How to Overwinter Tender Bulbs, Tubers, Corms, and Rhizomes

When I lived down South in zone 7, I rarely ever lifted bulbs for the winter unless I wanted to move them or share them.  I was usually able to get away with piling extra winter mulch on top of tender bulbs and that would get them through, even if they were only hardy to zone 8.

Calla Lily, hardy to zone 8, overwintered in zone 7 with protective winter mulch

Now I'm up North, though, and, sadly, extra mulch just doesn't cut it.  Those tender bulbs (or corms, or tubers, or whatever they might technically be named) have to be lifted and packed away for winter storage and then replanted next spring.  Here are my steps for lifting and storing them:

1.  After the first good frost, cut off the browning foliage and carefully dig up the bulbs, avoiding bruising them.  Gently brush off excess dirt.

Digging up Gladiolus murielae corms

2. Dry in a warm, well-ventilated place for a couple of days.  Corms such as Calla Lily, Crocosmia, Freesia, Gladiolus, Tigrida, and Tritonia need to cure in a warm place for longer, about three weeks.

Sometimes those corms will have lots of little baby 'cormlets' on them.  Just separate them gently from the main corm.  You can keep them for planting next year if you like; they will eventually grow big.

a corm with lots of little baby 'cormlets' attached

3.  If your storage area is humid, you might want to dust the bulbs with an organic fungicide.  (I've never done this, though, since my storage area is thankfully pretty dry.)

4.  Store in paper bags or cardboard boxes filled with peat moss, sand, vermiculite, or sawdust.  Gladiolus can just be stored in paper bags or onion bags, or in a box between sheets of newspaper.  For some tubers and corms, such as Dahlias, Foxtail Lilies, and Rain Lilies, the peat moss or other medium should be very slightly dampened, so that they do not completely dry and shrivel up.

Don't forget to label your bulbs!

Just make sure you don't store the bulbs in enclosed plastic boxes or bags, as that will keep in moisture and cause them to rot.

5.  Store in a cool, dry place, around 40 to 50 degrees.  Check on the bulbs a couple times during the winter.  If the bulbs are shriveling up from dryness, give them a mist.  Discard any bulbs that are getting mushy and decaying.

6.  Plant next spring...

Dahlia 'Kelvin Floodlight'

... and enjoy!


Here are a couple other resources that list how to store different kinds of bulbs:
A.D.R. Bulbs: preserving summer bulbs
P. Allen Smith: storing summer bulbs

When the Best Laid Plans Don't Account for Snow Plows

It's the end of April, and the bulbs are in full bloom at last, woohoo!

Finally at the end of April my daffodils are in bloom

Even though it is still rather chilly outside, there are so many blooms out there in the garden that it warms this gardener's heart!  Honestly, though, I was really quite surprised to see so many different blooms at one time...

Tulip 'Flair' and Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation'

You see, last summer after I had moved and was between gardens, I did what any such gardener would do:  I meticulously planned what I was going to put in my new garden.  While waiting to close on our house, I poured over catalogues, made lists of what flowers would bloom when, and lived off the dream of a grand succession of blooms that would stretch throughout as much of the year as possible!

Grape Hyacinth labeled bloom time: Early/Mid Spring

For my fall bulb planting I ordered a variety of bulbs that had different bloom times, starting with the earliest possible blooming ones.  In North Carolina, I had had daffodils blooming in January, so surely, I thought, something would be blooming by March in Massachusetts, right?

Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation' labeled bloom time: Winter/Early Spring

Well, maybe they would have... 

except I didn't take into account was where all the snow gets put in the winter up here in the North.  Snow plows and the snowblower pile all the extra snow from the roads right next to the street and driveway, and guess where I planted all my early bulbs?

Narcissus 'Jetfire' labeled bloom time: Early/Mid Spring
Planted in the mailbox garden next to the road

Needless to say, in March, instead of beds full of early blooming daffodils, what I had were huge piles of snow left from all the snow plows.  And those huge piles of snow took a veeeerrrry loooonng time to melt!

