Bulbs EX - Right time to divide winter growers?

[petershaw]

I have a lot of pots with lots of young bulbs, most winter growers. They have just recently gone dormant (some are still "growing").

I had hoped to share many of them via the Bulb Ex but I am wondering if this is the right time to divide them? I thought I understood they should be kept undisturbed until mid summer, but I am open to clarification.

Peter

[Carlos]

That depends on how hot it is and when did you water (or when did they get rain) for the last time.

I am lifting bulbs whose pots seem fairly dry and there's still some moisture from the last rain two weeks ago. Most have no leaves and roots but some have no leaves but keep living roots, in this case I cover them again.

[Robert_Parks]

I have a lot of pots with lots of young bulbs, most winter growers. They have just recently gone dormant (some are still "growing").

I had hoped to share many of them via the Bulb Ex but I am wondering if this is the right time to divide them? I thought I understood they should be kept undisturbed until mid summer, but I am open to clarification.

I second that. The ones that have dropped leaves generally have mature bulbs, rooty things go to a warm shelf for a time. Generally if the tops are totally dry and done they are OK with lifting. It's a little frustrating with the Lachenalias I am attempting to turf out of the collection, as they skip leaves and flowers but still grow roots (in the absence of a hot summer).

Robert
hoping for a sunny day so I can see the rose colored Tritonia squalida.

[Uli]

In my hot and dry Portuguese summers I move the pots with dormant bulbs to a shady place, otherwise the black plastic pots become too hot. At some stage I empty all the pots and put the bulbs into paper bags.
But I try to keep the storage of the dormant bulbs in paper bags as short as possible. Some bulbs do not at all like to be stored out of the substrate, dry in a paper bag. These are replanting immediately and only the surplus is stored in a bag. I very rarely use plastic bags to store bulbs because they ,,breathe" and produce a surprising amount of moisture which may lead to rot.
Young seedling bulbs can be lost in their first dormancy if kept brutally dry so they get a light hand watering with a fine rose every 4 weeks or so. If kept too wet during dormancy they may also rot. Pot size matters: the bigger the pot the more stable the conditions are in the substrate. Clumps of mature bulbs are grown in 6, 8 or 10 liter pots depending on number of bulbs and size of the plants. My standard seedling pots are square 8 X 8 X 8,5cm. Anything smaller has proved unsuccessful.
Especially species winter growing gladiolus are prone to loss in their first dormancy.

[petershaw]

It's complicated...

Of course it is  

The foliage on many has dried up and I have them in 4" pots in a shaded dry place on the floor under the benches.

These are all in their second year so I will pop them open and see how they look.

The seedlings from this years exchange are still green so they are being watched closely and watered lightly occasionally.

Rather than flooding the BX with unwanted bulbs, I will divide and ask if there is interest, since a lot of them came to me as unwanted seed in the SX.