This is the time of year when hardy spring-blooming bulbs— snowdrops, crocus, scillas, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and others— brighten the gardens with their colorful blossoms. And the time of year when questions concerning them arise.
They are appealing, coming into bloom quickly after a season without flowers. People want to plant some at once today in their gardens. But nurseries do not sell them, and you cannot plant them in the spring.
Now is the time to decide what you want for your garden and where you want to plant, make a note of it, and order promptly when the fall bulb catalogs arrive.
Dutch Bulbs
These hardy bulbs are frequently referred to as Dutch bulbs, which might lead to the impression that they are all natives of Holland.
They came originally from many parts of the world but nowhere else do they seem to reach quite that degree of perfection year after year as they do in the Holland nursery fields where they have been grown for centuries.
Other countries now grow fine bulbs, but the greatest numbers are imported from Holland.
The Seed’s Mission In Life
Seeds may form on the plants because that’s their mission in life— that’s why they bloom. However, growing such things as tulips and daffodils from seeds takes several years. Also, seeds from hybrids will not be true.
Species may vary a little but are fairly uniform. We are told that seed formation weakens plants.
Therefore unless we desire to plant the seeds or want an increase from self-sown seeds, the faded blossoms should be removed to prevent pods from forming.
I started with Tulipa tarda (dasystemon), a species of tulip, from a gift packet of seeds. Also, my first white grape hyacinths were grown from seeds.
Self-Sown Crocus And Scillas
I permit crocus and scillas to self-sow and have not observed any noticeable weakening of the plants.
On the contrary, their seed stems are quite inconspicuous— those of the scillas, instead of growing boldly upright as do tulips and daffodils, bend to the ground seemingly from the weight of their round, well-filled pods.
Crocus pods start practically underground. What may be mistaken for the stem of the flower is the tube. The seeds form at the base. Then the lengthening seed stalk is almost lost to sight among the ripened foliage.
The more we learn about the life cycle of these bulbous plants, the better we will understand their needs. The foliage is necessary if they bloom another year and increase their progeny.
Under no circumstances should it be removed or destroyed until it dies down naturally. For example, if crocus or daffodils have been naturalized in the grass, the grass should not be mowed until the leaves of the flowering plants have turned yellow.
Parts Of Bulbs
Although we often group them as “bulb flowers,” not all of them grow from a true bulb. Bulbs are composed of fleshy layers of tissue fastened to a basal plate from which the roots grow.
When we buy the bulbs in the fall, each one already has an embryo flower (or flowers) and leaves compressed in the center of the bulb.
To get the picture of a true bulb, cut an onion from top to bottom— note the basal plate from which the roots grow. The “rings” are the fleshy layers in which food has been stored from the previous season’s growth.
In the center are the embryo leaves. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and several others grow from true bulbs.
Corm
Crocus has a solid bulb called a corm. Usually, one can see signs of buds on the top surface, showing where the new growth will be. There is a basal plate from which the roots grow. A corm renews itself each year.
As the new corm grows, the old one gradually withers away. As with the true bulbs, if the crocus leaves are removed right after blooming or before they ripen fully, the factory that processes the food stored in the new corm would be destroyed.
This stored-up food is necessary for the next season’s new roots, leaves, and flowers.
Moved Before New Root Growth
Any bulbs (this includes corms and tubers) that are to be reset in the garden should be moved before they start new root growth. This takes place in August, earlier than one might suspect. Some, such as crocus, might commence new root growth in July.
If moved soon after the old foliage has ripened, you will be sure not to disturb them at a critical period.
If they must be moved before the leaves have finished their work, dig the clumps, keeping as much soil as possible on the roots. Then, heel them carefully in a shallow trench in a semi-shady location.
Avoid bruising the foliage and leave enough space between the clumps for good air circulation. Then, when the leaves are withered and brown, the bulbs can be dug and cleaned off the old foliage, and replanted to the new location.
Planting Crown Imperial
Last spring, I asked a gardener who is unusually successful with crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis) why my “imported, blooming size” bulbs did not bloom.
“When did you plant them?” she asked.
I had planted them when they arrived in mid-November. She told me that it was much too late to plant crown imperial and showed me how one of my plants “tried to bloom”— a length of bare stem at the top. The other plant has leaves up.
In late May, she brought three fine bulbs from her garden. The foliage had already ripened, and I could plant them fully five and half months sooner than the imported bulbs. It was partly my fault that the nursery bulbs had been planted so late the year before.
I had delayed ordering until October. We should send our orders for bulbs early — then they can be filled as soon as the stock arrives at the nurseries.
Winter Aconite
Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is another whose tubers deteriorate rather quickly if kept out of the ground too long.
Tubers do not have the basal plate but arc solid throughout like a corm and have “eyes” or buds from which the new growth starts.
Does it harm the plants to cut the flowers of these early spring blooming bulbs? No, cut all the flowers you want but be prudent when cutting any of the leaves, especially when there are very few.
Do the bulbs, corms, or tubers have to be dug annually? As long as they bloom satisfactorily, there is no need to disturb them.
However, when blossoms become smaller and smaller, they may have become too crowded— they should be dug, sorted as to size, and replanted.
What can I do to hide the ripening foliage? Between the clumps, you may plant shallow-rooted plants such as petunias or cup flowers (Nierembergia).
Some gardeners braid the yellowing leaves loosely and pin them to the ground to appear neater.
Difference Between Narcissus And Jonquil
What is the difference between narcissus and daffodils? What are jonquils?
Narcissus is the botanical name, and daffodil is the common name for the same group of plants. Some restrict the name daffodil for only the narcissus having large trumpets.
Jonquil is the common name for the species and the varieties of Narcissus jonquilla. They have small flowers and usually several to a stem.
The correct plural of the Latin word narcissus is narcissi; in common usage now, people who use the words most often say “narcissus” whether they mean one or a number. You could say “six narcissi,” or “six narcissuses,” but most people nowadays would say just “six narcissi.”
44659 by Olga Rolf Tiemann