Special Gift Offer
URL:
http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/newsletter/2011/10/11/buy-the-best-bulbs/
Share:

Buy the best bulbs

By: Garden Gate staff
Want to buy the best bulbs this fall? We can help. Start by picking each bulb up. It should feel heavy.

Buy the best bulbs

Want to buy the best bulbs this fall? We can help. Start by picking each bulb up. It should feel heavy. You might have to pick up several and compare them before you get a feel for it. If the bulb feels light, it’s dried out from too much heat or from being held for too long in storage. Unlike a seed, a dry bulb can’t be rehydrated — don’t buy it.

Most bulbs have a thin, dry tunic that keeps them moist. If it’s still attached, smooth and glossy, the bulb is probably in good shape. But even if the tunic is missing, the bulb might be OK. The tulips above all look a little different. Read the label on each one to find out whether it’s worth buying.

Now that you know how to choose your bulbs, make planting them a breeze with the bulb auger at right!

Published: Oct. 11, 2011
Share:
Tags:
  • None
GDT Ad_PhoneCases_zone5

Product Recommendations

Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work in the garden. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.

GDT_SubPromoAd_DigitalPremium_300x250

Also in This Newsletter

Garden Gate
Newsletter
Archive


GDT_NewsletterBanner_zone10
GDT_SubPromoAd_DIgitalPremium_zone7and11MOBILE
Last Week’s Newsletter

October 4, 2011

Pineapple sage

What’s an autumn garden without annuals? This sage may be hardy where you live, but for many gardeners it’s an annual.

Hemp nettle

This 1- to 2-ft.-tall branching annual is a member of the mint family so it has square stems. But it’s easy to distinguish from its cultivated relatives by stiff bristly hairs along the stems and on the leaves.

GDT_SubPromoAd_DigitalPremium_zone15