Tulip 'Flare' labeled bloom time: Early/Mid Spring

But now finally in April the snow piles have all melted and my bulbs have come up.  I am so delighted to see all the flowers after the long winter -  however, I am rather surprised that, instead of the grand succession of different blooms that I planned...

my early bulbs and my later bulbs are up and blooming all at once!   

Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation' labeled bloom time: Winter/Early Spring.
Narcissus 'Golden Echo' labeled bloom time: Mid Spring.

So much for the six different successive waves of blooms that I planned.  For once in my life I get uncharacteristically organized, make lists and plan things, but it's still blooming chaos in the garden anyway!

Narcissus 'Thalia' labeled bloom time: Mid/Late Spring

The piles of snow delayed the early bulbs so much that I now have bulbs that were supposed to start blooming in Winter flowering at the same time as bulbs labeled Mid to Late Spring.  Ah, the best laid plans!

Don't these plants know that they are supposed to bloom in an order?!

Well I have now learned my first lesson as a Northern gardener - note to self: consider snow management when planning the garden! 

Though I do think that gardens are always variable and full of surprises no matter how much planning we do.  We as gardeners just usually do our best to roll with the flow and manage the chaos - then we get to enjoy the beauty of our efforts, no matter what is blooming when!  

Hyacinth labeled bloom time: Early/Mid Spring
Aren't these beautiful? 

Next year, though, I think I shall plant some early bulbs a little further away from the road.

Happy Spring to all you gardeners out there!

Blooms of Past Efforts

I may have traded in my trowel for a paintbrush in the effort to get our house ready to sell...

Narcissus 'Sweetness'

..but one of the best things about gardening is enjoying the fruit of past labors!

Narcissus 'Julia Jane'

Spring-blooming bulbs are some of my favorite flowers of all, and in the last three years, I have filled the yard with them.

blooming with abandon in my creatively named Mailbox Garden

Even last fall I ordered and planted scores of bulbs, not knowing we were going to be leaving the Red House and its garden.  I am very thankful for the chance to see some of my new acquisitions in bloom before we leave..

Narcissus 'Thalia', one of my new beauties

..as well as say goodbye to some old favorites. 

Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant'

We will be moving to the Boston area here in a couple weeks as Mr. Red House starts his new job.  I am going to miss my garden.  But Spring is all about new beginnings, and the great thing about most spring bulbs..

possibly Narcissus 'Ice Follies'

is that they'll thrive just wonderfully in my future new Northern garden as well.

Happy Spring!

So... any of you want to buy a red house?

The Earliest Daffodils

Well, it seems like I've away from the Red House Garden forever, between traveling for the holidays and then with everyone in the family falling sick with various ailments, including yours truly.  But I'm finally back and in the garden, planting those poor, dejected, last bags of bulbs that have been waiting to be planted!

And, of course, as I've been planting those last bags of daffodil bulbs, guess what's been blooming?

Oh, crap.  

I think this is my garden telling me that I am officially late with my bulb planting!

Though, to be fair, these aren't just any daffodils in bloom.  These are Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation', the earliest of the daffodils.  Blooming in January or February down here in the South, and in March further up North, they will keep blooming even if temperatures drop into the teens.  Last year, mine bloomed even through a snowstorm.

Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation' blooming in the snow

Thankfully, it is not snowing here now, but is instead ridiculously warm.  Perfect weather, in fact, for planting some more bulbs...

I'm almost done, really!

For what's currently blooming in other gardens around the world, 

visit Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.

Of January Delights and Disappointments

January can be a very grey, dismal month.  

The best things in the garden during wintertime bring color..

The house came with these Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream' bushes, and I must say I love them. 

 

Some nandinas can be invasive, but the 'Gulf Stream' cultivar does not set fruit.  It is supposed to grow about three feet high and two feet wide.  So far mine have stayed pretty little between the deer and the heavy clay. 

