05/08/2026
Learning where the plants you care for begin their lives is an important step in understanding how to take care of them.
šŖ“Bulbs, Tubers, Corms, Rhizomes, Stolons, Suckers and Offsets! We just updated our original blog post covering this subject, and it sounds a little like this:
Bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, and corms are often collectively referred to as ābulbsā as their basic functions serve similar purposes: to store food, water and minerals as energy and to give new life to the plant. Plus, they often look the same or have similar physical attributes.
True Bulbs are globe shaped with papery skin and made up of modified leaves that store nutrients and enclose around a vegetative growth point or flowering bud. Onions and amaryllis may be the most visually clear examples of true bulbs.
Examples of true bulbs include hyacinths, onion, garlic, amaryllis, shallots, tulips, daffodils, fritillaria and lilies
Corms look like true bulbs but are actually swollen base stems that store food for the plant during dormancy. Unlike true bulbs, corms are solid and often elongated in shape with a membranous or scaly texture. If youāve ever dug up your oxalis triangularis or looked closely at turmeric, these have the quintessential qualities of a corm.
Examples of corms include: alocasia, elephant garlic, oxalis, crocus, freesia, gladiolas, tuberous begonias, saffron crocus, water chestnut, ranunculus and celeriac just to name a few!
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