Tubers of elephant ear, Colocasia esculenta. You may also want to record the information in a notebook or in some other way so the identity of your plants is not lost. Include the cultivar name or other important identifying characteristics on the label. This may be done by writing on the storage bag, writing directly on the bulb with a permanent marker, or by attaching a tag to the root. Label the stored plant material carefully. You may choose to dust the bulbs with an insecticide-fungicide mixture labeled for the specific species as a preventative. Inspect the bulbs for insects or diseases before placing in storage. After curing gladiolus, remove the old shriveled corms at the base of the mother corm. Keep the bulbs out of direct sunlight in a dry, well-ventilated area where the temperature is 60-70✯. A few plants, such as gladiolus and callas, need a longer curing period, of about three weeks. For most species this is only 1 to 3 days, depending on temperature. Most bulbs need a period of curing, or drying, before being put into storage. Any injury will increase the chance of rot while in storage. Wait until spring to divide the bulbs if they have multiplied. Gladiolus corms are best left unwashed the remaining soil can be removed after drying.

You can place the bulbs on a wire mesh screen to make this easier. Wash the remaining soil off with a gentle stream of water from a hose. Shake off excess soil as you are digging the bulbs and cut off the stems. Pathogens can readily enter through injured areas to cause rot in storage. Avoid cutting or bruising the bulbs, and take special care not to rub off the skin of dahlia tubers. Loosen the roots gently by digging several inches back from the base of the plant on all sides before lifting the clump. A digging fork is less likely than a shovel to cause injury. Dig carefully to prevent damaging the underground structures. Peruvian daffodil ( Hymenocallis), however, should be dug before frost damages the plant. If the foliage is killed by frost, the bulb needs to be dug within a few days to make sure rot-causing organisms do not enter the bulb through the damaged stem.

A light to moderate frost will not penetrate to the depth of the bulb but will kill the tender top growth. Most tender bulbs should be dug after the foliage dries up or after the first frost.

The most important things are to keep them dry and cool and do not let them get too cold before or during storage. While there are no absolute rules for overwintering tender bulbs, there are some general guidelines and safeguards to make your efforts more successful. Many of these bulbs are expensive, yet easy to keep, so it is worth the trouble to dig and store the underground portions of these plants. Since they are not winter-hardy in our climate, they need special treatment to save for the next growing season. Even though technically they are not all bulbs, the term bulb is used in this article for convenience. This includes caladium, calla lily, canna, dahlia, elephant ears, gladiolus, tuberous begonias and others. Tender “bulbs” are plants which develop and grow from fleshy storage structures (bulbs, corms, rhizomes, tubers, and roots) which will not survive our cold winters outside. Cannas are one of many tender bulbs that must be dug and stored indoors in cold climates.

Ilift tender lift