual, you should consider the environment in which the plant is to grow. When the groundwork for that is completed, you need to reflect on the possible colors you prefer to flaunt in your garden and the right time you desire your garden to be in full bloom.
A majority of gardeners propose tulips since they occur in a kaleidoscopic range of hues, virtually spanning from black to white. Then there are daffodils, which are also an excellent selection, appearing in yellow hues or in intermingling shades of white and yellow.
Still another popular preference of the bulb gardening variety are crocuses, which occur in yellow, white, or purple shades. Of course, you should give free rein to your imagination and fashion bulb blends to produce a captivating display of brilliant colors.
Then again, if you prepare meticulously, you can possess a garden that blooms nearly all the time, by planting myriad bulb variants. Crocuses, tulips, winter aconite, snowdrops, and daffodils all bloom early in the spring season.
Grecian windflowers and Grape hyacinth tend to blossom in the middle of spring, while Persian buttercups and lilies tend to blossom in early to the middle of summer. Begonias, amaryllis, eucomis, dahlias, caladiums, and elephant ears all bloom in summer, even as meadow saffron blossoms in the fall. It is important to commit to memory that the bulbs that tend to bloom in spring should be carefully planted in autumn, while the ones that bloom in summer as well as autumn should be gently planted in spring.
After you have resolved the kind of bulbs you wish to grow, the time has now come to set off to the gardening outlet to pick up the bulbs. In the first instance, bulbs are also known as rhizomes, tubers, or corms, and hence if you come across these tags, you can safely take them without much ado. Always opt for the biggest and most compact bulbs that you can get hold of; gardening specialists will inform you that the larger bulbs bring forth larger blooms.
Moreover, squishy bulbs are generally not in good condition and tend to bloom feebly or will not produce any blooms at all. Positively pass up blooms that have scars or cracks, as this too, signifies sick plants, and you never should choose bulbs that already are growing roots; such bulbs, in all probability, will not blossom satisfactorily once planted in the soil.
By now, you have selected your bulbs, given them the once over, and carried them home. Then the next step is that in case you do not wish to plant them at once, ensure they are stored in a dry, cool place, not exposed to direct sunshine, until such time you are all set to plant them in the soil or grow them in containers. When you are all prepared to plant, begin to hollow out the ground to make holes, which are three times the bulbs’ diameter that you are about to plant.
There are quite a few gardeners, who favor a structured appearance and hence plant the bulbs in precise rows.
In case you fall into this category, you need to acquire a bulb planter, which is a cylindrical shaped implement with a grip that helps to extract small tufts of the earth in a systematic and consistent manner.
There are other bulb gardening enthusiasts, who fancy the unaffected, natural appearance and will in fact, put in a couple or more bulbs into a single hole, trying to create a ‘clumped’ look.
Whatever the impression you wish to create, prior to putting the bulbs in the holes, you should ensure that a little quantity of fertilizer is placed in the holes and a light layer of soil is showered over it. Then put the bulb inside the hole over the soil layer (it should not have any contact with the fertilizer as it may spoil) with the end up and the flat side against the soil.
Pack the holes with soil, tapping it downward firmly; there should not be any air pockets and the bulbs need to be held in position by the soil. The planting conditions with regard to bulbs should be the very best since bulbs are lasting add-ons for your garden.
Finally, you can revel in the visual work of art that you have fashioned! However, preserving this stunning visual requires some effort. One common method of ensuring your bulbs are healthy and are blooming is to de-head them. This process entails taking out wilted flowers to encourage plants to bring forth more flowers. Always, commit to memory, especially where bulbs are concerned, that leaves should never be taken out until they begin to become brown.
In conclusion, remember that in warmer climes, most of the bulbs can be left in the ground in winter and they will not spoil. On the other hand, in colder climes, before the winter sets in, the bulbs need to be taken out from the ground and kept in a cool and dry place.
In fact, there are a few tender bulbs, such as dahlias, that are unable to survive the winter season, even when planted in warmer climes, and therefore should be taken out. Yet again, brush up on the subject and be aware of the bulbs’ requirements that you select for your garden.
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Jul
10
Posted under
Flower bulb care
When you think of any kind of gardening, the first thing that pops into your mind is flower gardening. Flowers and gardens being naturally synonymous with each other. And dedicated gardener that you are, youll naturally be doing your own flower gardening this year.
