The science of bulbs

BULBS are storage organs that allow plants to go dormant to avoid periods of cold, heat, drought or tree shade. True bulbs comprise fleshy leaf scales attached to a basal plate; they can make growth, flower and new bulbs. There are also:

Corms: Comprised of modified stem tissue containing an embryo flower shoot; as the old one shrivels, a new one replaces it.

Tubers: Familiar from the likes of dahlias and peonies; swollen stems armed with dormant growth buds – the same structure shrinks and swells annually.

Rhizomes: Continuously growing underground stems put out shoots and roots.

Bulbs have everything plants need to grow and flower