storage of summer dormant bulbs
Juliet Leigh (Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:50:19 PDT)

Hi Jim etal,
This is Juliet in NZ. I have found it almost impossible to keep Frit.
imperiallis out of the ground for more than a week or so, even stored at a
temp. controlled 15C. However, the small frits (accompetalla,
camschatcensis, pontica etc) will keep well for a couple of months or so at
15C in a plastic bag with a tiny amount of just-dampened spagnum moss with
them.
Cheers,
Juliet.
(In Northland, where in the depths of a drear, damp winter, the hyacinths
are blooming bounteously.)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jane McGary" <janemcgary@earthlink.net>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 9:43 AM
Subject: Re: [pbs] storage of summer dormant bulbs

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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