How a Flowering Bulb Grows and Thrives

By Dave Pipitone

A flowering bulb produces a shoot, then a stalk and a plant after lying dormant during the cold months. Tulips are one example of a plant that grows from a bulb and that produces flowers. This flower is hidden inside the bulb before it grows. Planting bulbs of tulips differs from planting other flowers.

When a flowering bulb because to germinate, the inside of the bulb, which is called the embryo develops slowly into a plant. First the leaves will surface above the soil, and then buds will grow, which will later turn into the flowers of the tulip.

These flowers will open up at the peak of their growth, which results in a full grown tulip head. Each tulip has at least one pistil and one stamen. The pistil (or more than one pistil) contains the microscopic female reproductive organs of a flower, and the stamen which is located near the central pistil and surrounding petals. The Stamen is what contains the pollen for reproduction.

Usually a tulip starts turning into a flowering bulb by the beginning of April. Some have even bloomed into full plants by then. Others will bloom by the middle of the spring and some will grow to their full size by the late spring.

Hybrid tulips tend to grow larger and taller than the species tulips. The hybrids are ones that have been bred by Dutch horticulturists, and the species ones are the ones that grow like wildflowers.

One type of flowering bulb that grows into a wild tulip is called the "Apricot Jewel". Flowers such as this one take less work to produce, and their short steps do not bend in high winds. Not only that but they seemingly protect themselves on cloudy days, only revealing the outside of the petals.

Then, on sunny days they open up and reveal a new color on the inside. Those who grow this type of tulips, find them to be quite fascinating. They are more versatile, and grow in harsher conditions than the hybrid tulips.

Since each type of flowering bulb, whether it is wild or bred, grows differently they sometimes are planted at slightly different times according to different hardiness zones. Those who live in USDA hardiness zones 4 and 5 would plant between September and October.

Those who live in hardiness zones 6 and 8 would plant between October and November. Then, in zones 8 through 9 from November to December, and in zone 10 they should be planted in December to January, after 8 weeks of refrigeration.

How a Flowering Bulb Grows and Thrives

More Articles on What to Know About Tulip Bulbs