Care and How-To - Bulbs
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Discover how to grow and care for amaryllis bulbs, from potting and forcing to after-bloom care. Learn about various types, colors, and cultivation tips!
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Learn how to protect plants from frost and freeze damage in fall and spring. Get tips on covering plants, using cold frames, and when to bring plants indoors for the season.
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Bulb forcing can bring the bright colors and fragrances of spring indoors during winter. Daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, and other spring flowering bulbs can be started indoors in September for forcing from December through March. Learn how to force bulbs indoors below.
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Tulips (Tulipa spp.) are the quintessential spring blooming bulb. The wide range of colors, sizes, and patterns make them a spring favorite for Iowa gardeners. Learn more about these fascinating plants including information on planting, caring, transplanting, dividing, and forcing as well as information on how to select the best kind of tulip for your garden, how to deal with problems that may arise, how to use them as cut flowers, and the unique history and cultural impact this bloom from the mountains of central Asia has on gardeners.
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The fall months are a great time to select and plant spring-flowering bulbs for next year. Gardeners can choose from traditional spring-flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths, or the more uncommon like winter aconite, crown imperial, giant onion, or guinea-hen. A small investment of time and money in fall will reward you with beautiful flowers next spring.
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Most modern tulip cultivars bloom well for only 3 or 4 years. Their vigor declines each year, eventually leading to plants with leaves and no blooms. For this reason, these tulip types are often treated as annuals.
However, some tulip types (classes) bloom well over a longer period. These varieties make better long-term additions to the garden and will bloom each season reliably. Choose from the following types if you want perennial-type tulips.
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Daffodils (Narcissus) are a welcome sign of spring. Their bright, cheery blooms are some of the first to open in an Iowa spring. They are long-lived, winter-hardy, and relatively pest and disease-free, making them an easy addition to the landscape. Learn about daffodil selection, planting, care, and more below.
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Explore over 200 species of irises, including bearded, Siberian, and Japanese varieties. Learn about their unique features, growing conditions, and care tips.
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There are several species of Allium or onion that are grown exclusively for their flowers instead of their bulbous structures. Ornamental onions (common name for many species) are not planted in the vegetable garden but in beds or borders with other perennial flowers.
Flower heads on ornamental onions are usually globe-shaped (referred to as umbels) and appear in late spring to mid-summer. The diameter of the flower heads varies from that of a quarter to a volleyball.
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Tender perennials are attractive additions to the home landscape. Since they are not reliably winter hardy in Iowa, tender perennials must be planted outdoors each spring. Tender perennials include gladioli, dahlias, cannas, tuberous begonias, caladiums, and calla lilies, among other plants.
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While easy to grow, tulips do occasionally develop problems. Early emerging foliage, browsing from deer and rabbits, and bulb rot are a few common ones. Below are potential problems encountered when growing tulips in the landscape and how to manage them.
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A popular symbol of Easter is the trumpet-shaped, white, fragrant flowers of the Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum). Plants are available from flower shops, greenhouses, and other retail outlets.
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The beautiful blooms of tulips, daffodils, and other spring-flowering bulbs bring joy to the gardener in March, April, and May. Proper care through the remainder of the spring will help to insure excellent flower displays in succeeding years.
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Tulips are favorites of Midwest gardeners, but we often fail to appreciate the diversity of these spring-flowering bulbs. Tulips vary tremendously in flower and plant size, bloom period, shape, and color.
Tulips are grouped into 15 divisions based on shape and origin. Tulips can also be grouped by bloom time. In Iowa, tulips typically bloom from mid-April through May. Divisions can be classified as early, mid-season, or late based on when in that time frame they bloom.
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In recent years, the number of farms that grow and sell locally-grown cut flowers has increased. Learn more about the reasons for the rise in flower farms across Iowa and the unique niche they are filling at farmer's markets and flower shops.
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Container gardens are an excellent way to grow plants in limited spaces and to add variety and interest to the landscape. Container gardening is relatively easy but there are several things to know before you get started. Included below are several resources to help with container gardening.
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Begonias are a beautiful and diverse group of plants. There are about 1500 different begonia species native to tropical regions worldwide. All are tropical plants that prefer warm, humid conditions. All are sensitive to cold temperatures. While wax begonias and tuberous begonias are common landscape plants in Iowa, the rest are more commonly grown as houseplants.
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The term lily is used as the common name for many different plants.
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In spring, many gardeners will be at nurseries, greenhouses, and garden centers looking to buy plants. Selecting the right species and cultivar of a plant for the landscape by matching sun, water, soil, winter hardiness, and other growing requirements is important. Equally important is selecting high-quality plants. Below is advice on how to purchase high-quality plants from the garden center.
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Learn all about effective maintenance in the perennial bed. Mulching, watering, deadheading, and proper fertilization all help keep perennials healthy and ensures a beautiful garden year-round.