'bulb-producing' is a compound of the noun 'bulb' and the present-participle form of the verb 'produce'. 'bulb' ultimately comes from Latin 'bulbus' meaning 'bulb, onion', and 'produce' comes from Latin 'producere' meaning 'to lead forth, bring forth'.

'bulb' passed into Middle English from Old English/Latin influences (Latin 'bulbus'), while 'produce' entered English via Old French and Middle English from Latin 'producere' (pro- 'forth' + ducere 'to lead'); the compound 'bulb-producing' is a modern English compound formed by combining the noun and a participial verb form.

Individually, 'bulb' originally named the swollen underground organ and 'produce' meant 'to lead forth' or 'bring into existence'; combined as 'bulb-producing' the phrase specifically denotes the characteristic of producing bulbs, a specialized botanical description.