Grow It Yourself: Turning Bulbs Into Beautiful Blooms

05 September 2011A woman picks tulips in Pulheim, Germany

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Bulbs are underground plant stems. They provide food for a shoot. Some bulbs produce flowers year after year. Gardening experts say tulips, daffodils and other bulbs are not very difficult to grow.

Bulbs do well in climates with a cold season. They are placed in the ground about the time of the first frost. But, with the right preparation, they can also grow well in places where the ground never freezes.

Mike Lizotte of American Meadows, an online store, says before you start, you need know whether to plant tender bulbs or hardy bulbs. If you live in a cold area, a tender bulb will need special care when the growing season is over.

MIKE LIZOTTE: "If you want that bulb to survive or come back, you would need to literally dig it out of the ground and bring it inside to a warm area because it just -- it will not survive, or it would get killed by the cold temperatures."

But Mike Lizotte says a hardy bulb can stay in the ground all year.

MIKE LIZOTTE: "A hardy bulb is one that prefers cold temperatures. So therefore it can be left in the ground, such as a daffodil or tulip."

Sandra Mason from the University of Illinois Extension service has some suggestions to get a good start on planting bulbs. First, the most important thing is to choose a place with soil that drains well.