t ender or tropical plants that grow from tubers, bulbs, rhizomes or corms—like dahlias, tuberous begonias and canna—bring color and flair to gardens and containers throughout the year’s warmest months. These plants are typically added to the garden at the start of the growing season, when frost is no threat. At that time, they can be planted as dormant bulbs or as pre-sprouted plants purchased from the garden center.
There is a third option for starting these summer beauties, of course: sprouting them indoors, starting in late winter or earliest spring. Similar to annual seed, dormant warm-season bulbs entice us with low cost, more choices of species and cultivars and, especially in cold regions, a head start on the growing season, leading to bigger plants and earlier flowers. Even where winters are
