Early sprouting Tubers

I've got a couple of packets of tubers/bare roots that I was going to pot up in March (mirabilis, echinacea and coreopsis). However I checked on them yesterday and most of them have got little shoots already. What should I do? I don't want to put them up yet because I'm worred about the frost getting to the tiny shoots? Will they die without water? Whats best for them?

Thank you

 

Can you pot them up and keep them inside the house on a window sill.

 

LOL! Peter I'm not going to have much windowsill space let. I've already got my seedlings and then theres the.... ahem 15 mirabilis 8" tubers! (yes I went overboard and bought too many.) I guess I could try its just not a safe environment with a 22 month old poking his fingers into everything.

In the meantime should I dunk them into some water to keep them going until I get to pot them up?

 

I really don't know the answer to that. I have seen bare root plants that have obviously had green shoots for some time whilst still in their plastic bags - and presumably still viable. Though I am always a bit dubious of bare root plants.

However once you have watered them, I suspect that you will have really woken them up, and you then have to look after them properly. So my inclination would be to not water them too soon.

One possibility (though it is still early for that) is to make a tempory cold frame. You don't really have to buy cold frames, you can make them out of about anything. I have six tempory ones in my garden. One is made out of loose bricks with a pane of glass on top. One out of bits of wood. One last year was just a circle of binbags of garden compost with a pane of glass on top. I got some of the glass from the local tip for nothing, and some was left over from when the house was double glazed. You could even put a pot in a bucket with a piece of polythene (or glass) securely over the top.

Something like Echinaces and Coreopsis (ie hardy perennials) could probably go out in a cold frame even now. After all my Echinacea is outside in the border anyway. The cold frame may just give them that extra bit of protection. Or perhaps you could put them in the ground now and put a cloche or a pile of leaves (needs securing) or a pile of compost on top. Those are traditional ways of helping slightly tender plants through the winter. The loss of light may not be that much of a problem. For instance the recommended depth for a Tulip bulb is nine inches deep. So the shoots have to grow for nine inches before they get any light.

 

Pot them up put them outside if there's a danger of heavy frost just cover the pots or bring them in for the duration of the cold spell.