Hello,

I'm new with planting bulbs and I have alot of questions! The only experience with bulbs I have is white Desert Lily, it's very hardy and will survive even if it's rarely watered, it also multiply very fast.

Do bulbs start multiplying underground after they go dormant or when they're alive (when they have their leafs and all)? After they go dormant do I have to keep watering them from time to time or I can just leave them in their pots and never water them until the weather cools down?

We have a very hot summer here, temperatures are around 40°C (104°F) and can reach 50°C (122°F) at it's peak sometimes.
So what you do in winter (taking bulbs out of the ground and storing them) I will have to do in summer instead to protect them from the intense heat. The weather during the rest of the year is great for almost all plants if you give them enough water.

I planted alot of bulbs in containers, and I'm wondering if I can store them during the summer and never water them until temperatures are cooler.

Also can daffodils and muscari survive that heat when they are dormant underground or will they rot away. I water the soil often so it's never very too dry, so maybe the heat and wet soil are bad for the bulbs, my garden is only few meters wide btw.

I also planted some hemerocallis in containers, these are probably different than bulbs because when I buy them I get roots, are they strong enough to survive my summer? I don't know if they'll be dormant during that time but they probably will. Can they be dug up from the ground and stored like the bulbs or should I just put them in a shady and cool area and keep watering them until summer is over (even if they are dormant during that time)?


Thanks

We have hear the same problem, maybe not reaching 122F, but close. U have summer plants (like most amaryllis) and can stay outside all year around, even if they are dormant at summer (like naked lady). Other will not survive, in the end of the winter, when most of the leaves are died,I dig them from the ground, dry on air for a few days, and store at 4-6 C (about 40-42F) for all summer.

Some plants (like rain lily), there is noting you can do, it growing mostly in summer, but very slowly because it is too hot for it.

sangel said:We have hear the same problem, maybe not reaching 122F, but close. U have summer plants (like most amaryllis) and can stay outside all year around, even if they are dormant at summer (like naked lady). Other will not survive, in the end of the winter, when most of the leaves are died,I dig them from the ground, dry on air for a few days, and store at 4-6 C (about 40-42F) for all summer.

Some plants (like rain lily), there is noting you can do, it growing mostly in summer, but very slowly because it is too hot for it.

Do they still multiply when you dig them up when they are hibernating?

I'm too lazy to dig them up, dry, store, and then plant them again next year, that's why I planted them in containers.
Can I just store the containers as they are when the bulbs hibernate without watering them (for 2 months) and just take them out again when it's cooler?

u can store them in container, no problem, but it has to be in a cold place (4-8 C). I dig them out also to separate new small bulbs from the main big bulbs, I plant them separately next year, or give to a friends.

Gladiolus has another reason to put them in a cold, you can break dormancy period, and force them to bloom 2 time a year instead of only one.

I plant everything in pods, but has no space in a cold for the pods, this is why I dig them out.

sangel said:u can store them in container, no problem, but it has to be in a cold place (4-8 C). I dig them out also to separate new small bulbs from the main big bulbs, I plant them separately next year, or give to a friends.

Gladiolus has another reason to put them in a cold, you can break dormancy period, and force them to bloom 2 time a year instead of only one.

I plant everything in pods, but has no space in a cold for the pods, this is why I dig them out.

Thanks that's very helpful

Hello Potato01, with planting bulbs, there is a type appropriate for each season since they follow varying dormancy periods.

Daffodils, muscari, hyacinths, tulips, paperwhites..these are planted in Fall. They need that cold soil temperatures at root zone level to develop their roots and bulb development.

On the flipside, the summer growing bulbs are planted in Spring, for their summer show growing period like Amaryllis, Gladiolus, Begonias, pineapple lilies. etc. But not all summer conditions are the same, like my area gets too arid and dry...while some locations have more humid and rainy summers so you have to be mindful of their drainage needs.

Reality check with planting bulbs, got to do the extra effort of digging them up once their leaves die off, so you can safely store them for next season planting again. Unless you have them already in containers, so you can just set them aside in a dry area till next planting season.

tarev said:Hello Potato01, with planting bulbs, there is a type appropriate for each season since they follow varying dormancy periods.

Daffodils, muscari, hyacinths, tulips, paperwhites..these are planted in Fall. They need that cold soil temperatures at root zone level to develop their roots and bulb development.

On the flipside, the summer growing bulbs are planted in Spring, for their summer show growing period like Amaryllis, Gladiolus, Begonias, pineapple lilies. etc. But not all summer conditions are the same, like my area gets too arid and dry...while some locations have more humid and rainy summers so you have to be mindful of their drainage needs.

It's fall here now and the muscari, freesias and hemerocallis started growing (I only planted them about a week ago), but sadly I also planted all the daffodils, but I think they will grow soon too, it's fall now but the temperatures are alot like spring (24 - 26 C , 75 - 78 F) and around (14 - 16 C , 57 - 60 F) at night.

tarev said:Reality check with planting bulbs, got to do the extra effort of digging them up once their leaves die off, so you can safely store them for next season planting again. Unless you have them already in containers, so you can just set them aside in a dry area till next planting season.

Good thing I planted them all in containers then, thanks for the tips