WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING BULBS

Muriel P. of Healdsburg asks: Bulbs aren't the prettiest things to look at, so how can you choose the "best" for your garden? What should you look for when choosing bulbs at the store?

If you pick sub-par bulbs, you'll get a sub-par display. But if you choose carefully and pick only healthy bulbs, then the flower display will amaze you. There are a few guidelines for you to follow. When it comes to bulbs, bigger is better. That's because larger bulbs simply have more volume to store nutrients and moisture. They're also able to weather storage and handling better than smaller ones. And the best thing is that the big bulbs produce bigger and more blooms.

Solid, firm bulbs that feel heavy for their size perform best. These bulbs are generally free of fungal diseases and excessive drying, but there are some tuberous roots and rhizomes that look dry and withered, so don't hold that against them.

Bulbs that are dormant won't have any sprouts, so its early growth will focus on developing a strong root system first, and that's good. Avoid purchasing bulbs that have already started to sprout, or plant them immediately.

Buy bulbs when they first appear at your favorite nursery and store them under ideal conditions if necessary until planting time arrives. That means keeping them in breathable bags, not in plastic. Garden centers and nurseries usually stock spring-blooming bulbs in fall, and they sell summer, autumn and winter blooming bulbs in spring. Look for bulbs that are sold individually before buying the packaged ones because you can choose the best of the best, whereas in the packages, you get what you get.

Once you get your bulbs home, all that's left is to plant them, water them in, wait for the show to begin!

Marsha F. from Santa Rosa asks: Most of us are familiar with the term "organic gardening," but what about "sustainable gardening" and its cousins: eco-friendly, environmentally sound, biointensive, low-input, alternative and natural gardening?

Sustainable farmers and gardeners contribute to the earth rather than take away from it. With the sustainable systems, plants are grown without depleting natural resources or contributing to pollution. Also, in order for anything to be considered sustainable, it should continue for a long time. That means it should sustain itself as much as possible, without constant input from anyone. Anyone could practice sustainable gardening by limiting the size of your lawn, since lawns use more water and fossil fuels to maintain them than any other planting. Sow a mixed-grass lawn rather than one particular variety, making sure it's the right type of grasses for your area. Use an electric or push mower. Or remove your lawn altogether and create natural or planted areas with perennials, shrubs and trees instead.

Contribute to your garden in whatever ways you can. Make compost out of vegetable peelings and yard clippings. Shred newspaper to make mulch, and cover weeds with cardboard instead of applying herbicides. Take a look at the plants in your yard. Do they contribute to feeding birds and other wildlife? Are any of them native? Are you constantly replacing plants (annuals)? Buy perennials instead. Use natural fertilizers like compost, rock phosphate, kelp or seaweed, fish meal and alfalfa meal. These feed the soil and the microorganisms it contains. Increase water retention, and decrease watering by using mulch and incorporating compost into your soil. Think about maintenance. You create an unsustainable area by shaping shrubs and trees into odd shapes. They have to be constantly maintained, usually with gas-powered pruners. Are you constantly mowing because you've overapplied fertilizer and water?

If you can't use all the leaves from your trees, recycle them by putting them into your yard waste can. And finally, buy locally -- especially from organic and sustainable growers. Sustainable gardening is easy to do and just requires a little thought.

Dana Lozano is a horticultural garden consultant and designer. Gwen Kilchherr is an arborist, garden consultant, and horticulturist. They are partners in a Windsor horticultural consulting and design business, The Garden Doctors. Fax questions to them in care of the Press Democrat at 521-5330.