Callas and gingers and lilies, oh my!

I recently had a tree removed and in the process a portion of my garden was torn apart. Before the work started, I dug up the tubers and rhyzomes of my 'Flame' calla lilies, Curcumas and Kaempferias. I don't want to put back where they were and actually think it would be best to wait until spring to put them out at all. My question is, what's the best way to store them over winter?

Also, I have Stargazer lilies that may need dividing next year after they bloom. I've heard that they can be propagated by dividing the scales. How is that done?

Thanks,
dogbane

If you dig the oriental lilies up for dividing, separate them and take one healthy bulb and clean it. My book on lilies show the scales broken off right at the basal plate, placed in trays or bags of damp sphagnum moss, or vermiculite until they form little bulbs at the base. Fungicides should be used. 12-14 weeks at 70, when they should have roots and little bulbs, then 4 weeks at 40-50 and finally a cold period, 12-14 weeks at 34 to make them sprout leaves. It can also be done by planting them in the ground, but I'm not sure what the timing would be in your climate. Up north they bloom too late to plant scales.

I once broke a trumpet badly when digging too close and stuck some scales in the soil and they showed up the next year. Just lucky.

Don't let the bulbs dry out before replanting them.

Hope none of this offends the bulb experts out there.

echoes

Personally I stick most tender bulbs in pots of soil and keep them in a frost free cold greenhouse or in a cool room. I keep them mainly dry but give them a little water occasionally to stop them drying up. It's worked for me so far! I find gingers are late to leaf up but they are fine.

JustmeLisa is a great Ginger grower if I remember rightly, she may have some tips for you (and the rest of us).

Echoes, nothing offensive there (not that I'm any kind of expert) and it's great to hear about your lily scales coming up from just planting them in the ground!

Thank you both for your advice. I must say that the propagation of lilies by scales sounds a bit more complicated than I expected, but I'll decide what to do about that at the appropriate time. The Oriental lilies I have bloom around April, so cold won't be a problem. Rot, however, may be! Actually, that makes me wonder if I should do it now. Some still have foliage. Any suggestions?

And the tropical bulb info from you Baa is pretty much what I had planned to do. I just thought it best to doublecheck with those who may have more experience.

Again, Thanks.

Dogbane you should be mild enough to replant now. My aunt who lives in Metairie (sp?) told me once you very rarely get heavy frosts. I would say your bulbs would be better off in the ground. What is your average winter temperature?

Mark,
It's true that we often have winters with no temperatures below freezing. And most years I would just leave them in the ground.

Actually, I have several other ginger species that I have not dug up. These I dug up because work had been done in the area of their beds that did a lot of damage to the beds. I'm just not yet sure where I'll replant them.

Where they were went from fully shaded by a water oak to half day direct sun - afternoon sun. I don't think they'd do as well there. The Curcumas would adjust, I think, but I've already decided to bring in perennials that will give me more color.

The addition of more color excites me because for the last few years I've had to garden under full shade conditions, conditions which limited my 'palette' to shades of green. Okay, caladiums and impatiens helped, but now I can get serious variety and seasonality going!

Here's a photo to show part of the bed that was damaged. All greenery and almost no flowering.

Dogbane, here's a link abouts scaling. Maybe there's something there to help.
http://www.bdlilies.com/whatdoyoumea.html

dogbane, I have been meaning to tell you that I love the play on words in the title of your thread. : )

Thanks, Darius. Sometimes I think my sense of humor is so *out there* that Mulder and Scully would need to be notified... 'Course, I also expect that it keeps some others holding me at arm's length. 8-P

Thanks, too, Echoes. That link gives a nice explanation of the process.

This message was edited Nov 23, 2003 10:29 AM