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 For anyone who must garden only on a balcony, porch or deck and only in planters – then spring planted bulbs, corms and tubers are ideal plants. Annual plants must be purchased each year – perennial plants are not likely to survive a winter in an above ground container – but these tender perennials will last for many years when lifted from the soil and stored indoors.
Oriental and Asiatic Lilies are hardy in the garden but should be lifted and stored dry indoors when grown in containers.
Water gardening that is now so popular is another area where plants are almost exclusively grown in containers. Canna Lilies and Taro are spectacular plants that grow from tubers and so they may be saved from year to year.
Whether you grow such plants in the garden or in containers it is the ease of over wintering them that has unique appeal. The soil that they grew in is left outdoors and the bulbs or tubers are kept indoors, in moist peat moss or vermiculite. These are both sterile products that do not harbour insects or other pests. As further precaution the plants should be dusted with an insecticide-fungicide and kept in a cool dry spot that does not freeze.
The financial benefit of saving bulbs and tubers is obvious, since they are far too valuable to be discarded. The steps involved are simple and no special equipment is needed. It is easy. It is clean. You not only save money, you earn satisfaction from completion of a worthwhile task.
Begonias, Caladiums, Dahlias and all other spring planted tubers and bulbs are available in March at Humber Nurseries and at our retail booth at the spring garden shows. This is the time to buy them or you may miss out. You might also wish to get some of them started indoors and ready to go out when weather permits.
BEGONIAS
Begonias take 12 weeks or more from starting up until flowering so they should be started in March or early April. Plant the tuber concave side up not more than 5 cm deep. The soil should only just cover the tuber. Use only a 8 – 10 cm pot or plant a number of them in an open seedling flat spaced 8 cm apart. A soil-less mix such as Pro-Mix is preferred over potting soil. It should be moist but not soaking wet. Soil temperature at night should be about 12°C and 21°C in the day. They will need a sunny window or be under lights. Even if intended for window box or planter they should not be started in these larger containers but transplanted into them. They can only go outdoors after the risk of frost is passed. In the garden a spot getting morning sun is ideal – in other locations they will need 50% shade. Fertilize with water soluble 20-20-20 every two weeks throughout summer.
SAVING AND STORING THE BEGONIA TUBERS
When the first fall frosts are expected, stop watering the plants. After a light frost, lift the plants, with any soil clinging to them – wrap them loosely in newspaper and let them dry for a week or more. Cut the tops back to about 10 cm and continue drying. When the remaining stubs of stem fall off with a touch, shake the tubers free of any soil and store the tubers in dry peat moss or dry vermiculite. Ideal winter temperature is 15°C, never lower than 5°0C.
CALADIUMS
Caladium is a fancy-leaf plant, which grows from a tuber. The foliage can be mixtures of white, green or red or splashed with these colours. Plant in Pro-Mix in a small container. Place the tuber with the knobby side up – 1 to 3 cm deep. Keep steadily moist. They need humidity and like to be warm - at least 22°C. They can go outdoors by the middle of June and are best in filtered shade and out of the wind. In fall, dry out the plants by withholding water and store in a warm dry place until spring. Fertilize in the growing season with 5-1-1 Fish Emulsion.
CALLA LILIES
– Zantedeschia
These are arum lilies with a large coloured spathe wrapped around a central spadix. White, yellow and pink flowered forms are available. In some types the broad green leaves are splashed with silver. Callas are subtropical and can only go outdoors when frost is no longer a threat. Start the rhizomes indoors in March or early April. Plant 10 cm deep in a rich potting soil – water thoroughly, then only sparingly until the first shoots begin to show. The growing plants must always be well watered and never dry out. Fertilize every two weeks with water – soluble 20-20-20. Callas have become popular as water plants or bog plants. In this case use Aquatic Plant Soil and fertilize with plant tabs. These are solid tablets that are pushed into the soil.
SAVING THE CALLA RHIZOMES
After flowering has finished, withhold water (or remove from the pond) to induce dormancy. Cool fall weather will do the same. When the leaves turn yellow and die down the tuber can be lifted from the soil. Gently wash the soil away with tepid water. Try not to damage the rhizome. Allow drying in a warm spot for a week, applying an insecticide – fungicide bulb dust and storing each in its own paper bag, in a cool dark spot.
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CANNA LILIES
If your Canna Lilies are to flower before summer is over they must be started indoors in March or early April. Plant the rhizome flat in a rich potting soil. Do not plant them deep, the soil should just cover them – no more than 5 cm. Water thoroughly and place in a warm spot with good light. They can be planted in the garden when there is no longer any danger of frost. Cannas need to be dependably moist and never dry out. Fertilize every two weeks with water soluble 20-20-20.
