Ot: What is your favorite method of......

15 years ago

....saving tubers,bulbs,rhizomes,ect.?

I have been doing a little research here and there and have seen there is a few methods.Any that I have stored were in the pot of dirt they spent the summer in,these were mostly Lilies. I want to store my Four O'Clock tubers,and have Canna and a few other types of plants this year I would like to store. I'd love to hear of what you store and how you store it,what methods you have found to work better than others,and the pros and cons based on your experience. I am looking forward to reading your responses! :)

~Angie :)

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Comments (20)

rosepedal
15 years ago
OH Angie you are the best for asking this! I have no clue!! I am looking forward to the responses. Eager to learn... Hugs barb
lillyjane
15 years ago
Oh!!!! elephant ears also ")
Jan ")
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barbe_wa
15 years ago
I store dahlia tubers and glad bulbs in 2 big black garbage cans filled with peat moss. I put in a layer of moss, then a layer of tubers or bulbs, cover with moss, another layer of tubers or bulbs, etc. until it's full. It may not be the best way, but I have to store mine in a cold frame where it freezes off an on all winter and the peat seems to protect them somewhat. I water it every once in a while but mostly it stays pretty dry.
medontdo
15 years ago
good question, i have been asking and NO ONE answers BWAAAAAHHHH!!!!! LOL thank you!! you are truely an angel!!
i have dahlia's i need to store and i lost all of my glads last year and some other bulbs to some bugs, so, sofar this year i dug them up, put them in staygreen soil, and put them in the baggie, and in the bottom of the fridge, hubs won't look there. Hee Hee !Medo
rosepedal
15 years ago
Michelle you crack me up! What is staygreen soil? Barb
mnwsgal
15 years ago
I have used several methods to store my tubers, bulbs, and corms. All seem to work okay. If a plant is in a pot I just put the whole pot in the crawl space. If it is in the ground I dig begonias before frost and let them dry in the garage for several days. Then place them in a paper grocery bag and put that in the crawl space. Dahlias, glads, cannas, and calla lilies in the ground are dug up after a good frost has killed the foliage back. Dry in garage before storing in basement in paper bags.

The year I broke my ankle in October my DH dug everything up and just tossed them into paper bags, no peat or wrapping. Most of them survived the winter without any other care so now I do the same. Some people mist them occasionaly but I ignore them until March when I pot everything up and put them under lights to get an early start on spring.
agirlsgirl
Original Author
15 years ago
barbe wa,I think your way sounds pretty good! Thanks for your input!:)

mnswgal,I know keeping them in their pots of dirt worked for my lilies and Grammas Dahlias. I was just wondering if it worked for them all,thanks for answering that for me,it will make my life so much easier...lol...the only ones I need to dig up are my Four O'Clocks and possibly Jewels Of Opar,I just read they have tubers also. So I figure I will try it as a house plant and if that doesn't work out I will move it to the garage for the winter.
A question about the drying,how dry do I want them before I store them? Thanks!:)

I wanted lots of opinions,because I know they vary from person to person and situation to situation. Some people have more space than others,some people have methods passed down in their family that may not be posted anywhere,ect....

I am hoping more will chime in on this,I would love to see how many different methods are being used ,the ones we got so far are great,I am already feeling better about this,not so nervous! :)
mnwsgal
15 years ago
How dry? I don't know, just let them sit in the garage for a few days or week or so. I think it is to make sure they are not moist on the outside so they do not rot.
liz_h
15 years ago
Medo, you remind me of an incident that happened 32 years ago. (I can't be this old.) I was a newlywed, and non-gardener. One of my MIL's friends left a bag of daylily bulbs at our door. I thought they were purple onions. :~)
jennypat Zone 3b NW MN
15 years ago
I have only done this once, last year, and it worked for me. I dug the bulbs, let the foliage die back, and let them dry. Then I put them into paper bags, sprinkled them with sulfur cuz I read that it helps deter fungus. Then I kept them in a cold closest upstairs. My basement is heated and I figured it would be to warm.

In the spring I potted everything up, and put them under lights.

I plan on trying that again this year, but we have not had a frost yet to kill the foliage.

Jenny P
paulan70
15 years ago
Hello I am in zone 5 and I leave my glads in the ground. But as for my cannas and dahlias and a few other tender lilies I have to dig them up. The cannas I just wait until Nov. when the colder night does in the foliage and then I snip them to about 6 inches and then I dig them up rinse them off with a strong blast fromt he hose leave outside for them to dry and then I just put them in a box in the basement.

Now my dahlias are a bit harder to do. Last year I had some kind of fungus on them so I had to throw away all of the infected tubers and the rest got a bleach bath. But these first ready like the cannas. And then dug them up. Hosed off let dry them they went downstairs where I had a mixture of water and bleach to rinse them off. But first I had to sperate each clumb of tubers and got rid of the really really small tubers. Once they were dipped in the bleach soluntion then they were placed upon some newspaper to dry I made sure none were touhing each other. Then when they completely dry I wrapped each tuber in plastic wrap and then stored in a box different then the cannas.

