Dry off achimenes after they’re through flowering by gradually reducing the water you give them. When they’re completely dried, remove the top of the plants and store the scaly rhizomes in the container in which they were growing.
The best storage spot is under the greenhouse bench or in a cool room where the temperature is about 50° degrees Fahrenheit until spring.
Lift tuberous begonias from the garden before hard frosts occur. Just slip a trowel beneath the plant, lifting the stems, tubers, foliage, and soil adhering to the roots.
Place the work in a warm, dry spot for two or three weeks.
When the stems come off at a touch, clean the tubers and pack them in boxes or bags filled with clean sand, vermiculite, or peat moss.
Hold the tubers at 50° to 55° degrees Fahrenheit until you’re ready to start them again in early spring.
Dig caladiums and elephants-ears before frost.
With the approach of autumn, gradually reduce the amount of water you’re giving them, then dig and bring them indoors to dry off for storage.
Place the tubers in bags containing vermiculite, peat moss, or dry sand when dry.
Store them at a temperature of 60° to 65° degrees Fahrenheit. If plants were grown in pots, simply store them in the soil they were grown.
Covering dahlias with cheesecloth or similar material will extend their blooming period when frost threatens.
If you don’t protect them, the frost will finish them off. When this happens, dig the clumps, careful not to break them.
You can cut back the stems to three or four inches, leaving enough to attach a label listing the variety.
Drop the clump lightly to remove excess soil. Then lay the clumps with the stems down for a few hours to drain any remaining water.
Wash the roots off clean with a stream of water from a hose. Then dip them in a solution of Wilt Pruf or other anti-desiccant.
The fleshy roots will sometimes dry out very rapidly, especially young ones with slender roots. All the clumps need to be protected from excessive drying.
When the surface of the tubers appears dry, place the clean, treated clumps in boxes of vermiculite or peat moss.
Store them in a cool room (35° to 45° degrees Fahrenheit is ideal)—just cool enough to keep them from sprouting.
Cannas can be handled in the same way as dahlias.
How To Cure
Dig bulbs of gladiolus, acidanthera, montbretia, and tigridia when the foliage turns brown.
If this time is cut short by the appearance of frost, dig them while they’re still green.
Lifting them with the stems firmly attached to the corms is much easier—acts as a handle.
Take plenty of bags or boxes to the garden with you to keep your varieties separated.
Use a spading fork to lift the corms. Shake the loose soil from them, then cut the foliage to about one inch above the corm.
Green leaves left attached will draw moisture from the corms after they’re dug.
Dry the corms for a few hours in the sun, then move them indoors to cure for a few weeks.
When they have cured and dried to the point where the remaining stems and old corms can easily be removed, clean, sorted, and labeled.
To protect from thrips, place one quart of corms in a paper sack with an amount of DDT, at least in quantity to an aspirin tablet, adding an equal amount of a fungicide, such as captan, phaltan, or zineb, to protect from fungus attacks.
Shake the bag vigorously to coat the corms, then transfer them to mesh bags, old nylon stockings, or wire trays for storage.
Store the corms at 40° to 50° degrees Fahrenheit, with plenty of air circulation around them.
Hold tigridias in barely damp sand or vermiculite at 50° degrees Fahrenheit to prevent drying.
Dig your ismene lilies (Peruvian daffodils) after the first frost. Use caution not to break off the roots when they grow from the bulb.
Where they’re hardy, you can leave them in the garden—just cover them with a heavy mulch.
The best way to dry the dug bulbs is in an inverted position, with the foliage down, then store in vermiculite at 60° degrees Fahrenheit.
Dig old-fashioned tuberoses before frost, clean them off, and pack in vermiculite bags. Place in a storage room at 60° to 70° degrees Fahrenheit.
If stored at too low a temperature, they’ll fail to bloom properly next season. It’s best to leave them in generous-sized clumps; individual divisions may not bloom next year.
If you live in an area where freezes do occur, don’t forget to bring in your:
- Agapanthus
- Amaryllis
- Crinum
- Eucharis – Amazon Lily
- Eucomis
- Gloriosa lily
- Haemanthus
- Nerine
- Zantedeschia
- Zephyranthes
Best Grown Plants
Agapanthus is best grown in tubs in the North, making it easy to bring them indoors if frost threatens.
To keep them dormant in winter, hold them in a light, cool spot at not less than 32° degrees Fahrenheit.
Be careful not to let the soil dry out too much. They don’t like to be kept too dry, even when dormant.
Amaryllis can be left in the garden the year around in the South. But in the North, dig them before frost.
Store the bulbs in dry vermiculite or peat moss over winter in frost-free coolness. If pot-grown, store them dry in a cool room in the containers in which they grew.
Crinums are usually grown in the South, where they can remain in one spot for many years. All the winter protection they need is mulch. But in the North, dig them before frost.
The deciduous kinds can be stored in bags of vermiculite. Pot up the evergreen types and run them on the dry side until new growth appears.
Eucharis is best grown in pots as they resent disturbance. If they need repotting, be careful, and use a hose to flush the soil from the roots.
Reduce the water you give them during the resting season, but not so little that the plant loses its foliage—keep it green.
Bring pots indoors during the winter, holding them at 60° to 65° degrees Fahrenheit.
Eucomis are generally left in the garden in milder climates with only a heavy winter mulch to protect them.
In the North, they are usually grown as pot specimens. Keep them dry while leafless and dormant in a cool room.
The nice thing about gloriosa lilies is that they can be started into growth at any time of the year. In the North, dig them before frost.
The roots are quite brittle, so be careful. Store in vermiculite or sand over winter or until a pink bud or eye shows at the end of the tuber; then, they’re ready to replant.
After the bloom and foliage of the blood-lily or Haemanthus have matured, withhold water entirely except for the evergreen varieties.
Repot the plants only when necessary. Water these sparingly until growth starts in spring. They prefer a night temperature of 55° to 65° degrees Fahrenheit.
Pot up nerines in the fall and give them plenty of moisture during the winter to encourage foliage.
When spring approaches, reduce the amount of water. When the foliage yellows, turn the pots on their side for a rest until fall when the bloom appears.
Lift zantedeschia or calla-lily before frost. Dry the tubers and store them in boxes of vermiculite at 50° to 55° degrees Fahrenheit. Start them again in pots in early spring.
Lift zephyranthes before frost and store loose in paper or mesh bags at 40 to 50 degrees. After a period of rest, they may be forced to bloom indoors.
Pot them up, six in a 5-inch bulb pan, using a sandy soil mix with plenty of humus. Keep the soil moist until the blooms fade.
44659 by Alfred Bessesen