Spring Bulb Identification

Tulips bring a touch of spring.

Geophytes are frequently referred to as bulbs. The term "bulb" refers to plants that have an underground fleshy storage structure, which stores its complete life cycle and where the plant stores nutrients and water.

If you slice a bulb vertically, you should be able to see leaves, stems and flower buds.

Spring-flowering bulbs bloom from January through May, and include, but are not limited to, crocus, tulips, snowdrops and daffodils, often referred to as narcissus and jonquils.

Identifying Parts of a Bulb

Bulbs can store their own food and water.

Each bulb contains five basic parts. Fleshy scales are the primary storage tissues. The tunic is the skin-like covering that protects the fleshy scales. The shoot consists of developing flower and leaf buds. Lateral buds develop into bulblets, or offset shoots. The basal plate is the bottom of the bulb from which the roots grow.

A Bulb by Any Other Name

Irises are rhizomes.

The term "bulb" is a term that includes other names such as "corms," "tubers," "tuberous roots," "rhizomes" and true bulbs.

A corm is a solid, enlarged stem. It doesn't have any separate scale-like leaves, but instead, has a dry, papery outer layer that protects the inside. After the stem sprouts from the top of the corm, little buds pop up from the stem, which turn into flowers. An example of a corm is a crocus.

Rhizomes are plants with a root-like stem that grows horizontally and forms roots on the underside, while leaves and new stems sprout from the top. Buds form along the structure of each stem. One of the most popular rhizomes is the iris.

Tubers are storage organs formed from a stem or root. It develops eyes (buds) over its surface. Shoots grow upward from the buds and from plants. The best known tuber is a potato.

A tuberous root is a root, or portion of a root, that is enlarged for storage. Because they are root tissue, not stem tissue, they have no nodes or buds. Two of the most familiar are the sweet potato and the summer-flowering dahlia.

Considerations

There are many varieties of spring flowers.

If bulbs are going to be stored before fall planting, identification can be done in several ways.

If they come in commercial packaging, the package will be marked, identifying the flower, as well as planting instructions and considerations for each type of bulb, such as depth, distance between bulbs, and height and color of the flower itself.

However, if bulbs need to be identified for storage and future plantings, and there is no commercial packaging, larger bulbs can be written directly on the fleshy root with a permanent felt tip marking pen. If there is more than one root, each can be written on in case the root breaks.

For smaller bulbs, "true labels," which will stay true through bad weather, are simply wooden labels on which the variety of bulb is written, and can be put with the bulbs in a container. By writing the name and an important identifying characteristic on each label, identification in the fall can be easy.

Seasons for Spring Bulbs

Hyacinths like to show up in spring.

Nurseries ship spring-flowering bulbs in the fall. They will start to grow again in the fall and flower the following growing season. The growing season will start in late winter for bulbs and continues through spring and into early summer. Snowdrops are some of the first to appear, sometimes as early as February, Alliums are the late-bloomers, ending their blooming season in June.

Types

Tulips are of the hardy variety.

Bulbs are considered either hardy or tender. A hardy bulb survives winters in the ground and may be left in place all year, and most should be planted early in the fall. Planting them at the proper time makes winter survival more likely and also ensures adequate root development, which results in better flower production. Some of the most popular hardy bulbs are crocus, snowdrops, hyacinths and tulips.

Tender bulbs should be lifted after the growing season, stored indoors, and replanted the following year. Tender bulbs should be planted outdoors in spring after all danger of frost is past. They may also be started indoors for later transplanting. Some of the most common tender bulbs are garden dahlias and Dutch iris.

References

• Department of Horticulture, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service: Flowering Bulbs, Bulb Hardiness Dictates Planting Time
• Spring Hill Nurseries: Different Types of Bulbs - Step-by-Step Gardening
• University of Minnesota Extension: Storing Tender Bulbs and Bulblike Structures
• University of Illinois Extension: Bulbs & More; Bulb Basics
• The Learning Garden: From Seed to Seed