How to Dig Up Bulbs in Fall
Early fall is a great time to begin preparing your garden and plants for winter and next spring. Bulbs should be dug up and moved or stored until spring. You need to know how to properly dig up bulbs in the fall in order to protect the plant.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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Learn to Dig Up Bulbs in Fall
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1
Wait until the plant's foliage changes color from green. While the plant is still green, it's still producing food for itself and shouldn't be dug up. Most bulbs turn yellow in early fall and this is when you should start to dig them up.
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2
Use your digging fork to gently upset the soil near the bulbs. You want to be slow and steady so you don't upset the plant's roots or any perennials that are nearby.
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3
Pull the bulbs out of the ground and lie them in the sun. The bulbs need to dry before they can be stored for the winter. If you live in a warm climate and are just moving the bulbs, they can be put right into the new location without drying.
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4
Keep an eye on your drying bulbs. This process can take a couple of weeks or up to 10 weeks for some plants. You'll need to be sure domestic animals and rodents don't bother your bulbs.
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5
Cut off any yellow or brown foliage after the bulbs have dried. Now you can sort your bulbs by type or color if you wish.
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6
Place the bulbs in paper bags. You don't want to stack the plants on top of each other too much, but a couple layers per bag are generally fine.
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7
Store your bulbs in a dry and fairly cold location until the spring. Some people store bulbs in a refrigerator, but you should ask your local nursery what the best storage is for your bulbs.
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8
Consider giving some bulbs to friends and family as a gift. You can tell them how to store the plants and then help them plant the bulbs in the spring.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Some bulbs will need to be dug up and stored every year or else they won't survive the winter. The bulbs may still flower every few years, but the flowers will probably be small each time.
The ideal storage temperature for most bulbs is between 40 to 45 degrees F.
Do not store bulbs where there is a lot of moisture or or in a location where they can freeze.
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Comments
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jeaneen
Jun 19, 2010
I had the weirdest thing happen: I was to the step of drying my tulip bulbs (more than 100). After dark, I looked at the bulbs and they were covered in what appeared to be large roaches and several slugs. It appeared the roaches were laying eggs on the bulbs (I have never seen this type of bug in or around my house). Would the bulbs attract bugs like this...I am certainly not inclined not to store them in my basement until fall.
