Summer bulbs, corms and tubers

[veggiechicken]

Looking for any hints on planting a wheelbarrow load of bulbs, tubers, corms etc.
I took up a special offer of 200 mystery bulbs for �10 - and they've arrived
Feeling a bit overwhelmed now!



120 Gladioli
20 Gladioli nanus
12 dwarf lilies
6 dahlias
3 Gloxinias
20 begonias (trailing and ordinary)
3 caladium
a tray of Acidanthera & babiana.

Whilst I've grown gladies, lilies and begonias before, dahlias, gloxinias and caladium are new to me - and I'd never heard of Babiana (which are eaten by baboons)

Pleae, if you've grown these, which ones need to be dug up for overwintering, or are better planted in pots and brought inside before the frosts.

[mothhawk]

I've grown gloxinias as house plants. They pretty much need to be kept in a pot, I think, because they need to be kept moist while they are growing. If they dry out they will go into a dormant period to prepare for the next flowering, which is what you do with them after they have flowered, i.e. let them dry out in autumn, keep dry over winter, re-pot in spring and then keep watered till after flowering again.

[rary]

Dahlias are tender perennials so should be lifted after the first frost, usualy in the late autumn , the usual practice is to start them off in the greenhouse and take cuttings, but they can be planted with the tip of the old stem just showing, they must be protected from frost, in the past I have planted them about 6in. deep in free draining ground and left them in over winter and they have regrown over several years, but a bad winter can kill them, so if you have any that you like always lift them. As Mothhawk says gloxinias are indoor pot plants, as for the rest I have never heard of them, but if I get any information about them I will let you know

[veggiechicken]

Thanks MH & rary. That's sorted Gloxinias and Dahlias
The Caladiums are frost tender too and grown for their foliage - so they may go in pots.
getting quite excited about all these new flowers. Just need to find space for 120 gladioli

[Greenleaves]

I grow Dahlias but never lift them, i just stick a plastic pot over them in the winter....lazy i know, but it works for me

[Lisasbolt]

Lucky you, your garden will be beautiful this year with all of those. I love gladioli think they are one of my favourite sorry i can't help with anything else just chatting away this morn

[rary]

I grow Dahlias but never lift them, i just stick a plastic pot over them in the winter....lazy i know, but it works for me

be thankful that your weather allows you to do that Greenleaves, in the colder wetter parts of the country you are taking a gamble leaving them in the ground, and if so, they have to be planted deeper than normal

[Gillykat]

I'm not far behind you with gladioli - I've got 80 of them! I'm going to plant them against the back fence alongside the raised veggie beds so they have lots of sun and support....but what's the betting I still have loads left over? If so I'll spot them in groups around the plot

On Good Friday my lovely postie brought me a box of 280 mixed summer bulbs and I've still got 48 perennial plugs to arrive yet which I'm expecting any day. I'm definitely going to need a bigger allotment at this rate!!!!!

[bramble]

Dwarf Lillies like to be planted in dappled shade. I grow them in pots and bring them into the greenhouse in the winter .

[bramble]

I always leave my Dahlias in the ground over the winter.
V.C. you can save the seedheads of the Dahlias, dry them and keep for seeds the following year. I would be really interested to see some pics of them when they blossom. ☺