Do all flower bulbs multiply?Updated 8 months ago

Some flower bulbs multiply and some only grow well in the first year and need replacing the next year. Most perennial bulbs multiply over time.  

Some flower bulbs, such as most tulips (short-lived perennials), ranunculus and some anemone types, are grown as annuals and only flower well in the first year. 

Bulbs which multiply readily and gradually spread are known as naturalising bulbs. This can include summer-flowering varieties, such as crocosmia and nerines, and spring-flowering varieties such as muscari, crocus and narcissus.

Summer bulbs/tubers such as dahlias, cannas and begonias grow larger rather than producing lots of new bulbs. As the tubers or rhizomes grow larger each year, if successfully over wintered the plants will grow more vigorously the following year. Eventually, rhizomes and tubers can grow to such as size that they can be divided manually in order to produce multiple plants.