Storing Bulbs

I have emptied all my pots of daffs and tulips in readiness for all the usual summer stuff, what is the best way to store the bulbs once the foliage has died off ?
Don`t want to throw the bulbs away as they were glorious this year.
Geoff

 

Greenfingers: Storing bulbs

Hope this helps, it's probably as good a guide as you will find.

 

What about the ones in borders, I usually leave mine in. Is this OK or would they be better lifted?

 

Liz,

I take they view that if the bulbs are happy and you are happy then leave well enough alone. :D

If clumps are getting restricted by offsets and seedlings then wait untill all the leaves die down then carefully lift them from the ground and separate out. Discard any damagd bulbs, re-plant the biggest and best with a bit of elbow room for flowering next year and put the smaller bulbs in a nursery bed or large pot and hide in the back of a border where they will grow and develop into more flowering bulbs once they have put on a bit a weight.

 

Depending on the bulbs of course, I find that all of mine are pretty happy to stay in the ground. Bizarrely we have a dahlia that we grew from a tuber which has never been lifted and stored frost-free, yet comes back year after year!

 

On a related matter, I need to remove large areas of daffodils from my front garden to replant elsewhere and to give away to friends. The flowers have died off now but the foliage is still in pretty good shape. Can I dig them up just now and remove the foliage by cutting or should the foliage be left to die down naturally? :confused:

 

whirlimix:

The leaves feed the bulb which is the energy store for next year's flowering. Dead-head all the flowers to prevent energy going into seed production but, if possible, always wait until the leaves die back naturally.

If they are getting very untidy you can wait untill the leaves start to go brown at the tips then reduce the leaf length by 1/2 which will still help to feed the bulb but it will keep them upright and stop them flopping all over the place.

 

Frogescue - thanks for the link on storing bulbs. I got some containers with bulbs that I want to save for next year - but I need to empty the container, when the leaves die back.

Perfect timing - I usually leave bulbs where they are including tulips, so never had to store bulbs before.

 

That's a really good link, Froggy - definitely useful. I've found a good tip is to plant your bulbs in a basket, colander, or something like that, so that when they're past their best, and looking untidy, you can hoick them out, put them somewhere less on show, and let them get on with it, and feed them appropriately, while putting something else in their place. I have to say - I only do that in show parts of the garden - anywhere else, they stay in the ground, and everything else comes up and more or less hides them.

 

BTW - what a change of avatar, Dave!!

 

Thanks Frogesque, thats useful for now - and the future. I had better get deadheading!

 

In some parts of our garden with permanent bulbs we fold the leaves in two or three and use elastic bands on them. Keeps them tidy when the leaves start getting straggly.

 

Haha - thanks Dendy! When someone used "Mrs T" as a username, it suddenly inspired me for a change of avatar! I'll probably be "pitying the fools" who don't clear their weeds out etc from now on!