OSP and caladium bulbs question

I need help from anyone who has done this before. I have had several OSPs growing this summer, struggling along after being almost destroyed by the groundhog I can not catch. Although I don't have enough room to bring all of them inside for the winter, I wondered about how to save the tubers. I seem to remember last year that some of you did that. I never seem to have much luck rooting them but could also try that I suppose. I would like to know what experiences you have had. I also am wondering about saving caladium bulbs over winter. I participated in a coop and have several pots of beautiful caladiums and would love to have them for next year. Have any of you dug them and kept them until the next year? How did you do it? Did you wait until frost got them or did you dig them before? Did you remove the leaves or let them dry on their own? Did you dry them outside or inside? How do you store them? I would love to save them! I have saved EAs occasionally by overwintering them but not always. I thank you for your suggestions.
Shirley

I'm not a pro at this but ...
OSP tubers should be ok to dry out and save. I keep reading not to bruise regular sweet potatos so I guess I would be gentle with them. I have just taken stem cuttings from mine and rooted them very easily in water, I'll see how they do over winter.

Caladiums- I bought a couple pots last year and saved them in doors. As the weather cooled outside, they were getting smaller leaves so I let them dry in a warm basement. I was able to revive them this spring, with the best group being the one I left in the pot and undisturbed. When warm enough outside, I unpotted the whole mass and put it in a larger planter without pulling it apart at all, and it did great.

Regarding the OSP, Sally is right on, and HollyAnn is the OSP queen.
I took my OSP Tubers out of the pots last year wrapped them in newspaper and stored them in my cool basement. I lost less then 1/4 of the ones I saved. Which is pretty good odds. I also took cuttings dipping them in rooting powder and setting them in moist potting soil. Then treating them as house plants over the winter. They were so pretty that I just left them grow in the pots over the summer on the deck. I plan to do the same this fall. Good luck.

No comment on the Caladiums, I had no luck with mine.

Lady, what size pots did you have? My indoor space is very limited and I have two cats who have an affinity for dangling vines, etc.

On the 'taters, did you dry them before putting them in newspaper or just cut off the vine and wrap them?

This message was edited Oct 14, 2008 1:56 PM

I'm Back, Been gone for almost 3 weeks and really missed everyone.
Sally is right about the caladiums, I overwintered 6 pots last year and about 10 loose bulbs. With the pots I just stopped watering them and let them go completely dry and tucked 2 of them under my growing stand. It's a pretty warm room as it is a second floor room and the room below it has the wood/coal stove in it. The other 4 pots were at my Mom's and Daughter's house they stored their pots in their heated basements. I treated the loose bulbs just like I do my OSP. Just let them dry out snip off the dried leaves and put them in a brown paper bag.
With my OSP usually they are in pots and window boxes which I stop watering so by the time I dig them out they are all ready dying back. I pull the tops off and just toss them in a bucket for a couple of days and then put them in brown paper bags and store in my laundry room.
I have had really good success with growing them they just must like neglect. One year the bucket I used got pushed in a corner and forgotten until I started thinking about starting them and really had to look around to find them. They did fine for me after sitting in a 5 gal plastic bucket for 6 month.
I don't usually take cuttings in the fall but I have been told that the Tri-color will not grow true from tubers. Critter gave me a Tri-color plant so I will see how I do with overwintering a whole plant.
Sally, Remember your OSP flower? Well my Blackies flowered more this year than all the previous years combined. Never saw anything like it.

Here is one pot that I started last fall with cuttings of OSP and a coleus, I just took the pot outside to summer on the deck (picture) I measured the pot it is 10 inches across.
I just brought it in, will probably take some cuttings of both plants and start over fresh some time this winter.
The tubers that I stored last year were pretty dry when I emptied a larger pot, I emptied it after a light frost. The stems were frost bitten when I pinched them from the tubers.

Shirley, thank you so much for posting this question :) I've also had problems with a groundhog(s) this summer but I'd really like to try to save them for next year and try again. Hopefully now that I have all this great info/advice I'll be successful!

My caladiums HIGHLY resented the disturbance. When I repotted them, the leaves all lay down, wilted and no new ones coming on. So I'm on to plan B-let this pot dry off and store.

Sally, That was why I thought I would repot mine next year. Mine grew beautifully but had a tendency to droop especially the larger leaf taller ones like White Christmas. I thought maybe fresh potting soil would be the ticket. Also I think that they need a resting period.
I finally did get my bulbs in the ground today, every time I tried to plant them something else came up. I took 4 cuttings from my Brug I still haven't gotten that dug up yet and didn't want to take chances with the whole plant. Not sure if I'll bring it in hate to leave though but I think all that work I did at Josh's has my back aching. Ric came out and helped me plant my bulbs. Not like that's hard work but the bending over was getting to me.

My caladiums are resting all right! like comatose, LOL

Great Quote Box, LOL
No but that was a problem trying to get them in between the perennials I put in around my lamppost bed. Also quite a few of my annuals are still blooming and I just hated to dig them up.One of my impatient beds is still looking pretty good. I was thinking just tear them all out plant the bulbs and go buy Pansies. LOL

Frost hit last night most of the annuals are toast this morning. Another one of those bumps came along last night my washing machine went belly up. Ric says isn't not worth fixing and is in the process of dragging it out. I figure I can do without for a couple of weeks and use Josh's his house is only about 10 mins away and while we have it out Ric can do some work in there that we have been putting off. So I'm moving everything out of that room, really more like a large walk in closet than a real room. So the plan for today is finish moving everything out. Take the laundry load that was in the washer down to Josh's and re wash it, might as well do some weeding while I'm waiting. Then try to get my cannas dug out if I' still standing. LOL

My old college horticulture book says to store caladiums around 70 degrees.