Bulbs - Major Minor Bulbs

Three minor bulbs are a Triple Treat playing a major part in creating a brilliant colour display in the spring garden. These minor bulbs include the Freesia, Ixia, and Sparaxis. They are called minor bulbs because of their diminutive size and their delicate habit of growth. They are not true bulbs at all but corms. Corms are solid, bulb-like, underground stems that resemble bulbs without the scales, but sometimes with a membranous coat.

Roots arising from the base of the corm nourish the young plant as in bulbs. But in true bulbs, such as Onions or Tulips, hidden away within the bulb scales deep within its heart is the entire miniature plant, including the flower. In corms the central growth and flower spikes use the mature corm to start new growth that ultimately develops a new corm above the older mature corm (as in gladioli). These three minor "bulbs" share several things in common. All three are related members of the Iris family.