How to Care for Tuberose Bulbs
If you're a gardener who's interested in producing the sweetest-smelling flowers in town, the tuberose may end up being the central focus of your garden. Grown from bulbs, the tall tuberose blooms emerge from a rosette of foliage, producing a delicate and exquisite fragrance unlike any other. The plants themselves are not robust and have no tolerance for cool climates. To ensure an ongoing supply of these fragrant blooms, the bulbs must be dug up each fall and replanted in spring after all danger of frost has passed. Luckily, the care and keeping of tuberose bulbs is not complicated. Follow the steps outlined in the guide below and your stock will keep your garden filled with blossoms year after year. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Leave tuberose bulbs in the ground if you live south of zone 8 on the USDA hardiness map. If you live in zone 8 or further north, go on to step 2.
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Reduce the amount of water you give your tuberoses beginning three weeks prior to the expected date of the first hard frost. This will allow the foliage to gradually dry up.
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Dig the bulbs out of the ground after the first frost and place them in a sunny location. Allow the bulbs to air dry for three to five days.
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Fill a cardboard box with peat moss. Place the dried bulbs in the box, pulling the moss over the bulbs until they are completely covered.
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Store the box in a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight until planting season returns. Bulbs can be removed from the moss and started indoors in individual pots four to six weeks before the date of the last frost.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to sit your tuberose bulbs where they will benefit from full sun. When planting tuberoses, plant the entire cluster, as each bulb will only bloom one time, but will then produce a number of "daughter bulbs. " An easier way to keep and care for tuberoses is to plant them in containers. When the weather turns cold, simply bring the pots inside for a few months. At the end of winter, re-pot the plant in new soil, removing the smallest of the daughter bulbs, or carefully dividing the bulb cluster in two.
It can take up to four weeks for new growth to emerge from a planted bulb. Be sure to keep bulbs watered and add fertilizer once visible plant growth begins.
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