To make sure your garden comes back with brilliance in the spring, you need to protect tender plants such as begonias, dahlias, gladiolus, calla lilies and tropical plants. This is particularly true in colder zones where unforgiving winters can damage the bulbs. It takes a bit of work and involves extra care, but lifting and storing bulbs for the winter isn’t terribly difficult. All you need are some basic supplies, which you may already have on hand, and within a couple of hours you can turn your unheated garage or basement into a safe winter haven for your precious bulbs.
If you have questions about which bulbs, corms, rhizomes or tubers need to be lifted for the winter in your area, review the care guides that came with your plants or consult with master gardeners through your local extension service.
Lifting the Bulbs
To overwinter bulbs growing in your garden, you have to lift them. That means you have to dig them up out of the soil. It’s usually okay to do this after the first light frost, but you must do this before the soil freezes.
Begin by loosening the soil around your tender plants using a spade or fork. Working several inches away from the main stems, dig down until you find the bulbs, but be very careful not to harm the main bulbs or the roots. Gently lift the bulbs from the ground, shake off the loose dirt and rinse with a gentle stream of water. Then place the bulbs in a dry, sunny spot that isn’t subject to freezing temperatures. After a couple of days, inspect the bulbs for signs of disease or decay. If you come across a bulb that looks shrivelled or infected, discard it. For the bulbs you keep, cut off their remaining foliage and stems.
Moving the Bulbs into Storage
To store your bulbs, you need ventilated containers (such as burlap sacks or netted produce bags) and a loose storage medium (such as peat moss, sawdust, vermiculite or even newspaper). Place the bulbs in the containers and cover them fully with the storage medium. Then move the containers to a dry spot in your garage or basement where the temperature stays at about 50°F. To prevent mold from growing on your bulbs, make sure the storage medium stays dry.
Check on your bulbs every few weeks and look for signs of rodent activity, mold or infection. If you find any rot or decay, use a sterile blade to cut it off.
That’s pretty much it. And while your bulbs are resting in a protected location, you can begin planning where you want to plant them next season.