Shopping For Bulbs 2 Tips To Help You Make The Right Choice

By gardener | Dec 12, 2008

Complementing your perennial flowers with grasses, shrubs, and annuals are a perfect way to design a complete garden. However, oftentimes what is missing are bulbs! Most novice gardeners tend to think of bulbs as an entirely separate plant from perennials. However, bulbs are actually just standard perennials that have somewhat “special skills”. They come back year after year so long as they are planted in the right conditions.

The most interesting thing about bulbs is that they have an unusually high capacity to store much needed food and water for extended periods of time. This is good news for the gardener because it means that you do not need to spend much time caring and maintaining them. You can also harvest your bulbs, as well as ship them, without worry of damage when they are out of the ground.

There is a bulb suited to just about every climate in every growing season. Tulips come to mind for most people when they think about bulbs. However, tulips are not the only bulbs that are made for spring, and a lot of people forget that spring is not the only season that attracts specific types of bulbs.

There are many other varieties of different bulbs that you can obtain an order to brighten the colors of your garden in the summertime and in the fall. There are even some bulbs that bloom in winter and subtropical regions as well as coastal regions.

Just about every garden center will have a variety of bulbs that you can choose from and since they are so durable and easy to care for out of the ground, you can even order them through the mail. Here are two tips to help you when shopping for your bulbs:

1. Always compare the prices of your bulbs when ordering by mail from a catalog or a website. In addition to cost, be sure to compare the sizes of the bulbs. If you find that two of the same packages cost the same but one contains larger bulbs, then they will grow larger flowers for you, so you may want to choose the larger bulb package over the other.

2. If you decide to shop at your local nursery, then think about bulb-shopping the same as you would when you are considering potatoes and onions at the grocery store. In other words, try to pick bulbs that are firm and solid, that do not have discoloration, and are absent of rotten spots that are spreading.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!