storage of summer dormant bulbs

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:43:02 PDT
Jim McK. asked,
Don't take this as advice. I'm really just fishing for
>responses here: what do the rest of you do [to store dormant bulbs out of 
>the ground]?

When I lift them for repotting, I take the surplus ones that I'll offer in 
my sale list and put them in paper bags. At Costco you can buy big stacks 
of the type of brown paper bag used to wrap bottles of wine, and these are 
a handy size for bulbs too. For the frit bulbs and others that are 
vulnerable to desiccation, I add a handful or two of vermiculite, just 
barely, faintly moistened. My feeling is the the vermiculite will absorb 
any excess moisture present, or provide a little moisture to the bulbs if 
they need it. Then I set the bags, loosely closed at the top, in a 
heavy-duty flat, and set these flats on my table. I write the name of the 
bulbs with a big marker at the top and alphabetize them, so I can run 
through them quickly when filling orders. I keep them in a room that is dim 
and cool (my dining room, so indoor dinner parties are impossible in 
August!). Atmospheric humidity is typically very low here during that time.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA



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