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An underground storage organ of a plant consisting of a modified underground stem and modified leaves that contain stored food for the plant.

Bulbs store food or reserves for the plant that will emerge from its center following a dormancy period. The leaves of the plant that grow from the center of the underground organ replenish the energy reserves of the plant, allowing it to go dormant and re-emerge the following season. True bulbs are tulips, daffodils, and lilies. Corms, tubers and rhizomes are also grouped under bulb-like plants.

A common desire for gardeners is to cut back the leaves once the bulb’s flower has faded. When the leaves fade, they tend to look a little straggly. The best thing to do is to let these leaves grow as long as possible in order to replenish reserves for the following season. This allows good bulb growth and bloom for the next season. There is always a lot of conversation regarding the habit of “braiding” or “folding-over” the foliage in order to tidy up the garden during the period of time right after bloom. This is usually a practice done on daffodils. The surface area of the foliage is needed for photosynthesis, which produces the sugars needed for storage in the bulb for the next season’s growth. When you braid or fold-over the foliage, you decrease the surface area of the foliage, thereby decreasing the surface area for photosynthesis. However, we both know of people who do this regularly and it doesn’t seem to really hurt the quality of blooms. Our philosophy is to go as long as you can possibly stand the untidy look and then just when you can’t take it any longer, go one more week!

Bulbs can also be forced to bloom indoors during the winter season, following an artificial and often shortened dormancy period. We enjoy beauty from such bulbs as Amaryllis and Narcissus.