When do bulbs multiply

Because of all this wounding and the difficulty of seeing the eyes at this time of year, perhaps you should wait until early spring to cut up crocus corms. Wounds heal most quickly then, and eyes are plumping up. Corms can also be propagated another way, with cormels. These are baby corms, produced around the base of a corm. Most other common spring bulbs are true bulbs, consisting of a foreshortened piece of stem with the bulk of the bulb made up of layers of leaves, scales or both.

As with your forsythia or rose bush, buds grow wherever leaves meet a stem. In bulbs, these buds become bulblets, which grow up to become first offsets and then bona fide bulbs themselves. One way to multiply bulbs is to just dig them up sometime between early summer and now, and then snap off and plant out the offsets.

Not having to elbow around in the dirt with their mother bulb, bulblets or other offsets lets these separated offsets grow quickly to flowering size, and make more of their own bulblets and offsets. For greater increase, make bulb cuttings of such beauties as daffodils and squill.

Bulbs that you just bought or ones that you just dug up are suitable candidates. Alternatively, scoop out the base with a knife. Plant either the bulb sections, the scored bulb, or the scooped bulb in a large, shallow flowerpot or seed flat and keep the potting soil moist. After a couple of months at room temperature, bulblets can be harvested and replanted.

Just take a few so that enough scales are left to nourish the mother bulb when you replant it. Toss the scales into a bag with some moist perlite and keep the bag at room temperature. Expect three to five bulblets to form at the base of each scale. When propagating bulbs, just as when propagating any plant, patience is important. Setting aside a nursery row is the best way to manage digging and keeping track of these plants.

And because some new plantings can take anywhere from two to seven years to bloom, this is a practice that should become one of your regular autumn tasks. Typically, these are perennials with periods of growth, flowering, seed setting, and dormancy as the topside growth dies completely back. Ones that have a tunic, or a paper-like covering, are known as tunicate bulbs. The tunic protects it from drying out.

Examples of true tunicates are alliums , daffodils , hyacinths , muscari , and tulips. Those without a tunic are called imbricate bulbs. Imbricates need to be keep moist before planting to prevent the scales from drying out. Fritillaria and lilies are a few common types of imbricates.

Plants that use corms for energy storage include autumn crocus , spring crocus , and gladiolus. Lily of the valley and iris are common garden rhizomes. Tubers are included in this category but they have a different structure, without a basal plate or a protective tunic.

These includes anemones , caladiums , and potatoes. And tuberous roots, like dahlias , differ again. They have the same cycles and growth patterns as bulbs, with the structure of proper roots. However, reproduction from seed does not guarantee the new plant will be identical to the parent, particularly with hybridized cultivars.

Pick dried flower heads and shake seeds onto a plate, then separate out the chaff. Toss the seeds in a light breeze to allow the chaff to float away, or gently blow away debris. Sow seeds on the surface of a light, loamy potting soil mix. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of sifted compost and top with a layer of fine sand.

Place flats or pots in a cold frame, unheated greenhouse , or in a sheltered spot out of danger from heavy rains. Ensure the soil is kept moist but not wet. Bulbous iris , crocus , and snowdrops will all self seed, but you need to be careful not to weed out their tender young shoots, which resemble blades of grass. Propagation is also possible via an array of different methods.

Depending on the types that you have growing in the garden, their age, and other factors, one or more of the following techniques can be used. Read on to discover our tips and tricks for division via offsets, bulbils, scaling, chipping, and scooping. Many varieties will reproduce with offsets, or baby bulbs, that grow alongside the mother. Offsets will be exactly the same as mother, making this method highly reliable for both hybridized cultivars and heirloom species. In the fall, after the foliage has died back, gently lift bulbs and detach the offsets, snapping or pulling them away from the parent.

Pot up smaller ones in a rich soil amended with well-rotted compost, and place in a cold frame or sheltered spot in the garden, providing protection from winter cold if needed. See all ». Planning a Spring Garden See all ». When to Plant Tulips? When to Plant Daffodil Bulbs? When to Plant Bulbs?

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