Brooklyn Queens Land Trust
BULBS
Introduction to Flower Bulbs
Introduction to Bulbs
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When it comes to producing color early in the season, you can't beat spring-flowering perennial bulbs. If cared for properly, they'll come back year after year from a single fall planting, providing many blooms for your investment.
For midsummer color, you can plant tender bulbs of tropical perennials such as gladiolas, cannas, and dahlias. You need to dig up these tender bulbs and store them in the fall, then replant them after the danger of frost has passed in the spring. Each year they multiply, so you have even more to plant the next year.
Bulb is a term that loosely describes a variety of fleshy, underground organs that some plants use to store energy over winter to fuel growth in spring.
Plants that use these special organs are sometimes called geophytes. They include:
True bulbs - Energy stored in modified leaves, called scales. Examples include onions, lilies, daffodils, and tulips.
Corms - Energy stored in a modified, swollen stem. Examples include crocus and gladiolas.
Tubers - Energy stored in thickened underground stem. Examples include caladium, and (in the culinary world) potatoes.
Rhizomes - Energy stored in underground stems that grow horizontally through the soil. Examples include bearded irises, lily of the valley, and orchids.
Tuberous roots - Energy stored in large, fleshy roots. Examples include dahlia and anemones.
Bulbs have many advantages:
Spring-flowering bulbs are the earliest plants to bloom, with snowdrops and winter aconites flowering in early March in much of New York.
You can plant a variety of spring-flowering bulbs to flower from very early to late spring, providing a nearly continuous sequence of bloom. Snowdrops and aconites are soon followed by crocuses, scillas, and chionodoxas. Then come hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips. You can plant tender bulbs or other annual flowers to fill in spaces left after the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs dies back to the ground.
Centuries of breeding have provided many bulbs with exceptionally showy flowers.
Bulbs are versatile. There is a type for any almost any location. You can make mass plantings in solid beds or plant drifts of bulbs around perennial borders or rock gardens. Bulbs are attractive along paths and walks, around pools, or in front of foundation plantings. Many spring-flowering bulbs can be naturalized in woodlands, fields, or even lawns.
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The following information comes from the website, www.heritagebulbs.com. The BQLT is including this information for educational purposes only and not promoting any business, product, or recommendations.
Introduction to Flower Bulbs
Bulb Varieties
Bulbs bring flowers into your garden or home on any day of the year: that is their unique appeal. The flowers come in all sizes and all colours - from palest pink to dazzling blue - and often with scent too. Bulbs come from all over the world: Central Asia and South Africa have the greatest populations, but we also have superb varieties from countries such as Brazil and Mexico, Iran and Turkey. Many bulbs are of ancient lineage, and flower bulbs such as Saffron Crocus (Crocus sativus) and the Madonna Lily (Lilium candidum) have been valued by mankind for thousands of years. Today we have an extraordinary range of bulbs to choose from, with 5,900 registered tulips alone! With a little knowledge and care, any of us can grow and enjoy flower bulbs, and build their own collection.
Storage Organs
'Bulbs' or 'flower bulbs' are general terms used to describe any plant that produces an underground storage organ, such as a bulb, tuber or rhizome, and flowers. Typically these plants have adapted in this way in order to survive periods of drought, during which they become dormant, returning to growth when light, warmth and moisture are again present together. Open up a bulb such as a tulip or a daffodil, and you will see that a highly developed plant is contained within the tunic, complete with leaves and inflorescence. In this way the plant's future potential is neatly enclosed, ready to give full expression to itself in its own season.
Bulb Families
The main bulb families are Iridaceae, Amaryllidaceae, and Liliaceae. The Iris family (Iridaceae) has about 70 genera and 1,500 species. The Amaryllidaceae has about 85 genera and around 800 species, mostly bulbous. The Liliaceae is very varied with about 200 genera and 3,600 species. Smaller families include Zingiberaceae (Ginger family, eg Roscoea purpurea) and Tecophiliaeaceae (eg Tecophilaea cyanocrocus). For more information on bulb species, their naming and characteristics, we recommend you consult Growing Bulbs, by Martyn Rix, or The Bulb Book, by Martyn Rix and Roger Phillips.
