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Planting Bulbs for Summer Bloom Plant these beauties in spring to brighten your summer garden. From "Dirt On Gardening" episode DDOG-110

Bulbs come in a variety of shapes, types and sizes.

Spring is actually another great opportunity to plant bulbs for beautiful summer blooms. You just have to choose the right kind. Following are some tips for selecting and planting bulbs.

A Bulb By Any Other Name?

Many people use the term "bulb" incorrectly or loosely. There are actually a number of more specific terms including rhizomes, tubers, corms, and tuberous roots. We commonly use the terms fall bulbs, spring bulbs or flower bulbs when referring to a wide range of plants for both spring and fall.

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Lilies, a popular choice at florists, can be grown from bulbs.

Bulb Basics

Bulbs fall generally into two groups:

• Spring-flowering bulbs are actually planted in the fall. These tend to be hardy.
  
• Summer-flowering bulbs planted in the spring and tend to be more tender.

Some of the more popular bulbs available for spring planting are:

• Agapanthus
  
• Amaryllis
  
• Dahlia gladiolus
  
• tuberous Begonia
  
• poppy anemone
  
• Peruvian daffodil
  
• Persian buttercup
  
• jacobean lily
  
• calla lily

Gladiolus are another bulb flower variety.

Tips for Buying Bulbs

• When buying bulbs, a general rule is "the bigger the bulb the bigger the flower," so choose bulbs that are large for their type.

• Look for bulbs that are firm and blemish-free.

• Bulbs are graded according to diameter (centimeters), and are priced accordingly. Be cautious of bargains if you need a good show the first year. It's possible that a bag bargain "bag of bulbs" contains individual bulbs that are uniform in size or quality, or not in the best of health.

• Reputable mail-order is a viable source for bulbs, but buying from a local nursery that sells them in bulk allows you to pick out the biggest, firmest bulbs, free of soft spots or white mold (fusarium fungus).

• The presence of bluish gray mold (Penicillium) or blackish mold is typically nothing to worry about and can be wiped off.

• For high-profile bed plantings, you may find that it's worth the higher price for the more mature, showier bulbs.

• Younger (smaller caliber) bulbs, which are often sold at lower prices, can offer a great way of adding color to large areas or marginal areas of the yard where they can be left in place to naturalize and mature, gaining in size over time.

• Bulbs generally have few insect or disease problems.
  
  
  

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  RELATED PROJECTS: Tubers and Bulbs Bulbs Bulbs: Make Fall Plans Now Great Idea to Plant Bulbs Now Gardening Quick-Tip: Getting More Blooms from Bulbs Forcing Bulbs Quick Tip: Mulching Bulbs Quick Tip: Fertilizer for Bulbs Potting Mix for Bulbs Choosing Bulbs

  
  

  ALSO IN THIS EPISODE:
  	Planting Bulbs for Summer Bloom
  	The Right Way to Plant a Tree
  	Gardening Gadgets