The choices of Cannas today go beyond green or red leaved forms with either red or yellow flowers. Many new varieties have bronze or copper leaves, some with contrasting stripes. Flower colours include orange and pink. Primarily a terrestrial, plant cannas can be grown in shallow water and have been enthusiastically adopted as pond plants. As water plants they should be potted in Aquatic Soil and fertilized with plant tabs that are pushed into the soil.
Cannas have a number of flowers on each stem. Remove the topmost flower as it fades. After all the flowers have been spent, cut the stem to the next side shoot which will also flower. Three or four secondary flowering shoots can be produced over the course of the summer although the later flowers might not be as large.
SAVING AND STORING CANNA LILIES
After the first frost has blackened the tips or the foliage has started to wither, cut back the stems to about 15 cm. Lift the tuber from the soil and leave in the sun to dry. DO NOT wash the rhizome but dust with an insecticide – fungicide. Store in moist peat moss or vermiculite in a cool dark spot. The medium should never dry out and may need to be moistened occasionally through the winter. On the other hand it should never be wet as the rhizomes may rot.
DAHLIAS
It is usually only the 30 – 40 cm tall seed grown dahlias that are offered as growing plants. If it is the taller very large-flowered types you wish, these you must grow yourself from tuberous roots.
A wide range of types are possible in a range of heights from 60 to 180 cm and flower sizes from a few centimetres wide to some as large as dinner plates.
Dahlias require full sun and deep, rich, moist soil. It takes 8 to 12 weeks before flowering so you may want to start them indoors, putting them out only in June when the soil is warm. You can also delay their planting until mid to late June so that they will flower through September and into the fall.
SAVING AND STORING DAHLIA TUBERS
Leave the plants in the garden as long as you can so that they can store up moisture and nutrients. After the first frost, cut back the tops to about 10 cm. Use a garden fork to dig up the tubers. Turn the clump upside down so water does not collect in the hollow stems. Let dry in the sun for the day. Most of the soil will fall away, some of it will cling. DO NOT wash.
Store the clump in an open container with a mixture of moist peat moss and vermiculite. Keep in a cool dark space and check on them during the winter. They may need to be misted and then recovered. In late winter/early spring the mix can be moistened to encourage new growth. The tubers can then be separated and each potted in rich potting soil in 15 cm pots. Provide heat and light – your new plants will be ready for the garden by early June.
GLADIOLUS
Superb as a cut flower and effective in the border. The blooms start to open from the bottom of the spike upwards and a full two weeks of continuous colour can be obtained from one plant alone.
Planting can begin as soon as tree leaves unfold in the garden. Continuous bloom can be achieved from mid-summer until fall by planting at two week intervals up to mid-June, or by planting a choice of cultivars that bloom very early to very late.
STORING GLADIOLUS CORMS
Gladiolus corms are not hardy but are lifted in the fall and used year after year. In cutting the flower stalk, cut the stem where it emerges from the leaves. Allow the leaves to remain in place and continue feeding the underground corm for good bloom the next year. The corms will be ready to dig six to eight weeks after flowering.
After digging, cut the tops off close to the corm and spread the corms out in the sun to dry for a day. The corm you dig will be a brand new corm that the plant has made this year with the old corm shriveled and small and attached to the bottom. There may also be many small corms that can be saved but will take three years of growth to reach flowering size. Keep the corms in open boxes for three weeks in a well-ventilated, warm place. By then the old corms and stems will separate easily from the new. Store for winter in open well-ventilated containers in a cool place, even down to 5°C.
TARO – Colocasia
Call them Elephant Ears if you must, although there are a number of plants with the same nickname.
Wonderfully exotic plants with very large leaves that can be green, dark reddish green or almost black. They need constant moisture and make outstanding pond plants. Give them the largest size of container or plant them in the garden and they will grow huge.
OVERWINTERING OF TARO
The plants can be reduced in size by cutting off the largest leaves. Look for the spot where juvenile leaves come out the side of the stem. Place the container on a saucer so that the plant can be kept moist and grow near a window. Or, cut back completely and store in a cold room that does not freeze.
You can also remove the roots entirely from the soil and store them in a container of moist vermiculite and peat moss.
LILY OF THE NILE – Agapanthus
An elegant plant with large clusters of blue or white flowers atop strong leafless stems emerging from a clump of strap-shaped dark green leaves. The flowers grow on 100 cm stems and do not need staking. The rhizome should not be planted deep, the soil should just cover them. Fertilize every two weeks with water-soluble 20-20-20 and they should keep flowering all summer.
TO OVERWINTER AGAPANTHUS
When Lily of the Nile are grown in containers, as they usually are, you need only bring the plants indoors in the fall. Keep them growing as you would a houseplant or cut them right back and store in a cool spot that does not freeze.
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