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Outdoor Bulb Culture (Botanical definition of a bulb)

The botanical definition of a bulb is a thick, fleshy, underground bud in which, when the flowering season is over, is stored through the agency of the leaves and roots the necessary plant food for the purpose of sustaining the growth of new stems, roots and flowers which develop and are protected within the bulb ready to grow to maturity later after a period of rest. The length of the dormant period varies with the different kinds of bulbs. In common parlance this class of plants includes slight modifications of true bulbs, as for example the gladiolus and crocus which are, strictly speaking, known as corms; and thick, succulent tubers as the dahlia.

If the plant after bloom stores up its energy for the following season, the necessity is obvious, of allowing the foliage which aids materially in the accomplishment of this work, to remain on the plant until it ripens or turns yellow, this being a manifestation that the bulb has completed its work for the season and is prepared to start its period of rest. [141]