Bulb Habitats
Most bulbs are adapted to a Mediterranean climate with a cool, wet winter and a hot, dry summer. Growth takes place in the Autumn, Winter and Spring, and the bulbs are dormant in Summer. Examples of such bulbs are Tulipa, Narcissus and Crocus. These are planted in our Autumn, for Spring flowering.
The other main climate for bulbs is found in central and southern Africa and parts of North and South America: here winters are cool and dry, and growth occurs in the warm, wet summers. Examples of such plants are Watsonia, Schizostylis and Zephyranthes. These are planted in our Spring, for Summer-Autumn flowering.
The distinction between wet winter/dry summer and dry winter/wet summer is important for the cultivation of bulbs (See Requirements for Growing Bulbs).
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For further information, see Growing Bulbs by Martyn Rix, or Flowers of the Mediterranean by Oleg Polunin and A Huxley
Brief History of Bulbs and Planting Options
Brief History of Bulbs
In this note we give a brief historical perspective on bulbs, and extract from the individual Heritage Bulb Histories.
Old Traditions
Flower bulbs in cultivation are almost as old as civilizaion itself. A stone relief in 7th Century Assyrian Nineveh shows a lioness reclining in the shade of a White Lily; the flower was later taken up by Christians and made an emblem of the Virgin Mary, acquiring the name 'Madonna Lily' (Lilium candidum). In Minoan Crete, on the walls of the Palace of Knossos, another beautiful white flowering bulb can be seen, this the Sea Daffodil, Pancratium maritimum, valued for its appearance - and for the woolly hairs on the inside of the seed coat that was used to weave felt shoes (Theophrastus).
More venerable and useful still was Crocus sativus, the Saffron Crocus, employed by the ancients as a medicine, condiment, disinfectant and dye; the Saffron Crocus is so long in cultivation that no one is sure whence it came, but it can be seen being harvested by women in the frescoes of Santorini, circa 3500 BC.
Fritillaria imperialis, the Crown Imperial, was made the subject of a Christian legend (see Heritage Bulb Histories), but also features in much older tales from its native Persia, where it was known as 'Tears of Mary'.
Faith and Passion
The tulip was early in the affections of man. Here are the famous lines from Omar Khayyam (d. 1122):
As then the tulip from her morning sup
Of Heav'nly Vintage from the soil looks up,
Do you devoutly do the like, till Heav'n
To Earth invert you - like an empty Cup.
The Tulpenwoede ('Tulipomania') period in the Netherlands in the first part of the Seventeenth Century we have mentioned already (Introduction to Flower Bulbs), but less well known is the French craze for hyacinths later in the century, and the extraordinary passion for tulips shown by the Turks in the 1720s, when tulips such as Nize-I Rummani ('The Roman's Spear') increased fourfold in value in a single year, and the tulip-mad Sultan gave splendid parties in which women guests were required to dress as tulips, and their colourful dresses were lit from below by the light from hundreds of candles strapped to the backs of wandering tortoises.
Ottoman passion was for dagger-
shaped tulips like T.acuminata
Warlike Spirit
It is strange to observe how the fiercest of generals have had the softest of spots for the tulip. The great Moghul Emperors, from Babur to Jahangir, planted tulips wherever they travelled, and commissioned artists to paint their favourites. Mehmet II, fearsome conqueror of golden Byzantium, laid out enormous tulip-filled gardens around his new Palace at Topkapi, employing 920 gardeners.
In Protectorate England in the 1650s, John Lambert, one of Oliver Cromwell's most severe Major-Generals, so loved his tulips that the Royalist propaganda of the time derided him as 'Knight of Ye Golden Tulip'. Yet the Royalists had their own wartime tulip-lovers, led by Sir Thomas Hanmer, and, remarkably, Hanmer and Lambert continued to send each other bulbous rarities during these troubled times, even across the great religious and political divide.
