I have tuberoses in pots and also in the ground. Will these be OK in the ground or should I dig them? Can I take the ones in the pots out? If so, how do I winter them?
Wintering tuberoses?
I was wondering the same thing. Mine are in pots.
Leave tuberose bulbs in the ground if you live south of zone 8 . If you live in zone 8 or further north, you'll need to dig them
Reduce the amount of water you give your tuberoses beginning three weeks prior to the expected date of the first hard frost. This will allow the foliage to gradually dry up.
Dig the bulbs out of the ground after the first frost and place them in a sunny location. Allow the bulbs to air dry for three to five days.
Fill a cardboard box with peat moss. Place the dried bulbs in the box, pulling the moss over the bulbs until they are completely covered.
Store the box in a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight until planting season returns. Bulbs can be removed from the moss and started indoors in individual pots four to six weeks before the date of the last frost.
Thank you so much for your help!!!
Thank you. I think I will also wash the bulbs in dilute bleach/water before drying. I do that with my gladiolas and cannas. Some people sprinkle them with a bit of Comet when dry. Both retard mold/rot.
I just leave them in the pots I had them in when out doors...toss a little water on the soil very infrequently - then stick them back out doors with lots of natural fertilizer around April-ish
Thank you Chantell. Since this is my first year with them, I am experimenting. If I remember correctly, the people I bought the starts from leave theirs in the ground. They had a clump on display they said they had 'dug' (from where, ground or planter, I don't remember) that weighed in at 12 lbs.!!!! I am in Zone 7a so I left the ones in the ground then brought in the 2 pots. The ones in the ground bloomed several stalks this first year, but one pot did nothing and the other pot, probably 12 tubers in it....large pot, only put up 1 all summer. Because of this I'm not sure which is best for them. The ones in the ground are up against my deck so gets some protection. But with 24" of snow in 3 days .... there was snow EVERYWHERE! lol Unusual for Oklahoma. Our yearly normal is 9".
I'd love to keep mine in the ground -
please report in and let me know if the ones in the ground come back up for you.
Last year mine kept blooming until frost so I don't know about cutting back on the water ....and why do they start blooming so late away? Seems like they always 'push it'!
dabney
Mine bloomed late summer, but I had just planted them in the spring.
Hello! Greeting from East TN, zone 6B. I bought one tuberose tuber this past spring based on my memory of the wonderful scent. I was not disappointed. I only got one stalk but it was great, however, here we are in November and I have another stalk about 8-10" tall. We have had frost but no freezes. All the foliage is so pretty and green. Now I don't know what to do!!! If I cut the stalk and take into the house will it open or should I just leave it? Even though the plant is green should I dig it? I thought about leaving it in the ground until the leaves are brown and then dig or should I just mulch everything and hope for the best. Any thoughts from you experienced folks?
if the stalk has fat buds you could try cutting it...otherwise you could dig it up...i have heard of people having these indoors in order to have blooms for Thanksgiving..: )
I don't think it'll make it through your winter outdoors even with mulch so I'd probably dig up the whole thing and pot it up and bring it inside--it may still bloom for you that way plus you keep it out of the winter cold.
I am in zone 7a and I have some in the ground that I leave (it also has a stalk on it) and some in pots that have bloomed profusly! The ones in my pots do better than the ones in the ground. I bring the pots in during the winter and sort of ignore them. The leaves get all brown and I just water it a little bit occasionally. It actually sets under a table that I have a lot of small pots on, so it doesn't get much light either.
Hope this helps.
I've not had any survive outside in my 7a :( I just bring the pot in and like Crit ignore it for the most part....then it goes back outside come April/May
Hi, all.
From what I've learned from talking with the nursery where I got mine this spring, tuberoses like LOTS of heat. They don't bloom til they think it's hot enough. And, I suppose it has to be hot enough for long enough... Mine didn't bloom til August, and only 2 of the 3 clumps each put up 1 stalk. But we had cooler weather than usual.
Also, the ground gives plants more protection than containers do. So I was told to consider anything I'm growing in containers to be one full zone colder than where I live. So, although I live in zone 9B, my tuberoses think it is 8B since I'm growing them in containers. Therefore, I was advised to store mine indoors for the winter. I was told that once they die back (they will when the weather turns cold and stays cold), I should dig them up, keeping the roots intact, and air-dry them for 4 days (keeping them out of direct sun). Then I should put them in peat moss and wrap them in a brown paper bag. Since my garage doesn't get below 40 degrees, I was told I could store them there. Otherwise, I'd need to store them inside in a closet or something.
Hope this helps.
Michelle
This message was edited Nov 13, 2011 12:15 AM
Thanks Michelle. Well, we had PLENTY of HEAT this summer. It was one unbearable summer with temps up to 115* at my house. Something like 39 out of 50 days over 100*. We also had a bad drought, but I watered daily, including the things in ground. My inground have 1 stalk up right now, which is the only the 2nd one to put up this year out of probably 10. The ones in the pots did much better. I wonder if maybe I should dig them up, modify the soil, then plant them a little shallower. Just might do that.
Hi, Crit.
Sounds like you should have had a lot of blooms then. Certainly sounds like you had a lot of heat!
I have the double tuberose. I just looked at how deep it says to plant them, and it says to cover the clumps of bulbs with 2-3 inches of soil. Hope this helps.
Michelle
I think that is what I did Michelle. Thanks for the info. Did put some composted horse manure on them this fall. Maybe they just need a punch to get them going better. The ones in the pots did so much better, but of course, they had better soil too.