Bulbs Vs. Seeds

Although usually grown from bulbs, plants like tulips also produce seeds.

At first glance, bulbs and seeds seem variations on the same theme. You plant them both in your garden, and plants grow. However, bulbs and seeds represent different structures with varying functions for the plant and different care requirements.

Reproduction

Plants grown from bulbs always look like the parent plant while plants grown from seed show more variability.

From the perspective of a botanist, bulbs and seeds are both reproductive structures, but they represent different reproductive processes. Seeds develop after sexual reproduction combines the genetic material of two parent plants. Bulbs develop from vegetative reproduction, the duplication of material from a single parent plant.

Storage

Bulbs and seeds function similarly as nutrient storage structures. One of the defining traits that separates a seed from a spore, according to the website of retired biology professor John W. Kimball, is the inclusion of nutritional contents to support the young seedling. Likewise, bulbs function primarily as storage structures that allow plants to survive the winter and regrow each spring.

Care

Seeds often lie dormant for months or years before germinating, so they require very little special care before planting, although the Virginia Cooperative Extension website recommends keeping them in a cool, dry environment. Bulbs, on the other hand, are active plant structures and require more care before planting and after digging. When planting bulbs, be sure to plant the root end downward.

References

• Kimball's Biology Pages: Seeds
• University of Illinois Extension: Bulb Basics
• Virginia Cooperative Extension: Plant Propagation from Seed
• University of Illinois Extension: Bulbs and More -- Planting and Care