Flower gardening need not be limited only to summertime. If you plan carefully and plant ahead of time, your garden can be filled with an abundance of flowers for most of the year.
If we start by seasons, then for spring flowers, the best thing you could do would be to plant bulbs. Any nursery will have them, and if youre more inclined towards the exotic, and rarer flowering bulbs, theres a good chance you can have them ordered specially.
Favorites amongst bulb lovers are early springtime Crocuses, and cheerful Snowdrops. Tulips though, are by and away the most famous of bulbs in demand by flower gardeners, and are available in a variety of shades, including a black-colored one, which is really more of a deep maroon and one of those rare flowers I was talking about earlier.
Remember that all spring flowering bulbs should be planted in mid autumn, as this is the best time for them. Come any closer to winter and youre in danger of losing your bulbs altogether.
Moving through to summer, we find that perennials are a firm favorite for flower gardening as they yield blooms almost continuously throughout the season, and sometimes beyond. With a little luck and care, youll also find that most of your perennials will last through to next year, and the year after that, and, well you get the picture right? Youll also find that as the years and the seasons wear on, your perennials will become fuller, and generally will become more abundant than the first year you planted them.
As autumn gently closes in most flower gardens are left bereft of anything but a few small hardy plants. If you’re into more dedicated flower gardening however, that need not be the case for you. Hardy, drought resistant plants like Asters number among the many types of fall flowers available, and will look stunning in late summer/early fall, Generally, autumn plants will grow to a good 3-4 feet in height, and have vivid colors, as well as the more genteel pastel colors to choose from. Ornamental grasses are another favorite and will nicely complement your fall flowers.
To round off the year and your efforts at flower gardening, don’t despair as there are many winter blooms available. Amaryllis, Hyacinth, and Narcissus are a few of the more common known flowers and are available in bulb form. If you want something a little more out of the ordinary, you could always try Winter Jasmine, or Winter Honeysuckle.
So, take heart, take plenty of notes, plan, and buy to your heart’s content. By the end of it all you truly will have a flower for every season, and your flower gardening efforts will be rewarded most bountifully
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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.
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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.
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Jan
20
Posted under
Flower bulb care
Early November marks the best time to plant spring bulbs in your gardens. Daffodils, crocus, and tulips liven up your garden well before many trees and plants have started sprouting. A little bit of work will give you rich rewards in the spring when you are searching for a hint of green on the trees. And you’ll have plenty of flowers to cut for springtime arrangements.
Planting bulbs in November allows the bulbs to cool for a time. This cooling period allows roots to develop but protects the bulb from any frost on the surface. Soil temperatures should be below 60 degrees. And of course, try to plant bulbs when it’s a comfortable, sunny day. This’ll make things a lot neater but also keep the bulbs from getting wet until you ready to water them.
Bulbs should be planted in full or partial sun. The garden should never be soaking wet so choose another area if the spot has poor drainage. You also need to consider how much sun a flowering plant will receive in the spring. Too much sun causes the flower to die off too soon. So maximize your placement for the longest possible enjoyment of your flowers.
There’s two ways to plant bulbs. If you are planting a large number of bulbs, dig a trench with a spade. If you are planting just a few bulbs, it’s much easier to use a bulb-planting tool. This tool removes a cylinder shape of dirt allowing you to just drop the bulb in the pre-formed hole and replace the dirt. It’s easy, kind of fun, and really quick. Trenching can take a little more time but it’s definitely the only option for planting large volumes of bulbs.
You might want to have a bulb arrangement plan if you want a blanket of color or a organized grouping of flowers. This should all be decided before digging. At this point, bulb planting might seem complicated but it really isn’t.
Some general rules of thumb: large bulbs are planted 8-12 inches deep and 3-6 inches apart. Small bulbs are planted 4-6 inches deep and 1-2 inches apart. Dig your trench or hole and sprinkle some bone meal or bulb fertilizer in the hole. Place the bulbs where you want them, making sure they are at the correct depth. Cover the bulb with soil and water them. Add 2-3 inches of mulch. That’s it!
It’s easy. Your only problem could come in the form of your friendly, neighborhood squirrel. Some folks industriously plant bulbs only to have an equally industrious squirrel come right behind them, diligently digging up an expensive and tasty snack. If this happens and you actually have some bulbs left after squirrel dinnertime, just gently move the mulch out of the way and add a layer of gravel. Replace the mulch. This will usually deter digging.
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