Now I do have to say I came out this year with fewer tubers of dahlias than I started with. And I do believe the infected tubers were bought from meijier so they are now off of my list of place to get tubers from.

And the lilies I can't remember the names were dug up rinsed off with the hose and then stored in the same type of stuff that I bought them in. I know because I saved the stuff. hehe And then they also went into the basement.

Paula
agirlsgirl
Original Author
15 years ago
Jennypat,sulfur hunh? I know Gramma uses an anti fungal/medicated powder,like gold bond,is there sulfur in that?

Paula,thanks so much for sharing how you do it and what your results were,it has been very helpful!:)
jennypat Zone 3b NW MN
15 years ago
The sulfur I use, I got from the garden store, I don't remember the name, and can't look at the moment.

Jenny P
busylizzy
15 years ago
Peatmoss and shoe boxes in the unheated area of the basement for me for tuberrose and the freesia bulbs. They are drying now on the porch.
Glads, I just put in a paper bag in the basement after they dry also. Same goes for Elephant Ears and Caladiums
Tuberous Begonias I have thrown in black plastic garbage bags in the basement. That was in a drive by siteing off a bank, someone threw lots of them over and I saved them death.
Someone has 2 rows of Dahlias they are giving me this fall, so I am waiting to hear what she says for her method, she has had them for decades, I will be the 3rd generation adoptee of these Dahlias!
agirlsgirl
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks jennypat,I can just take a look next trip to Lowes!:)

lizzy,it is so awesome that you will be the 3rd generation for those Dahlias! That is so neat!

I am noticing peat moss and paper bags are pretty popular. And some folks mentioned just paper bags,I am assuming there is no peat added? The shoe boxes are a good idea,they can be stacked nicely and the labels can easily be read,I will keep that in mind for when I have more to store!:)

This year I think I am going to use the paper bags,does anyone think it would be a bad idea for the four o'clocks to be stored without peat?
northforker
15 years ago
I've never had a great track record with storing tubers/bulbs/etc but I can share that those "Jewels of Opar" are REALLY easy to grow from saved seed. So harvest some seed just in case the storing of tubers doesn't work out! Those red balls will turn into tiny pods of seeds - easy to harvest.

Nancy
agirlsgirl
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Nancy! :) I have been all over those seeds already!;)
I am really hoping the Jewels will make a good houseplant, I am not ready to let go of it yet! I also want to see what it does as it ages,more flowers,less flowers,ect... I am saving the seed to do a huge mass planting of them next year,I just adore everything about this plant, and have seen pics where it is amazing in a mass planting. As for the Four O'Clocks,I am only digging up certain ones,I got some really neat ones from trade seeds,a couple of them have about 4 different color combos going on all on one plant! I have 2 of them that are about as true red as I have come across in Four O'Clocks,so I am keeping those also. I used to have a great collection of Four O'Clocks,there were many colors,every year there was more and more fuchsia and pink (mostly fuchsia),until finally there were no other colors. So when I heard they produce a tuber and could be stored I was thrilled! I love all of them but like to see more than two colors in a planting of them!;)

DH grabbed some paper bags for me from the grocery store,I may just pick up a bail of peat to be on the safe side,I do have another question about the peat,should it be moist when I store the tubers? Or should I keep it dry? I know some of these questions of mine sound silly,but the one and only time I stored daylily bulbs outside a pot of dirt (I didnt get them in the ground in a enough time) they shriveled up on me,I dont know what went wrong!:(

Thanks again for all this info you guys are sharing,I hope some more people chime in,if you do things differently than any method mentioned or if you totally agree with a method mentioned,please post, your input really would help! :)
medontdo
15 years ago
ok, staygreen soil i get at lowes, it is supposed to be like the miracle grow w/o all the rocks and bigger stick pieces and such. its sooo soft!! ahhhhh fluffy!! LOL
so now i havta take the tubers out of the fridge and let them dry! got it!! did you know that liatris has tubers? i didn't till i traded some with mommyto2 she told me that, i've always wanted glorioso lily and the bulb so she traded me bulb for bulb!! but i've never stored those bulbs, i never knew i had them. LOL ~Medo
agirlsgirl
Original Author
15 years ago
I agree medo,I like Staygreen also,everything I transplanted into that stuff really took off,and there isn't much "junk" in it! Thanks,I tried it because you have suggested it many times and the price is excellent!:) This year I am planning to use the stagreen at the bottom of my containers and pro mix on the top. I figure the pro mix will give me the germination I like and the stagreen will be there to feed the roots ,WHEN, I dont get them planted out right away!;)
medontdo
15 years ago
LOL they have the stay green aqua now also, its also in the green, but its aqua control. so you still get the big amount and the same price.
when my winter sowing stuff didn't turn out (some of it) i dumped them containers of dirt into a bed, and thats what one bed is, MAN the flowers in it have taken off like you would not believe. if it wasn't so much i'd buy many bags of it and put the bags of it in the boxes i have made!! LOL but i know that'd cost me a fortune!! hubs'd definately make me sleep on the porch! LOL of coursssssssseeee its not like spending all that money on a gun, ya know, LOL Hee Hee **onery grinn** ~Medo

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