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 > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/