Solutions For Past Blooming Bulbs

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Good work kd!

Yeah! Isn't it exciting when you get it all done. Make sure to take lots of pics.

Got that part done. Now, is there any advice for Caladium bulbs? The consensus says pull when you can still recognize the color so they can be sorted for planting next year. Is it wise to keep the foliage on as long as possible or just sort and dry and be done with it?

Btw, Caladiums do not come back oin my region unless they are pulled or at least that's what I hear being a newbie to all of this.

I also have some elephant ears...

thanks

Caladiums do not like cold - at all... I even have to dig them here, dry them and store them in a room temperature, dry spot over the winter. Once the nights are warm in the spring I can replant. If they are in pots I just let them dry out and bring them into the garage over the winter;o)

Hello everyone!

I'm new here and am getting a lot of good stuff from all the posts. I'm in zone 8 (I think) Sacramento, CA. We get rain through the end of May, then it's dry through Halloween, sometimes through Thanksgiving. Our ground never freezes. I'm not clear about why you would want to dig up bulbs every year and store them before replacing them in the fall. Think I've missed something important about that.

I started tending a community garden in June 2009 with raised beds. Lots and lots of bulbs were planted 3 or 4 years ago -- mainly freesia, some tulips, then some odds and ends I've discovered here and there. It's difficult for me to plant anything new without digging up bulbs. I've got all sizes of bulbs all over.

It's still quite warm here. Most of the bulbs decided it was spring again and have sent up their green stalks (no blooms). These probably won't wither and die before spring. I'm in the process of digging up all the bulbs (and bulbettes) so I can separate them and give them more room for growing next year.

The freesia all came up in early spring, bloomed, then gradually dried out and turned yellow. Now that they've sent up new growth again, will it make them very crazy if I dig them up, separate them and replant?

You've all answered my question about different bulb sizes for the same flowers. Think I'll take the little ones and put them together in a pot. Maybe they won't bloom by spring, but then they will be ready for next year so I can plant them in the ground.

Any suggestions?

mm, I've started digging my tulip bulbs in the early summer so they can stay dry all summer. Someone else in this group said she does that so I tried it and it works well for me. The tulips come back the next spring if they stay nice and dry all summer. I have them planted in my flower beds, which get water all summer, either from rain or my hose, and tulips don't like wet summers. So I dig them, keep in paper bags all summer in my basement, then replant in Oct. It is a bit of work, but I don't have too many. I only do it with tulips. If your summer is very dry, and you don't water, you can leave yours planted all year. My ground freezes, so I don't know anything about why your bulbs are sending up greenery, except grape hyacinths do send up green leaves in the fall, that's normal. But they won't bloom until spring.

Does anyone know if Daffodil bulbs can be dug up after blooming and put into pots until foilage dies back, or can the same technique as used with the Tulips above be used?

I do the same w/ both tulips and daffodils and they come back just as well in the next year.

mmhere,
I dig up mine for several reasons. First is to divide them and check for any bad bulbs (every couple years), second is to move them to new locations and last is if I want to plant some annuals where they were growing. I take them out for annuals some times because I don't want to see all the dying foliage mixed in and I plant my annuals in my greenhouse before our last frost so I am planting good sized plants. If you don't want to dig them up every year there is no reason to. You could also put some seeds down over where the bulbs are growing and they will take the place of the bulbs when they are done. I have done that in the past so there are no empty spaces in the garden when the bulbs are done blooming.

I hope that helps.