The tulip's warlike connections were not lost on the gentlemen of the great bulb-growing nurseries in Holland and elsewhere, and in the Twentieth Century some 17 tulips have been named for celebrated generals - usually victorious - with the American icons Eisenhower and Patton leading the parade. Heritage Bulb Club's own representative in this class is Tulipa 'Generaal de Wet', the April variety in the Heritage Collection, a splendid Orange-Red Single Late Tulip, proudly named by the Dutch in 1904 for the Boer General who pioneered the flying column and made the British Tommy's life a misery for three years.
Children and Laughter
Many of the old writers were at pains to warn their readers of the powerful side-effects of certain bulbs and tubers. The botanist William Turner (c. 1508-68), deeply impressed by the childbirth-assisting qualities of cyclamen , advised "it is perilous for weomen with chylde to go over this roote". A generation later John Gerard (1545-1612) desired his readers to follow his own example in fencing off the cyclamen with a palisade of sticks, to keep the pregnant matrons from danger.
Our last word is from Tournefort's Herball:
"I saw a lady of Trent … almost shaken to pieces with laughing immoderately for a space of Three Hours, which was occasioned by her taking too much Saffron".
Enjoy your bulbs.
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For further information, see, for example, Plants in Garden History by Penelope Hobhouse, The Tulip by Anna Pavord and Flowers and Their Histories by Alice M Coats.
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The following information comes from the Cornell University Extension:
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Planting Options
The best time to plant hardy spring-flowering bulbs in New York is late summer to early fall, though the time frame varies around the state:
In Zone 4 and 5, plant by late September to early October.
In Zone 6, plant by mid-October.
In Zone 7, plant by early November.
In protected areas in the New York metropolitan area, plant by early December.
Plant hardy fall-flowering bulbs (such as colchicum) in August. Treat tender summer-flowering bulbs like annual flowers. Plant them after the danger of frost has passed in late spring.
When purchasing spring-flowering bulbs, size matters. Bigger bulbs produce bigger plants. Avoid bulbs that are soft, moldy, bruised, or show other signs of damage or disease. If the papery skin (like an onion's) is loose or torn, it usually won't affect the bulb unless the bulb has been otherwise damaged. In fact, removing skin from the bottom of tulip bulbs may help them root faster if you are late planting them. If you can't plant your bulbs soon after purchase, store them in a cool (60 degrees F to 65 degrees F) place to keep them from drying out.
Before planting bulbs, carefully note which end is up. It's usually pointed, compared with the root end which looks like the base of an onion. (Even bulbs planted upside-down usually come up.)
Plant tulips and daffodils so that their tops are about 5 inches below the surface of the soil. (Plant tulips slightly deeper in sandy soils.) Plant smaller bulbs (such as scillas, chionodoxas, grape hyacinths and snowdrops and any others that are 1 inch or less in diameter) so that their tops are about 2 to 3 inches below the soil surface. (As a general rule plant bulbs so that the soil above the top of the bulb is about twice the diameter of the bulb.)
Space large bulbs about 4 to 6 inches apart. This provides them with enough space to grow for two or three years before they need to be divided. Space crocuses and grape hyacinths about 2 to 3 inches apart. Space smaller bulbs 1 to 2 inches apart. For naturalized plantings, space daffodils at least 10 inches apart and set small bulbs at a rate of about 20 per square foot. Smaller bulbs are much more effective when planted in masses rather than individually.
In light sandy soils, you can use the dibble method to plant: Make a small hole with a pointed stick, press the bulb down into the hole, and cover with soil. But with heavier clay soils it's important to loosen the soil beneath the bulb so that the roots can easily penetrate the soil. To plant individual bulbs, use a trowel to dig a small hole to the appropriate depth and loosen soil in the bottom of the hole. For group plantings, excavate a larger area to the correct depth with a shovel and loosen the soil. Gently snuggle the bulbs into the loosened soil at the bottom of the hole, then cover with soil.
Some gardeners add fertilizer to the bottom of the hole. If you do, work it in well and add a layer of soil above this before planting the bulbs so they do not come into direct contact with the fertilizer.
Water thoroughly after planting. Cover plantings with 2 to 4 inches of mulch to protect the bulbs from cold and keep the soil from heaving or drying out. If mice are a problem, place wire mesh over beds until the ground freezes to prevent them from digging out bulbs. To discourage squirrels, place chicken wire over plantings. The bulbs will grow up through the chicken wire in spring.
