Why Bulbs Sometimes Do Not Bloom 
A bulb can only develop the flower which has been formed with- 
in it during the growth of the previous year. If that growth has been 
stunted or prevented in any way before the ripening of that bulb 
the year before, no amount of care will produce a bloom. 
Although for convenience we call them all bulbs, there is a dif- 
ference between the root stocks of the various most conmaon kinds. 
A crocus for instance, has for its root stock a corm; a daffodil, a bulb. 
The chief difference between a corm and a bulb is in the covering or 
husk and in the method of storing food for the next year's growth. 
The husk of the corm is thin, dry and scaley and covers the solid root 
stock within, but the husk of the bulb is made up of many scales or 
coverings. In both cases these coverings are composed of the bases 
of dead leaves which in a bulb after they ripen and die down, form 
thickened scales and hold the nourishment for the next year until it 
is required. In the corm, however, the nourishment is stored in the 
stem, whose thickened base forms the root stock and new growth. 
In the bulb new buds form at the axils of the leaves or scales, 
which gradually split off, and form a new generation; and in the corm 
these buds sprout from the parent bulb accomplishing the same 
end, in both cases at the expense of the parent which finally crumbles 
away. This however, takes several years to accomplish and if the 
conditions are right, there is no reason why the bloom should not be 
continuous in the meanwhile. 
But bulbs and corms will not bloom if their leaves are cut off 
before they fully ripen and die down of themselves, because these 
leaves are perfecting the new flower within for the next year's blossom- 
ing, making their bases into little reserves of food and strength. 
Therefore the f ohage^ should never be cut down and if it seems too 
unsightly, annuals may be planted to cover the yellowing leaves. 
For this reason also, the treatment of bulbs after flowering is 
such an important factor in the next season's bloom that it cannot 
be too carefully attended to. If it is impossible to leave the bulbs 
undisturbed where they have bloomed until the foHage has died down, 
they should be carefully taken up with a spade, disturbing the roots 
as little as possible and with care not to cut or crush the leaves. 
Then heel in the plants in a shallow trench in some haff shady, out 
of the way place until ripe. 
Bulbs will not bloom if they have been out of the ground too 
long and allowed to lose their vitaHty. The sooner they can be put 
in the ground when ripe, the better, for vitality once lost, they prob- 
ably will never regain it, no matter how much they are fertiUzed and 
