Bulbs: Calla Lily and Dahlia questions, 1 by Carolyn22

Carolyn22 wrote:
Diane

I would think your temps would be comparible to mine.

I wait to bring my callas in....continue to water them as long as you have the foliage.- you still have time and it is better for the callas to allow the weather changes to put them into dormancy.

I don't usually start thinking about bringing in my callas until the night time lows start flirting with temps in the lower 40's. When I bring them in, I let the bulbs dry in the pots they are in and when dry, put them into a brown paper lunch bag, minus the soil, that has been labeled with what type of calla is in the bag.

The brown paper bags then go into a box and are overwintered in my attic at the top of the stairs in the attic. This way, they are cold enough to remain dormant, but not cold enough to freeze.

You also mention dahlias - they are better off left until after a hard freeze before bringing them in for the winter. After the hard freeze, wait until all the green is out of the stem. I usually bring in my dahlias into the house around November. These too should be allowed to dry before putting them into labelled bags.

I store my dahlias in sandwich bags, with some holes punched into them so the tubers can breath. Put vermiculite into the bags, covering your tubers. About once a month or so, you will need to pull the dahlias out of their bags and take a look at them - you do not want them to dry out. Use a plant mister with water as you don't want to put too much moisture in with the tuber. The trick is to keep the tubers from shrivelling, but also not to allow them to mold.

My dahlia tubers are stored in the same location as my callas.

Late April/early May you will want to start getting both the callas and the dahlias around for spring planting. A good rule of thumb for the dahilas is they should be planted when then leaves start coming out on the trees. The ground should be workable and when it warms up, the dahlias should start to sprout.

Planting out the callas - they will flower much sooner if you keep them in pots as opposed to the ground. The soil in the pots will warm much faster than the ground.

I hope this helps.

Carolyn