For many gardeners, the hope planted in past autumns
is now realized in the colorful show of spring blooms.
From the first pop of snowdrops to the fade of the
last flower, spring bulbs radiate dazzling whites, brilliant yellows, vibrant
reds, and lots of colors in between.
University of Illinois (https://web.extension.illinois.edu/gpe/case5/c5facts1.html) describes a bulb as "a promise of a plant to come. These 'packaged plants' each have a complete miniature plant inside along with its food." The bulb is a food storage unit and inside is a miniature plant complete with leaves, stem, and a small flower bud.
Like all perennials they need care and feeding. Here’s
what to do and when.
While blooming, mark their spot with a plant stake noting type and color. (Plant stakes are 10/$1 at the Dollar Store. https://www.dollartree.com/garden-collection-plastic-plant-labels-10ct-packs/213330). This will help when you later divide the flowerless bulbs.
Leave the green foliage.
It will send energy and nutrients below ground to the bulb. When the plant goes
dormant over winter, the bulb will continue to store the energy until spring
when warmer weather urges it to regrow and flower.
Once the foliage has
turned yellow or brown and died back, cut the plant down to 1”. If you need to
divide the bulbs, be sure to have them marked.
Penn
State Chester County Master Gardeners (https://extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener/counties/chester/how-to-gardening-brochures/bulbs-corms-rhizomes-and-tubers)
note that “signs that bulbs need to be divided are overcrowding, multiple
stems, and declining flowers.”
Spring flowering plants are best divided and replanted
in the fall. If you need to divide them in the spring, you may replant them
immediately or store them.
When digging to divide, be careful not to cut or
damage the bulb. Dig down and around to get a large clump. Gently brush or wash
off the soil to expose the small bulblets. Carefully remove the bulblets from
the mother plant, then replant them separately with the tips facing up. They
are small now but space them out saving the need to divide again in the next
year or two.
If you chose to divide the bulbs and store them
instead of replanting immediately, remove all the soil, lay them out
individually, discarding any damaged or diseased bulbs. Let them air dry away
from sunlight for several days then store in a net or mesh bag. Then store in a
mesh bag or some dry peat moss or vermiculite. Keep them in a ventilated in a cool,
dark spot and check periodically during the summer, to make sure they are not
rotting or drying out. Replant the following fall.
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