Another delightful winter plant is the Coral Bark Japanese Maple.

 

When the sun comes up over the horizon in the morning, the fiery red bark almost glows.

And let's not forget the delightful flowers that came up this oddly warm January!

Between the Nandinas and the early blooming Crocus 'Ard Schenk', my front yard is looking pretty good..

Now on to the other side of the house and one of the most disappointing parts of the garden in January:

The big long perennial border in the back is so blah, that this is the only January photo I could find of it.  I obviously didn't want to look at it long enough to take a picture, even though I'm usually in garden paparazzi mode.  

It is surprisingly partially green thanks to the mild winter, however it desperately needs some structure. Several birches are located to the left of the picture, however I feel that there needs to be a small tree or giant installation art or tacky pink flamingo or something to break it up.  It's such an odd site that it's always been a problem child for me (long and narrow, sloping both ways, on a thick vein of clay, grumble, grumble).  Any suggestions are appreciated and welcome!

Let's go back to the front yard!

Say cheese!

For other gardeners' January highs and lows, you can visit the Bumble Lush Kitchen Garden.

Say It Isn't So!

Now that I'm finally home after the holidays, I checked out the garden to see how it was doing.  Were there any blooms in January for this month's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day?

Clematis 'Bill Mackenzie'

There were!  My 'Bill Mackenzie' clematis is trying to make up for the fact that it hasn't really bloomed in two years by sporadically blooming throughout the winter.  Apparently plants do respond to threats...

The rest of the garden was pretty brown like expected except.. 

Uh, oh, what was this?!

Oh, no!  That can't be a crocus, can it?!  Say it isn't so!

So.. hello, my name is Crocus 'Ard Schenk'!

There are crocus in my garden?!  But that would mean Spring is almost here and.. uh, oh, I am so not ready for Spring because... well, people, I have a confession to make.

I still haven't even planted all my fall bulbs.

 

So, uh, here's to hoping that my plants are just really, really confused by all the warm weather we've been having, and hopefully we'll have just a little bit more winter...

And I'm, uh, going to go outside in the yard for awhile...

It's Fall in North Carolina - Time for Bulb Shopping!

It is now officially fall, and the weather is getting cooler.  It's one of my favorite times of the year - bulb shopping!   The plant stores are full of bulbs, the bulb catalogs have come in, and I am having fun deciding which new flowers to add to my gardens.

Springtime at the Red House

Bulbs are one of the easiest ways to grow plants, in my opinion, and nothing says spring like those early bulbs coming up after a long brown winter.  (Here in North Carolina, we have brown winters.  Having grown up with white winters, I must say I appreciate a little snowfall to pretty things up!) 

Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation' is one of my earliest bloomers, coming up with the crocuses at the end of February.

Where is the best place to get bulbs?  Many common bulbs you can get in big home and garden stores, and these have grown just fine for me and are the most economical.  Their selection will also give you a clue as to what type of bulbs work well in your area.  Many local garden nurseries will have a larger selection of bulbs.  If you get bulbs early, store them in a cool, dark place until it is time to plant them.

If local stores do not have the color or type of bulb you are looking for, you can order them online.  I order many bulbs at Brent and Becky's Bulbs.   Their selection is amazing (they have over 200 different types of daffodils alone) and many of the bulbs I've gotten from them are more like doubles.  If you want to see reviews of any online stores, you can find them at Dave's Garden, a plant and garden store review site. 

Narcissus 'White Lion' with Narcissus 'Sweetness'

What bulbs do well in North Carolina and the Southeast?  NC State University has some good information about bulbs that do well in North Carolina as well as some tables on their bloom times.

If you are looking for critter-proof bulbs, Narcissus (also known as daffodils) are the easiest to grow, and they tolerate my heavy clay quite well.  Allium needs better drainage than my clay is currently affording, but they are more critter-proof as well.  Hyacinth bulbs are toxic to animals, and Snowdrops are supposed to be critter-resistant as well.  (I do not make any guarantees, however, especially when it comes to squirrels!)

