Bulbs are among the most popular of all flowering plants for the garden.  Bulbs have long been renowned for their beauty, their hardiness and their variety.  This article provides a small sampling of the many types of bulb plants available to the average gardener.

Muscari Armeniacum
The muscari, or grape hyacinth, is one of the most popular of all bulb varieties, and it has been for many years.  The grape hyacinth features narrow, grassy leaves that appear in the fall and can survive through the cold and snow of winter.  The leaves of the grape hyacinth are small, urn shaped and blue in color, and they grow on attractive eight inch tall spikes.  The flowers on the grape hyacinth bloom in the spring of the year, and these bulbs should be planted in the fall in order to bloom the spring.  The bulbs of the grape hyacinth should be planted two inches deep and three inches apart for best results.  The grape hyacinth prefers full sun or light shade, and it benefits from regular watering during its growth and bloom cycles.

Daffodil
The daffodil may be the most easily recognizable of all bulb plants, and it rewards its gardener with a generous display of beautiful blooms.  Besides the traditional white and yellow varieties, daffodils also come in shades of orange, apricot, pink and cream.  Daffodil bulbs should be planted twice as deep as they are tall, and they should be spaced between six and eight inches apart.  Daffodils benefit from full sun and regular watering during their growth and bloom periods.

Tulip
Tulips may just be the most well known and easily recognized of all bulb plants.  Indeed, in the minds of many tulips are synonymous with bulb plants.  The tulip has long been prized for its beauty, and tulips continue to be one of the most popular types of flowers among casual gardeners and professional growers alike.

In addition, tulips are among the most hybridized of all flowers, with hybrids available in a staggering array of shapes, sizes, colors and textures.  Some of the most popular tulip hybrids include pastels, spotted tulips, bicolor tulips and tricolor tulips.  There are also hybrids in the brightest hues, and even a variety that is almost black in color.  The tulip comes in a variety of shapes as well.  In addition to the classic egg shaped bloom, there are varieties with blossoms resembling the shapes of peonies and lilies.

The blooming season for most varieties of tulips runs from mid to late spring.  Most tulips need a period of extended cold in order to look and bloom their best.  Feeding with a high quality, nitrogen rich fertilizer will encourage multiple blooming.  The fertilizer should be applied before the first bloom for best results.

In mild climates, it is best to refrigerate tulip bulbs for six weeks before they are planted.  While it is possible for tulip bulbs to remain in the ground, most gardeners treat them as annuals and replant them each year.  Doing so is often the best way to get the best blooms year after year.

Tulips like full sun, and they benefit from a regular watering schedule during their growing and blooming periods.  It is best to plant tulip bulbs in the fall, and tulip bulbs should be planted three times as deep as the bulb is wide.  Therefore, a 2” wide bulb would be planted 6” deep.  It is important to leave sufficient space between the planted bulbs as well, from four to eight inches depending on the size of the bulb.

Flowering bulbs are among the most popular of all ornamental plants, and they have enjoyed striking popularity for many years.  Bulbs are renowned for their hardiness, color and variety, and there are enough types of bulbs to please even the most discriminating gardener.

With so many bulbs to choose from, it can be difficult to choose the right ones, so we present here a quick rundown of some of the most popular varieties of bulbs for the garden.

Crocus
Crocus bulbs typically bloom in early spring or in late winter, and they feature tubular shaped flowers ranging in size from 1½” to 3” long.  Crocuses come in a rainbow of colors, and they are a staple of many gardens.  Other types of crocus, such as the saffron crocus, bloom instead in the fall, and the flowers can rise from the bare ground weeks, or even only days, after the bulbs are planted.  It is important for crocus bulbs to be planted as soon as they become available in the fall.  The best way to plant crocus bulbs is two to three inches deep, with a spacing of three or four inches between bulbs.  Crocus bulbs should be planted in good quality soil with good drainage, and they should be provided with full sun or partial shade and watered regularly during their growing and blooming seasons.

Dahlia
Dahlias bloom from summer through fall, and they also come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes.  The size of dahlia flowers can range from two to twelve inches, and the height of the plants themselves can vary from just under a foot to more than seven feet for certain stake varieties.  It is best to plant dahlias after the last frost of the spring, and the roots should be set between four and six inches deep.  Tall dahlia varieties should be spaced four or five feet apart, while shorter ones can be spaced from one to one and a half feet apart.

Dahlias should have access to full sun, but in areas where the summers are very hot they may benefit from partial shade as well.  It is important to observe a regular watering schedule during the bloom and growth cycles of the dahlia.

Dahlia bulbs can be left in the ground if the winter temperatures do not go below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but most gardeners prefer instead to dig the dahlia bulbs up at the end of each growing season.  To do this, you should wait until the foliage has yellowed, then cut the stalks back to approximately four inches.  The clumps of the roots should be permitted to dry in the sun a few hours, then placed in boxes in a single layer and covered up with either sawdust or dry sand.  The bulbs should be stored in a cool dry place over the winter and replanted the following spring.

Galanthus Nivalis
The galanthus is more commonly known as the snowdrop, and it is one of the first plants to bloom at the end of the winter.  These plants are typically six to eight inches in height, and they feature one bell shaped flower on each side of the stalk.  Snowdrops are best suited for colder climates, and the bulbs are best planted in the autumn of the year.  The bulbs should be planted from three to four inches deep and about three inches apart.  Snowdrops typically do best in full sun or partial shade, and they like regular watering during their blooming and growing cycles.

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.

Just about every flower gardener will work with bulb plants at one time or another.  Bulbs are loved by gardeners for the ease with which they grow, their hardiness and the fact that they can bloom again and again for many consecutive seasons without the need to replant.  With all these advantages, it is no wonder that bulb plants are so popular among both new and experienced gardeners.
 
Choosing the right bulbs, however, is one thing that many beginning gardeners have trouble with.  After you develop and eye and feel for finding the best bulbs, however, you will be able to spot them from across the garden center.

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.

How bulbs are planted in the garden is important as well.  Most bulbs are best planted in the fall, most commonly in early to mid October.  The goal is to get the bulbs into the ground six weeks before the ground begins to freeze, so obviously the best time to plant will vary from location to location. 

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.

A simple gardening tool called a bulb planter is great for achieving a more uniform look to the blooming garden.  Bulb planters can be used to easily prepare perfect looking rows of flowers.  Those gardneres who prefer a more wild and freewheeling look, on the other hand, often dig a single hole and plant several bulbs in it.  This approach can lead to spectacular, if somewhat unpredictable, patterns once the bulbs begin to bloom.

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.

Even though bulbs are among the hardiest of garden plants, there are a few important things to remember.  One important technique to become familiar with is deadheading.  The term deadheading should already be familiar to those gardeners who work with perennials.  Deadheading is simply removing spent blooms in order to encourage more blossoms to develop.  This process is important with bulb plants as well.  When working with bulbs, however, it is important not to remove the leaves from the plants until the leaves have begun turning brown.

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.

Bulbs are wonderful plants for any gardener, from the newest to the most experienced.  Their combination of hardiness, color and beauty make them hard to beat for any flower enthusiast.

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.