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Crocus, Daffodils, Tulip, Hyacinth, Snowdrop, Trilliums |
All of the Sightings of Spring plants are spring flowering bulbs — plants that live underground all winter, in a special underground food storage bunker. When good weather arrives they spring from the ground almost overnight.
What's a spring bulb?
How to grow bulbs?
Forcing bulbs into bloom
Bulbs on the brink of extinction
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- Underground buds, stems or roots that store food.
- Some plants make these structures to help them survive through tough weather conditions.
- When the upper parts of the plant die, the bulb remains underground.
- When weather conditions improve, the bulb sends up new shoots.
- Many of the early spring flowers in our gardens grow from bulbs.
Many of the bulbs we plant in our gardens originally came from around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe. Winter weather there is damp, but too cool for growth, and the summers are very hot and dry. These plants have adapted to this weather by squeezing their life cycle into a few weeks of nice weather in spring or fall, then hiding underground for the rest of the year.
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Onions are bulbs too. The layers of an onion are actually fleshy leaves filled with stored food. Cut one open down the middle from top to bottom and you'll find little flower and leaf buds.
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Bulbs for spring bloom are planted in fall. Here’s how:
1. Buy firm bulbs, and buy lots (10 tall tulips spaced far apart would look silly, but 10 tulips packed together in a small area look great).
2. Plant the bulb so that the roots will go down, and the shoots will come up. Look at an onion — the little pointy end is the top, and the flatter end with the dark circle is the base where the roots grow.
3. Plant the bulb before the soil gets too cold — the roots will sprout right away and you want nice roots to grow before the soil freezes. Most bulbs like open, sunny areas.
4. Plant the bulb about two to three times deeper than the bulb is tall. So, if you have a three-centimetre-tall bulb, dig a six- to nine-centimetre-deep hole.
5. For small-leaved bulbs like crocus, put more than one bulb in each hole.
6. Add some compost before covering the holes with soil, and then water the area.
7. After the flowers have bloomed you must let the leaves continue to grow until they die naturally. Even if they look messy, you don't want to cut them since their job is to make food for the bulb next year. When they die on their own, the food they have made through photosynthesis gets stored in the bulb for future use.
You can also plant bulbs that flower in summer and autumn too — plant these in spring.
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You can bring spring bulbs into bloom indoors in winter. It's easy — you just have to trick them into thinking it's spring.
1. Next fall, buy some spring bulbs and plant them in pots — pack them in really tight. Small bulbs like crocus work well, but sweet-smelling bulbs like paperwhite narcissus and hyacinth will make your home smell great.
2. Put them in a dark, cold place, like a cellar, garage, or in an insulated garbage bag on your balcony. This creates the same conditions they'd have underground.
3. After six to eight weeks of cold and dark, bring them into a brightly lit room and water them. They'll think it's spring and slowly start to grow and bloom.
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The collection of wild plants to supply gardens threatens many species in their native range in central Asia and southern Europe. Each year millions of bulbs are dug up from their native forests and meadows to be sold in Europe and North America. Most of the bulbs we grow come from nurseries in Holland, and it is always important to check for a label that states this before buying bulbs.
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Over 100 years ago, people often sent each other flowers just like they do today. However, each type of flower had a special meaning and so every bouquet held a message. We can still use "the language of flowers" today. Here are the meanings associated with the Sightings of Spring flowers:
Crocus - hope or gladness
Daffodil - respect
Tulip - love
Hyacinth - kindness
Snowdrop - consolation
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