Tender summer-flowering bulbs are planted in much the same way, only in late spring. Spacings vary depending on species.
Requirements for Growing Bulbs
Requirements for Growing Bulbs
Bulbs come from many and varied habitats, and it is unwise to generalise too much about their requirements. All Heritage Bulbs come with specific and detailed guidance from us on growing our selected bulb varieties (Heritage Growing Notes).
However, some general points may assist.
First, it is important to know what is the bulb's natural climatic regime. If, for example, your bulb is adapted for a warm dry bake over the Summer , then a cool, wet Summer stint in your garden will not encourage the bulb to flower the following year; better to have put it out of the rain's way in a well-lit shed.
Second, very few bulbs appreciate soggy wet feet. Good drainage is therefore a typical ingredient in growing success, usually provided by adding generous quantities of coarse sand and grit to one's soil.
Third, most bulbs need to be fed when they are in the growth phase, both before and after flowering, until the leaves fade. A phosphate-rich liquid feed such as tomato fertiliser is usually suitable.
Fourth, propagation by seed takes care and attention and patience, and is not guaranteed to pass on the precise characteristics of the parent to the child. For most gardeners, propagating bulbs from offsets or bulbils formed off the mother bulb is more practicable.
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Further Information
There is a considerable literature on growing bulbs in which we would particularly mention the books of Rod Leeds, Brian Matthews and Martyn Rix. The International Flower Bulb Convention in the Netherlands also has much pertinent information.
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Cornell University gives the following advice:
Site and Soil
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Most spring-flowering bulbs do well the first year regardless of where they are planted. Most of what they need to thrive is packaged right in the bulb. For bulbs to come back and flower in subsequent years, you need to pay careful attention to the site and soil.
Most bulbs need well-drained soil. (Camassia is an exception that does well in wet, almost swampy areas.) Do not plant bulbs in areas where there is standing water, especially during the spring thaw.
Most bulbs need full sun -- at least 5 to 6 hours of direct sun daily-- if they are to thrive from year to year. For best flowering, 8 to 10 hours of sun is even better.
Planting bulbs beneath large trees is seldom a good idea because of the dense shade and competition from tree roots. Daffodils, other early-flowering bulbs, and even some early-flowering tulips may be exceptions. While they still face competition from the tree for nutrients and water, they have a chance to photosynthesize before the leaves return to the tree and shade them out.
If deer are a problem where you garden, choose species that deer tend to avoid. For example, deer love tulips but generally do not eat daffodils.
Because spring-flowering bulbs will grow in the same spot for several years, it's very important to do a good job of soil preparation before planting, keeping in mind the importance of good drainage. Tender summer bulbs also need well-prepared soil to thrive.
Contact your local Extension office for information about how to test your soil to find out your pH and nutrient levels. They may suggest a more complete soil test from the Cornell Nutrient Analysis Lab. Follow the directions on your soil test report about adding lime to increase pH or adding fertilizer to correct nutrient deficiencies.
Start preparing soil in summer for fall planting of spring-flowering bulbs. For tender summer-flowering bulbs, prepare soil the previous fall or in early spring. Spade or loosen the soil 8 to 12 inches deep. (The site should be level or gently sloped to keep soil from eroding.) Add organic matter (such as well-rotted manure) at a rate of about 3 bushels per 100 square feet and work it into the top 8 inches of soil. This is especially important for improving drainage in heavy clay soils. Avoid fresh manure as it may injure bulbs. Apply about 1 pound per 100 square feet of low-nitrogen fertilizer such as 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 or an equivalent organic source and work it into the top 4 to 6 inches of soil.
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Caring for Bulbs
Most spring-flowering bulb care is aimed at helping the plant store energy in the bulb so that it will overwinter and bloom again the following year.
Deadheading
After flowers on spring-flowering bulbs fade, remove them so the plants don't invest energy in developing seeds. You want them putting their energy back into the bulb. Do not remove foliage until it turns yellow and dies back naturally. For tulips and daffodils, this may be as late as mid-July. Cut off foliage at ground level and remove it to prevent disease. Take as few leaves as possible if cutting blooms to bring inside. The traditional English gardening practice of bunching and tying leaves reduces their exposure to the sun during a critical time when they need maximum exposure to sun.
