Burlap and Bulbs

I was worrying about my Elephant Ear bulbs the other day, same with my Gloriosa tubers which had multiplied beyond belief this summer. They were the only two plants that I dug to bring inside for the winter. I lost a few Gloriosas last winter, my fault because I didn't store them away properly. The Elephant Ears are new to me. I was determined to take good care of both plants, so I dug them up, dusted them off, and then realized it was the day of reckoning. How on earth would I store them so that I wouldn't lose them if we had another long cold winter?

A few years ago I learned the hard way that storing bulbs or tubers in a plastic bucket was not a good thing. The bucket had a lid and though there were a couple of holes in the lid, my collection of dahlia tubers rotted; not enough air circulation for them, I realized too late. And another time I had stored bulbs in baskets, the bulbs all tucked away in layers of leaves. What a mess that created because as the leaves dried they broke apart and fell out of the open spaces of the basket, ending up all over my floor. All the years prior to the last three, our winters were mild enough that I could store bulbs in my unheated garage, but no more, winters are now so much colder. With the garage no longer an option, they'd have to be stored in my house.

I have a large and very cool room; it's my studio and it has a concrete floor. When I use the room, I have a little electric heater that keeps me warm. Perfect now for the Gloriosas and Elephant Ears. It even has an outside corner that is colder than any other of the interior walls. There's no danger of freezing and I don't use the studio very often in winter, so no worry about it getting too hot. But what would I store them in, no more plastic buckets and no more baskets for sure.

I thought about the root cellar that was beneath the house where I grew up and remembered that so many things were stored in feed sacks. Some of those feed sacks were of muslin, but most of them were made of burlap. I haven't seen any burlap sacks in years, maybe because I haven't looked for them, but oh wait! I have scrap burlap leftover from an upholstery project. I dug through my heap of fabric scraps and there they were, two perfect burlap rectangles, both big enough to fold over to form a bag. I folded them and found some waxed cotton cord, then using a darning needle, I loosely stitched up both sides and added a row of stitches to the open top. That last row of stitches would act as a drawstring and would be good to use for hanging.


I wrapped both sets of plants in more leftover burlap so they are quite snug in their burlap bags. I added a nest of dry leaves for more protection. I'll also sprinkle the bags with a little water periodically through the winter. I think by hanging them over the nail on the door, and by turning them occasionally, they'll have the perfect spot for winter storage. And I won't have a dried leafy mess to clean up.