By
eHow Home & Garden Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Paper bags
- Digging fork
- Plant trimmer
Learn to Dig Up Bulbs in Fall
Step1
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.
Step2
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.
Step3
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.
Step4
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.
Step5
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.
Step6
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.
Step7
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.
Step8
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.
