Keywords: Tulip bulb close cropped.jpg A bulb of a tulip During rapid spring growth the bulb exhausts its stored nutrients and shrinks in size A white stolon carrying the bud of a new bulb bursts through the base of the old bulb and drives the bud deeper into the soil By the end of spring season the old bulb will be reduced to dry dead sheaths; the new bulb will be ready for re-planting in the end of summer This type of bulb reproduction is typical for immature tulips; only a few species like T praestans continue it after first blooming Images by Amada44 Unidentified Tulipa Tulipa bulbs Stolons |