THE BEAUTY OF BULBS
(Page 4 of 5)
September/October 1981
By the Mother Earth News editors
BEAUTY MULTIPLIED
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One factor that endears this group of plants to many cost-conscious folks is the manner in which they multiply. Once true bulbs have reached their maximum size, they produce two or more baby bulblets (which are called offsets) that can be broken off and replanted. Corms that have bloomed disappear, but leave behind one or two new corms when they do. And you can divide tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes by simply cutting them into smaller pieces (as you would seed potatoes), each of which must include an eye or part of the stem base in order to form a new plant.
Though the time required for these different reproduction processes will vary among plant types, most bulbs will let you know when it's time to dig them up, divide them, and set them out again in fresh soil ...simply by flowering less. (If you want your formal bed—particularly one composed of tulips—to stay neat and uniform, you may have to replant it each year. Place the old bulbs, which often produce flowers of various heights that would destroy the symmetry of your planned plantings, in other places about the yard.) The "lifting" process is easiest to do when the yellowed leaves show you where to dig ...and, because you won" want to damage the bulbs, use a garden fork rather than a spade or trowel.
If you choose to store your lifted bulbs for planting during the following fall, they must first be "cured". To accomplish this, tie the foliage of several bulbs together and hang them from a rafter, or arrange them in a single layer in ventilated trays out of the sun. Then, when they're dry enough for a gentle rubbing to remove adhering soil and old skins, pull or cut off the tops ...dispose of any diseased bulbs ...separate the offsets from the "mother" bulbs ...label each variety and color to avoid future confusion ...put them in a cool, dry, dark, well-ventilated place ...and you'll be all set to grow even more abundant and glorious blossoms in future seasons.
BULB SOURCES
Prices vary greatly, so it pays to shop around, or—next season—to take advantage of early summer sales on bulbs that will 6e shipped to you the following tall. Almost all major garden supply outfits—such as Burpee and Goo. W. Park—carry good selections, but here are some businesses that specialize in the sleeping beauties:
C.A. Cruickshank, Ltd., Dept. TMEN, 105 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2M1 (catalog $1.00, refundable with first purchase)
John Messelaar Bulb Co., Inc., Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 269, Route 1A, Ipswich, Massachusetts 01938 (free catalog)
Van Bourgondien Brothers, Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box A, Babylon, New York 11702 (free catalog)
Breck's, Dept. TMEN, 6523 North Galena Road, Peoria, Illinois 61632 (free catalog)
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