Storing Bulbs for Next Year

Not all bulbs can be left in the ground and come back the following year.

Bulbs , corums, and ryzomes like tulips, lilies, iris, and daffodils are planted in the fall and can be left in the ground in Colorado through the winter. Bulbs like dahlias, begonias, cannas, and gladiolas are planted in the spring and dug up and stored through the winter to be used again the following year. If I leave these bulbs in the ground they would freeze and turn to mush and not regrow the following spring.

Even though buying summer blooming bulbs every year ensures that I was buying disease free, healthy bulbs, keeping and storing the bulbs from year to year was a great way to stretch my money and add to my collection. The first few times that I tried to store them I failed miserably. I realized that I was making it harder than it actually was. My bulbs either got too cold, too wet, or too dry.

All the time I talk about plants, I would refer back to how Mother Nature does it. If we were to live in a milder climate I wouldn’t have to dig up the bulbs at all. Digging up the bulbs at the right time was the key. If I waited too late the bulbs would be frozen so I watch the low night time temps and dig the bulbs before the ground starts to freeze. I will let them stay in the ground even if it freezes for a night as long as the ground has some heat stored up and the top of the ground doesn’t freeze. Once the top of the ground starts to freeze and I know that the temperature will go deeper into the ground it is time to dig.

A few people including myself have some of the bulbs in a protected area in the yard and the bulbs are planted deep enough that the cold doesn’t reach them and they come back year after year. If I dig too soon then I would have to babysit my bulbs longer and I know Mother Nature can take care of them better so I let them sit in the ground as long as I can. Digging too soon and not checking them throughout the winter will find that they dehydrate to much.

Digging them and storing them through the winter is a simple and easy process as long as you can follow through to planting them again in the spring. Most people do everything right to begin with then forget about them until it is too late.

The Process

1. Cut the stalks which will give you a 3-4 inch handle and a place to attach a tag if wanted

2. Gently lift the bulbs or tubers. If you are using a spade carful to give yourself enough room so you don’t chop or cut into the tuber.

3. Gently brush off the dirt. You don’t have to get all of it. Label them and let them dry overnight.

4. Dust the bulb with a sulfur dust to keep bugs, mites, and fungus from overwintering on them. Some people use a antidesiccant like wilt-pruf or wilt stop to prevent them drying as fast.

5. Wrap them in paper like a newspaper or sack. I don’t like to use plastic because you could invite a fungal situation or if it gets too warm the bulb will start to rot. I like paper because it breathes.

6. Store them in a cooler filled with a peat/compost type potting soil like Eko potting. Straight peat or dirt will dry out too much or sometimes hold too much moisture. Other people have good luck with wood shavings or vermiculite. I have found the peat/compost works well. Storing in a cooler will keep the bulbs at a constant temperature that is not too hot or too cold. Store the cooler in your garage off the floor or in a crawl space so long as it doesn’t freeze. Temperatures should be 40-50 degrees as your guide line.

7. Check on your bulbs once a month to make sure there isn’t too much or not enough moisture inside the cooler.

Although I’ve been growing summer blooming bulbs for many years, I still consider myself a novice. I say this because I never have acquired all the things professionals do. I dig, I store and I plant and watch them grow. I am still in the stages of learning from my own mistakes and finding what works best for me. By digging up and storing my bulbs from year to year, I have also found my second year bulbs are 10x’s the size of my original bulb even though they say size doesn’t matter. My second year bulb will have more eyes and hopefully more stalks with more blooms.