Winter 'Bulb' Storage Made Easy

Do you regularly grow plants from bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes? Do you bring them inside for the winter (the non-hardy ones) to use the next growing season?

I've found over the years that growing these plants is a lot easier than I used to think. I'm sharing what I've discovered from experimentation here in my zone 5b climate and with my choice of winter storage. It might work for you, or it might not. You might live in a gardening zone that allows these plants to remain in the soil outdoors year-round. And if you have other methods that have worked well for you, please share them in the comments.

In addition to spring-flowering bulbs, like Tulips, Daffodils, Snowdrops, and others, I also grow many more that bloom in other seasons. In this post, I'll focus on Calla Lilies (Zantedeschia spp.), Cannas (C. species), Dahlias (D. species), and Gladiolas (Gladiolus spp.). In my experience, they all have slightly different growing and storing preferences/requirements. I referred to several sources on proper reference to bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers. This source is helpful, too.



First, let's take a look at Dahlia tubers. What seems to work best for me is to lift them from the soil after the first hard frost. I let them dry, then separate them, and place them in a paper bag with peat moss mixed with perlite. I slightly mist the contents, and repeat the misting about once a month until it's time to plant them. For the past couple of years I've planted them in pots in March to begin growing the plants for the new season.



The yellow Dahlia at the beginning of this post and the pink one above tend to bloom in August.



Next, the Canna rhizomes: I simply wait again until the first hard frost or freeze, and clip off the tops of the stems and foliage. I bring in the pot, store it in a dark corner and stop watering until spring. I don't dig them up.



In springtime, I place them in a sunny window in the sunroom, and begin to water the potted rhizomes once a week.



After the last spring frost, the pot goes outside for more growth. They bloom later in the season; here shown in the budding stage.



I use a similar method with Calla Lilies, though they seem to collapse and go dormant a little earlier than the Cannas.

Though I start watering them about the same time as the Cannas, they seem a bit slower to break the surface and grow in their sunny window.

Once outside in May, they quickly develop buds and bloom in early summer.



Next, Gladiolus corms: I dig them up, let them dry, and place them in mesh for winter storage.



In spring, I stagger their planting in the garden, starting in late April or early May, and adding a few to the garden each week through mid-May. They bloom in late summer for several weeks.

All flowers shown in this post are great cut flowers, too. I'm linking this post with Cathy's "Week of Flowers" meme at Words and Herbs. Happy planning, dreaming, and planting in the months ahead!