How to store dahlias and other tender bulbs.

 

Summer flowering tropicals, such as begonias, cannas, dahlias and gladiolus are considered tender bulbs in our climate. They won’t survive our winter, if you leave them in the ground. Some gardeners choose to treat these summer flowering favorites as annuals and plant new bulbs every year. Another choice is to dig up each bulb and store them until its warm enough to plant next spring. Here are some things to do if you decide to store your bulbs.  Note: the word "bulb" is being used as a generic term for dahlia tubers, gladiolus corms, canna lily rhizomes and tuberous begonia tubers.

After first frost, when the leaves turn black, is the time to dig tender bulbs.

Cut the remaining foliage back to about 5"-6". You can cut the foliage back before you dig the bulbs or afterwards, whichever is convenient.

Raise your bulbs with a spading fork, digging carefully to avoid damage to the bulb.   

Rinse each bulb off to remove excess soil then let dry in a shady spot.

After the bulbs dry, dust each one with sulfur. Sulfur will help ward off diseases and insects.

Remember to label each bulb going into storage. Write directly on the bulb with a Sharpie or use plant labels. Bulbs can be stored in cardboard boxes or paper bag containers layered with peat moss, vermiculite or shredded paper. The packaged bulbs should be placed in a dark, cool location. Choose a spot where the temperature will stay between 40º and 50º.  The packing material will help stabilize the temperature.   Bulbs need attention during storage, so check on them every week or so. Make sure they don’t dry out and keep an eye out for damage or disease that may show up in storage. If the bulbs look like they are shriveling up, mist the packing material to add moisture. 

Your bulbs may have increased in size during the growing season. Wait until spring to divide dahlias and cannas.

Each gladiolus corm will have a number of baby corms, known as cormels or cormlets attached to the bottom. Save these and plant them next season. They will grow into flowering size in a couple of years.

Fall lawn and garden tips.

 

Now's the time to start putting the garden to bed. While some of the hardy mums and ornamental grasses continue to bloom, most plants are showing the effects of the cold nights and need to be cut back. Some gardeners choose to leave Echinacea and Rudbeckia plants standing for the birds wintering over.

Others choose to leave the ornamental grasses until spring. For the rest of your perennials, remove the foliage to the ground. If you had disease or insect problems this season, it is important to clean up the area really well. Leaving cuttings and plant debris on the ground can encourage insects and diseases to winter over. Next, water each plant thoroughly. Perennials, shrubs and trees all do better in the winter if they are well hydrated now. In the case of dahlias and other tender bulbs such as canna lilies and glads, it's time to decide what you want to do with them, because they typically won't survive the winter. You can dig them up and store the tubers and bulbs in a cool spot or simply discard them and plant new ones in the spring. 

This a good time to test your soil, either do it yourself or send a sample to CSU. While you wait for the test results, consider adding organic material to your vegetable and perennial beds. Spring and fall are good times to improve your garden soil. Coconut coir, organic compost, worm castings, peat moss can be added to your garden beds now, either as a top dressing or dug into the soil.

Top dressing is easy. You dump all your amendments into a pile in the garden, then shovel or rake it across the garden. Over the winter, this top dressing will improve your soil as it breaks down. Other garden chores this time of year include

planting cover crops,

wrapping deciduous trees,

raking the leaves off the lawn and applying a winterizer fertilizer. and mulching perennials with 4-6" of mulch. Gorilla Hair and Western Cedar are good mulches. Doing these things now will prepare your garden for winter and a better start in the in the spring.