Watering
Rain usually provides sufficient water for spring-flowering bulbs. But they benefit from thorough watering during prolonged dry spells, even after flowering.
Fertilizing
Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers on spring-flowering bulbs. When plants are in bloom, apply about 2 pounds of 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 per 100 square feet. Scratch it into the top inch of soil, avoiding contact with foliage and roots.
Staking
Some tall, heavy-flowered plants may require staking for support. Be careful not to damage the bulbs when inserting stakes.
Mulching
Cover spring-flowering bulb plantings with 2 to 4 inches of organic material after cold weather arrives in fall. Avoid unshredded leaves because they can mat down tightly. Remove the mulch in early spring.
Dividing
After several years, daffodils and some other species form clumps of multiple bulbs. The size of their flowers and length of their stems decreases as the bulbs become overcrowded. Wait until after the foliage dies, then dig up the bulbs, separate them, and replant them with wider spacings. You can replant them immediately after you dig them in June or July, or you can wash off excess soil, dry them, and store them in shallow boxes in a cool, dry, airy place until fall planting time. Replant only the largest bulbs in your flower beds. Plant the smaller bulbs in a nursery bed for a season or two until they reach flowering size.
Dig up tender summer bulbs after their foliage dies or is killed by frost. Clean off excess soil and store in a cool (60 degrees F to 65 degrees F), dry place over winter. Avoid storing bulbs at temperatures below 50 degrees F or above 70 degrees F.
Large hybridized tulips tend to bloom well the first year but generally decrease in size rapidly in following years. Species tulips, on the other hand, may last many years.
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An example of Growing Notes for Narcissi is reprinted below:
Narcissus bulbocodium var. conspicuus Hoop Petticoat Daffodil
GROWING NOTES
Origin and Constitution
Spain, Portugal, France. Hardy (Narcissus bulbocodium grow in the High Atlas of Morocco at 3000m). Wet winter/dryish summer.
Flowering Time, Colour and Height
Golden yellow flowers in March-April, height 6-8 inches (15-20 cm).
Position
This variety grows in the wild in short, wet turf, and will naturalise well in a sandy acid meadow or on a half-shady bank. It can also be planted in a rockery or at the front of a border, or, if preferred, in a pot.
Planting in Open Ground
Plant the bulbs 4-5 inches (10-12 cm) deep in an open, well-drained site in Autumn, not leaving it too late in the season, as the bulbs need to put on good roots the same year to flower well next Spring. If planting in grass, scatter the bulbs gently from hand to create a random spread over a patch of turf. In the place where each falls, use a small spade or trowel to lift a plug of turf of about 5 inches (12 cm) in depth. Place a bulb in the hole created, with the pointy tip facing up, and sprinkle a little of the garden soil from the turf plug beneath and above the bulb before replacing the divot and firming gently.
Planting in pots
Plant to a depth of 4-5 inches (10-12 cm) in peaty compost or loam such as John Innes No. 3, ensuring the bottom inch or two of the pot is filled with crocks, small stones or styrofoam for drainage, and keep the drainage holes from blocking. You can add a bark mulch to control weeds, help retain moisture and give a more natural appearance. If planting in a pot, you can plant in a plastic pot, then place this inside a more elegant pot by the house in Spring; perhaps a green or blue ceramic pot. When flowering is over, you can leave the plants in the plastic pot to finish the growth cycle in a corner of the garden.
Care and propagation
Allow the leaves to die back before removing them (if in grass, do not mow the planting area until 6 weeks after flowering). Leave the bulbs undisturbed in the ground to spread naturally over the years. If growing the bulbs in a pot, leave the pot outside to get some Summer rain. Propagate by separating and growing on in moist compost the bulblets that form to the side of the mother bulbs.
Planting Suggestions
Can be planted in grass along with species crocus suitable for naturalizing, such as Crocus tommasinianus - the 'Tommy' crocus.
Links
Explore Cornell University - Home Gardening
Flower Growing Guide from Cornell University
Language Translation tool
Tulipworld Bulb Finder
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