At this point in the year, the time when the days begin to grow again and the night fog gives dawns of cencellada, the so-called autumn bulbs (freesias, anemones, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, calla lilies, cannas, crocosnias, frenchies , lilies…) must have been underground for months now. They are known as autumn bulbs precisely because of the ideal time when they should be planted, between September and December. For laggards who do not want to give up the spectacle of bulbous flowering throughout spring and summer, there are certain species that allow for somewhat later planting. They are the so-called winter bulbs, which if January comes cold we still have time to plant. in extremis. Muscaris, amaryllis, lily, dahlia-cactus, lilium and ranunculus are some of the most grateful.
Bulbous plants have an underground organ that accumulates nutrients when the aerial part dies to sprout again the following year. The broad and heterogeneous group of bulbous plants includes, in addition to bulbs, tuber plants (cyclamen, begonia, dahlia…), horn plants (freesia, saffron…) and rhizome plants (lily, calla…). They all agree that once the flower and leaves wither, the underground organ remains in a resting phase until the following year, when the hot-cold climate cycle will activate its buds again.
“The bulbs need to experience a period of cold underground to sprout. Sometimes 15 days of low temperatures are enough for the process to be triggered once the warmth arrives; better than four weeks in which, if it is not so, so cold, the bulb might not bloom strongly,” says Jesús S. Viñambres, from the Madrid florist Lufesa and member of the Spanish Association of Florists. The gardening calendar is never exact. “The limit for planting them depends on the region where we are and what the climate is like each winter,” says the expert.
Snowdrops, freesia and cyclamen to start the year
Every year, around February, cyclamen, snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis), crocus and freesia are the earliest bulbous plants, the first to surprise with their flowers. A few weeks later the daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, anemones and wild muscaris will arrive. However, since the end of last year it has been possible to find pots with already flowered bulbs in many florists. These are forced bulbs, which have been subjected in the nursery to a simulated temperature contrast process: rigorous cold first and a stay in the warm greenhouse afterwards. This is how it is possible to trick the bulbs and make them bloom “à la carte”.
Once each flower season is over, the ideal, generally speaking, is to dig up the bulbs and store them properly until it is time to plant them again the following fall. There are certain guidelines for preserving bulbs from one year to the next and enjoying their flowers for several springs. The first of all is not to rush. “This process requires patience because if we remove the bulb as soon as flowering is finished, it will become smaller and weaker and will produce flowers of poorer quality. The optimal thing is to wait until the flower withers before cutting it. And then wait for the leaves to deteriorate to do the same, at ground level. While the plant withers at its natural rate, the bulb continues to grow and store energy for the next flowering,” warns Jesús S. Viñambres.
Once we have cut off the entire aerial part of the withered plant, we must extract the bulb, being careful not to puncture or scratch it. It is best to remove it with the help of a shovel next to the substrate that surrounds it and then carefully remove that soil with a sieve, gently shaking it or passing it with a brush. Once clean, any bulbs that are hollow, soft or rotten must be removed, those that have reproduced must be separated and allowed to dry spread out on newspaper, in the sun or indoors if the weather does not allow it. When they are completely dry, they can be stored in a cool, moisture-free place, placed in a thick paper bag or wrapped in newspaper, inside a cardboard or wooden box. “Those who have a garden can also leave the bulbs of the most resistant species buried in peat to protect them from frost,” says the expert.
If digging them up is not possible, the bulbs could be left buried, naturalizing them as in the wild, “although the level of flower production could be reduced, either because there are too many bulbs that, when they reproduce, compete for the nutrients in the substrate, or because they suffer from frost,” explains the florist. In this case they would be treated as perennial plants, letting them sprout spontaneously year after year. They can be covered with pine bark to prevent frost from penetrating the substrate. If they are in pots, to protect them from frost the pots can be placed in a place sheltered from the cold. “You have to observe the specific needs of each type of bulb, since some are more resistant to frost than others. The cold weather in our region also influences it. In places with very cold temperatures, leaving them buried could damage them, but in temperate areas of southern Spain they could survive. Dahlias, lilies, irises, alliums and callas are usually left on the ground,” adds Viñambres.
Bulbs in good company
Those that are usually extracted in gardening are the bulbs of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, crocuses and gladioli. “They are extracted to replant them at the ideal time and ensure their flowering the following year. A trick to advance this flowering and enjoy them sooner in the garden is to force the bulbs as they do in nurseries. To do it at home, you would have to put them in the refrigerator “taking care that they are not in contact with apples, pears, peppers, onions, tomatoes or other fruits and vegetables, since the ethylene they give off would accelerate the maturation of the bulbs, aging and damaging them.” ”.
To have the presence of vegetation in flowerbeds and flowerbeds during the months in which the bulbous plant has not yet sprouted, the bulbs can be combined with annual, biannual plants or even with small low-growing shrubs, such as thyme or verbena, that do not exceed in height to the stem of the bulbous ones so as not to cover them when they sprout. “The rule is that they are plants that do not prevent the arrival of the sun's rays and whose roots allow the bulbs to survive. And do not mix them with acidophilic plants – camellias, hydrangeas, azaleas, gardenias, rhododendrons… -, which require substrates with low pH, unlike bulbous plants, which prefer less acidic soils,” adds the expert from the Spanish Association of Florists.
With the 2024 calendar almost intact, the first cyclamen, freesias, tulips and galantus are already adding color to winter. Prepare the shovel, the brush, the newspapers and the old cardboard box so that the show can be repeated in 300 days.
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