USDA Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers

USDA Logo and Forest Service Shield

Growing Flowers From Bulbs

flower and bulbs

Many of the earliest spring flowers grow from bulbs. The bulb is a store of food that lets the plant shoot up and grow before it is warm enough for most flowers.

Only use bulbs that you can buy - never dig up bulbs that are growing wild!

What you will need to get started

  • Clay pots
  • Bulbs from the store
  • Soil or compost
  • Sand
  • Water

Step 1

bag of soil and three pots
  1. Buy your bulbs in the fall.
  2. Plant them in pots of compost, or garden soil mixed with sand.
  3. Dampen the compost before you begin.

Step 2

water can
  1. Half fill the pot with soil or compost.
  2. Plant the bulbs with the pointed end upward.
  3. Leave about 1 inch between them.
  4. Cover them with soil until only the tips show.

Step 3

  1. Leave the bulbs in a dark, airy place until they begin to grow.
  2. Don't forget about them and be sure to keep the compost damp.

Step 4

sun
  1. You should see the first shoots in about two months.
  2. Put the pots in a warm, sunny place and water them.

Tips

avocados and apples
  • Try planting pits from apples or oranges, and pits from avocados or peaches as well.
  • Plant them as above, put them on a window sill, and keep them well watered.

U.S. Forest Service
Rangeland Management
Botany Program
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Mailstop Code: 1103
Washington DC 20250-1103

USA.gov logo

Location: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/kids/activities/bulbs.shtml
Last modified: Tuesday, 24-Jun-2008 21:54:41 EDT