Don’t toss your tender summer bulbs!
If you love growing ship’s boat summer bulbs , such as cannas ( Cannaspp . and crossbreed ) or dahlia ( Dahliahybrids ) , but they are n’t hardy in your zone , redeem tender bulb over the winter and grow them again next yr !
What is a “tender bulb”?
Technically , not all the plants scream “ tender light bulb ” are actually bulbs . There are also corm , rootstalk and tubers . They ’re all enlarged base - like structures that salt away energy to revive these plant each fountain . But to keep things simple , they ’re often all touch on to as untoughened bulbs . For most sensitive bulbs , you ’ll follow the same process of digging , heal and storing . Learn more about each step below , and then scroll down for specific information on some of the most popular corms , rhizome , tuber and bulbs .
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Step 1: Dig up the tender summer bulb
Digging when the soil is moist , not turbid or dried and cracked , makes it easier to lift and strip the legal tender bulbs . If you delve too early on in the season , your electric light may not have stored enough energy to grow a salubrious flora next year . Too latterly and the ground may have freeze hard and the bid electric-light bulb with it .
Tools to Help You Dig Bulbs : Garden ForkMini - ShovelGarden Gloves
Step 2: Trim, clean & cure the tender bulb
Trim the shank and clean soil off the tender bulb so fungi , soilborne diseases or louse wo n’t smash it during entrepot . After you have your medulla oblongata cleaned , inspect for morbid tissue paper , shriveling from dehydration and worm harm from woodborer or bulb mites . Discard any that do n’t look healthy and firm . Cure tender light bulb for a few day up to a few weeks in a well - ventilated area so they can dry wholly . extra moisture can cause bulb to get musty and moulder over the winter .
Tuber can be spray with water to pick soil out of the crevices , as long as they are dried completely after so they wo n’t mold .
Do n’t wash corms — they have a papery cover that should n’t get wet before memory board . Instead , gentle wind teetotal or cure them out of direct sunlight in a well - ventilated point at 60 to 70 degree F. After two to three workweek , use a paintbrush to move out any soil still clinging .
Step 3: Store the tender bulb
Keeping tender summer bulbs cool and in dark is important to maintain dormancy and ensure healthy medulla oblongata for next year . On a ledge in a chilly cellar or garage is a good place to store tender bulbs for the winter .
Tubers and rootstalk are fleshy , so they need a bit of humidness to forestall them from dry out out over the wintertime . Store them in somewhat moistenedpeat mossorvermiculitein a paper - lined crate , cardboard box or shoe box .
corm and bulbs like it coolheaded , dark and dry . Once they ’ve had a cure full point , take them aside in small newspaper publisher sacks with their cultivar name compose on the out-of-door or amesh green groceries bagwith a label .
How to dig and store 7 common tender summer bulbs
Now scroll down for 7 common tender bulbs and point to help prepare them for storage in insensate winter zone !
Calla lily ( Zantedeschia aethiopica )
Using ashears , cut yellow leaf 1 to 2 in . from the rhizome after the first hoarfrost . After it has dry up , you could remove the stem completely .
TypeRhizomeWhen to digAfter hoar has killed the foliage , let it dry several days in the undercoat , then dig the rhizomes . How to cureBrush off excess soil and remove dried stems at the rhizome after setting away for two to three days . How to storeStore in slightly moist peat moss , vermiculiteor moxie at 40 to 50 degree F.
Crocosmia ( Crocosmiaspp . and hybrids )
modest cormels will form off roots . Snip them apart and plant for more divisions . Old , dried corms , like you see in the photo above , can be discarded .
TypeCormWhen to digThese plants are often hardy to 25 degree so for zones where they wo n’t wintertime over slam six to eight weeks after bloom finish or after a killing freeze . How to cureBrush off grease but do not wash out . remedy corms two to three weeks at 60 to 70 degree F in a well - ventilate area . murder the old corm and discard — do not compost any flier as they are incursive in areas where they are stout . How to storeStore in paper or mesh traveling bag in a coolheaded , juiceless arena , such an unheated garage , at 35 to 40 degrees F.
Gladiolus ( Gladiolushybrids )
New corm mold on the original gladiolus corm planted in the spring . Peel the old shrink one off the bottom and toss it , saving the new one for next year . Check out our clause onsaving glad cormsfor a pace - by - pace how - to .
TypeCormWhen to digDig corms six to eight workweek after peak when foliation is yellow or after a killing Robert Lee Frost . How to cureCure corm for two to three week on a screen in a well - ventilated arena at 60 to 70 degrees F. After curing , absent old dried - up corm and discard . pull together modest cormels and plant in a 6 - in . pot if you wish . How to storeStore in newspaper publisher ormesh bagsin a dry , well - air out fix at 35 to 40 degrees F.
Tuberose ( Polianthes tuberos )
“ girl medulla ” kind at the base of the main rootstalk . They ’ll bloom after they reach the size of it of your thumb , so deplume to divide the roots and plant them , leaving bantam ones still attached to produce another season .
TypeRhizomeWhen to digDig rhizomes after a bolt down frost . How to cureBrush off excess soil and dry for two to three day . How to storeStore in perforated plastic travelling bag with sand or vermiculite . If you do n’t need divisions , tubers can also be stored in the spate they grew in ; just quit watering in late fall and keep it ironical over winter . Store at 55 to 65 degree F.
Canna ( Cannahybrids )
Use a paintbrush to clean soil off rootstalk before inspecting them for harm . wash away roots with piss if brushing does n’t get it all off . Watch our helpful video to find out more !
TypeRhizomeWhen to digLet foliage dry a few mean solar day after a killing frost , then bring down stem 3 in . from the rhizome and just above the soil crinkle . Dig the chunk . How to cureWash off all the soil . Let the rhizome cure several day in a cool , well - ventilated office . verify they are dry before lay in . How to storePlace in moist sphagnum moss peat , vermiculite , or Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin in covered boxes . you’re able to also store them generally in plastic bag , checking periodically to resign condensation or mist with water if they are drying up . rhizome should be humid , not wet . Store at 40 to 50 degrees F.
Dahlia ( Dahliahybrids )
you may use apermanent markerto compose the cultivar name direct on a fleshy tuber like this dahlia .
TypeTuberWhen to digOne calendar week after a char frost , when leafage change by reversal dark and wilts , cut off stems to 1 to 2 in . from the soil control surface , then dig . How to cureWash thumping of genus Tuber to remove excess grease , then dry stemside down for two to three day so wet drainage out of the empty stems and wo n’t mold . How to storeStore covered in slightly moist peat moss peat vermiculite in box or charge card bags with perforations . Check every couple week and air out if condensation forms ormistwith water if the genus Tuber are shrivel up and drying out . Keep at 40 to 50 degree F.
Peruvian daffodil ( Hymenocallisxfestalis )
Dry vermiculite forestall mold while still helping the stem hold moisture . Be sure to cover them completely so they do n’t dry out . Burying them upside down discourages former sprouting .
TypeBulbWhen to digDig before frost when foliage is yellowing in late free fall . How to cureSeparate lump of bulbs carefully to prevent damaging expectant roots still sequester to the lightbulb . How to storePlace upside down in ironical vermiculite or sand to monish sprout midwinter . Store at 60 to 65 degree ; any colder and the medulla oblongata may not bloom the next class .