As far as non-critter-proof bulbs go, Crocus grow well in this area if you can keep them away from the squirrels and voles.  (Let's not talk about those 100 crocus bulbs that 'disappeared' even after I covered them with netting and mulch.)  Most Tulips are considered to be an annual here in the Southeast, as they need a cold winter to flower reliably.  I have tried growing them in outdoor planters to keep them colder with some success.  You can also dig them up after their foliage dies and store them in cool dry place for replanting in the fall.  Species tulips are more likely to be perennial.  Tulips do need good drainage, and be aware - they are very tasty to many critters.

Red tulips in an outdoor planter.  They came up again, but deer and rabbits often ate the flowers.

There are various tricks you can try to keep the animals from eating your plants, such as planting with tabasco and red pepper, planting bulbs in cages, and spraying foliage with various repellants.  Planting bulbs in gardens close to house entryways will deter a lot of critters.   There is a reason I plant so many daffodils, though!

I had many crocus planted in the gardens at my last house.  Animals usually left them alone, probably because they were so close to the house.

When should I plant my bulbs? You should plant your bulbs when the soil temperatures are below 55° or 60°F, or when the temperature at night is below 50°F for a couple of weeks.  In North Carolina, that is usually around the end of October or beginning of November.  If you plant your bulbs when it is too warm outside, it will start putting its energy into sprouting as opposed to making nice roots, which you don't want.  Also if it is too warm and there's been a lot of rain, the bulbs are more susceptible to developing mildew and rotting.

For more Northern gardeners, you want to plant bulbs about six weeks before the ground freezes solid so that your bulbs will have a chance to develop a nice root system before the winter. 

Narcissus 'Queens Day' with a few tiny Crocus chrysanthus 'Ard Schenk'

 What if my bulbs sprout early?  In North Carolina, we often get bouts of warm weather in the middle of winter, and bulbs will often start sprouting then.  Most of the time, this will not hurt the bulb.  If it has already sent up a flower bud, however, and the bud then freezes, you will have to wait until the next year to enjoy them.  It can be helpful to apply a winter mulch to insulate against some fluctuating temperatures and also make sure that you plant the bulbs deeply enough.  Some bulbs such as grape hyacinths and fall-blooming crocus are supposed to send up leaves in fall, so don't worry when they sprout!

So enjoy bulb shopping!  

(And let's not tell Mr. Red House how much money it's possible to spend on bulbs, okay?)

Ooo, maybe I'll try growing Ranunculus from bulbs this year?

Rain Lilies

It's mid-August, and after our summer storms the rain lilies are blooming.

Also known as the unpronouncable  Zephyranthes candida, rain lilies are known to be pretty easy going plants.  Mine have never compained about the terrible clay or the overwatering and/ or underwatering that they receive.  They do, however, need full sun to bloom.  I have some that only receive morning sun, and they rarely bloom.

 
Rain lilies are actually a member of the amaryllis family and are only hardy to zone 7 or so, thus cold weather gardeners will need to plant them in spring and dig and store them in fall.   In warmer climates, rain lilies can be planted in fall if desired.  Rain lilies will send up their new grassy stalks in spring and that's all you'll see until the late summer bloomfest.  Mr. Red House was wondering why I had planted chives by the front walkway for quite some time :)  My rain lilies actually keep their green grassy stalks all through the winter as well.

They are even naturalizing in my terrible clay.  This is last summer:

And here they are this year:

Whoops, there must have been a yellow one thrown into the mix!

I planted some Zephyranthes citrina bulbs this year in another part of the garden.  They are supposed to be bright yellow rain lilies and bloom a little later in the season.  I haven't even seen any little grassy stalks from them, though, so we'll see if they've made it.  Rain lilies also come in a beautiful pink color.

It is a beautiful thing to see the rain lilies opening to the warming sun after the harsh summer storms.

Happy gardening!

More info on Bloomin' Tuesday