Have You Prepped Bulbs For Winter?

The frost is on the pumpkin and now it’s time to go to work.

For those who like to keep tender summer bulbs over the winter, here are a few tips:

* Begonias: Snap the blackened foliage from the tubers. Don’t leave stubs; cut them off with a sharp knife. Set the tubers aside to allow the clinging soil to dry, then brush it off.

Place the begonias on a bed of perlite or peat moss in a shallow box; don’t let the tubers touch one another or they might rot. Cover them with the perlite or peat moss and store in a cool, dark room.

* Gladioli: When the leaves have yellowed, dig the corms. Wash away any clinging soil, cut the leaves to about a half-inch from the top of the corm, separate the shriveled old corm from the new corm and set them aside to dry.

Once they’ve dried, store them in mesh bags or old nylon socks. Hang the bags in a dark, cool room until next spring.

* Dahlias: Now that the foliage is blackened, I’ll leave the plants alone for about 10 days so that the tubers can harden. (It’s like leaving potatoes in the ground to harden after the foliage has died.) Then I’ll carefully dig the tubers, wash them, set them aside to dry, write the names of the flowers on the tubers and store them away for the winter.

Though many dahlia growers divide their tubers prior to storing them, I have better luck separating them in the spring. I have found small divided tubers have a tendency to shrivel easily in storage.

I store my tubers in an old ice chest. I used to use vermiculite as a storage medium, but not this year — not until vermiculite is given a clean bill of health. This year I’ll store the tubers in slightly dampened peat moss.

* Canna lilies: Dig these large roots, wash off the soil and set them aside to dry. I simply store mine in a brown grocery bag.

* Calla-lilies: Dig the bulbs and remove the foliage. Wash the bulbs and set them aside to dry. Once dried, write on them the color of the flower or the specific name of the flower. I store mine the same way I store begonias, in a shallow box, covered with peat moss.

* Four-o’clocks: Though these plants may not be considered summer bulbs, their roots are worth digging and storing. Stored roots that are replanted in the spring will produce larger plants than the previous year. I store four-o’clocks in the same manner as canna lilies.

If you grow caladium or elephant ears, they, too, must be dug and stored.

And finally, remember, not all summer bulbs are tender. Lilies and alliums are winter-hardy. These bulbs will overwinter in the ground in our region.

Selling your home?

If you’re thinking of putting your house on the market this winter or next spring, here are a few suggestions from the Netherlands Bulb Company for spiffing it up outside:

Stand in the street and look at your property. Can a special feature of your house or landscape be accentuated by using spring flowering bulbs or other plant material? Take this same approach with the back yard. If so, plant tulips or daffodils now, before the ground freezes.

Is your wood pile a junk pile? If so, straighten it up.

Collect all the garbage and debris laying around the yard. Mow the lawn and edge it this fall.

If necessary and if feasible, patch or resurface broken driveways and sidewalks.

Make sure the front door is clean and welcoming. Paint the door if necessary and decorate the porch with pots of spring-flowering bulbs.

Whether you plan on selling your home or not, with a little effort now, you can be ahead of spring chores and have a colorful spring.

fusubhedOn the composting front

Don’t forget the free composting workshop Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt.

The workshop is sponsored by the West Central Community Center and the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System.

Participants are invited to bring one bag of yard waste so a working compost pile can be built as part of the workshop. Attendees who live in the city or in Spokane County will receive a free composting bin; proof of residence is required.

For information, call the recycling hotline at 747-0242.

Want to make compost quickly? Learn how at a free Composting 101 seminar. The hour-long, interactive seminar will be presented at seven locations between Oct. 10 and Oct. 25. All classes will start at 6:30 p.m.

The schedule:

Oct. 10 at the North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Road.

Oct. 12 at the Finch Arboretum, 3404 W. Woodland Blvd.

Oct. 16 at the Shadle Library, 2111 W. Wellesley, and also at the Argonne Library, 4322 N. Argonne Road.

Oct. 17 at the Indian Trail Library, 4909 W. Barnes.

Oct. 18 at the County Cooperative Extension Building, 222 N. Havana.

Oct. 25 at the Valley Library, 12004 E. Main.

For more information on these composting workshops, call the Recycling Hotline, 747-0242.

There will also a Compost Fair as part of the annual Fall Leaf Festival at the Finch Arboretum, Oct. 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The festival and the compost fair are free and Spokane County residents (bring a driver’s license) who go through the compost seminar get a free compost bin.