It's time to check your overwintering bulbs

If you are trying to overwinter bulbs (includes tubers, corms, and rhizomes) such as Dahlias, Tuberose, Amaryllis, Canna Lilies, Gladiolas - now is a great time to check them to see what condition they are in. Here are the main things to check:

#1 Check for Disease If bulbs are damaged in digging and not "cured" well while preparing them for storage, you can get a soft rot in them and it will spread from bulb to bulb, or tuber to tuber very fast. A fast way to check for this is to use your nose, the rot will give off a rather bad smell, once you detect the smell, then use your eyes to look for discolored material or material that is oozing and looks moist. Remove all bulbs that show the discolored symptom or are soft, you should also check with a master gardener to see is there is a fungicide that you can treat the ones not affected to protect them.

Canna lily rhizomes

Canna Lily

 #2 If you have put the bulbs in an organic bedding material, check it for moisture content - if it is damp that could increase problems with soft rot.

#3 Check the bulbs to see if they are wrinkling up which shows that they are drying out. Outside air can become very dry when it warms up causing a severe problem in over wintering your live material. 
Tubers such as dahlias are very prone to not surviving the winter unless they are in bedding material. If the bedding material is too dry,  it can allow the bulbs to dry out and die, of course if it is too damp then soft rot can be a problem. Newspaper works well for canna rhizomes as long as crinkled for good air space.

Gladiolus 

Gladiolus corms

#4 Check the temperature of the area you are storing them in. It should be less than 50 degrees F. and more than 40 degrees. It is very important that the bulbs do not freeze and if it gets too warm the bulb will start to grow and that can kill it. 

  

 Here's to beautiful blooms this coming year!

It's Summer! Aren't you gladiolus!

No flower is more stunning in an arrangement than the gladiolus. Here's a video from planting to blooms! They are popular cut flowers for all occasions, from weddings to funerals. Though mostly known as a cut flower, gladiolus look beautiful in the flower garden as well, especially when grouped together and planted next to complimentary flowers. Varieties are available in almost any color of the rainbow, with many having frilly flowers and bi-colored blooms. The sword-like leaves yield a spiky flower stalk with individual flowers that bloom from the bottom up.

Gladiolus is an easy-to-grow flowering bulb that produced an abundant display of beautiful blooms for the home garden or for commercial florists. They are also known as Sword Lilies. They are part of the Iris family (Iridaceae). 

Gladiolus range from 2’-5’ tall with graceful trumpet-shaped blossoms borne in a double row along the stem. Flowers come on upright spikes, usually one per corm. Gladiolus grows from a bulb-like underground structure known as a corm. With the onset of spring growth, stems emerge from the corms and give rise to 1 - 9 narrow un-branched, sword-shaped, longitudinal grooved leaves enclosed in a sheath. They will need full sun in moist well-drained soil. Very sandy or heavy clay soils should be amended with organic materials such as compost or peat moss. 

Plant corms after soil warms up in the spring, from mid-April to mid-June. Place corms at a depth of three to four times their diameter, and 4 to 6 inches apart. Work a complete fertilizer. Corms can be planted every 10 to 14 days for a succession of blooms. Corms bloom 65-100 days after planting. Plant the last set to bloom before frost. Gladiolus can be planted in rows but usually will need support. It is important to water gladiolus regularly during growth. Continue watering after flowering as long as leaves are green. Gladiolus thrips are the most common problem and are usually present wherever gladiolus are grown. Thrips feed by rasping the leaves, flowers & corms. 

To save gladiolus corms for next year, dig the corms after the foliage has dried in late summer or fall. Spread the corms out on the garage or storage-room floor and allow to dry for 3 to 4 days. Place the corms in boxes with dry peat moss or sawdust. Store in a dry, cool place at a temperature of 45 to 50 degrees F. Check them periodically during the winter for signs of rotting or rodent damage, and discard those affected. Enjoy!

How are your overwintering bulbs: Dahlias, Cannas, Gladiolas, and more...?

Dahlia

If you are trying to overwinter bulbs (includes tubers, corms, and rhizomes) such as Dahlias, Tuberose, Amaryllis, Canna Lilies, Gladiolas - now is a great time to check them to see what condition they are in. Here are the main things to check:

#1 Check for Disease If bulbs are damaged in digging and not "cured" well while preparing them for storage, you can get a soft rot in them and it will spread from bulb to bulb, or tuber to tuber very fast. A fast way to check for this is to use your nose, the rot will give off a rather bad smell, once you detect the smell, then use your eyes to look for discolored material or material that is oozing and looks moist.

Remove all bulbs that show the discolored symptom or are soft, you should also check with a master gardener to see is there is a fungicide that you can treat the ones not affected to protect them.

Canna lily rhizomes

Canna Lily

 #2 If you have put the bulbs in an organic bedding material, check it for moisture content - if it is damp that could increase problems with soft rot.

#3 Check the bulbs to see if they are wrinkling up which shows that they are drying out. Outside air can become very dry when it warms up causing a severe problem in over wintering your live material. 

Tubers such as dahlias are very prone to not surviving the winter unless they are in bedding material. If the bedding material is too dry,  it can allow the bulbs to dry out and die, of course if it is too damp then soft rot can be a problem.

Gladiolus corms

#4 Check the temperature of the area you are storing them in. It should be less than 50 degrees F. and more than 40 degrees. It is very important that the bulbs do not freeze and if it gets too warm the bulb will start to grow and that can kill it.

For more information on growing flowers, contact your local University of Idaho Extension office!