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Home / Seasonal Gardening / Overwintering Plants / How To Store Bulbs For The Winter

How To Store Bulbs For The Winter

By Amy Andrychowicz | 19 Comments

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Storing bulbs for winter is super easy, and a great way to keep your favorite summer flowering bulbs year after year. In this post, I’ll show you when and how to dig up bulbs, and give you step-by-step instructions for how to store bulbs over the winter.

How To Store Bulbs For The Winter

Tropical plants add wonderful, lush foliage and bright colorful blooms to summer landscape. In cold climates, it’s common to grow tropical plants as annuals that will die over the winter, and be replaced every spring.

But many of these tropical plants form corms, tubers or bulbs (commonly referred to as bulbs) that can be grown year after year by overwintering them indoors.

With a little bit of dirty work, and a small amount of storage space, you can easily overwinter tender bulbs.

You will be able to keep plants that you love without worrying about having a sunny window to put them in, or fighting pest infestations during the winter. It’s a huge money saver too!

Tropical Bulbs To Overwinter Indoors

Here’s a small list of common tropical plants that have bulbs, corms or tubers which can be overwintered indoors.

  • Canna lily
  • Spider lily bulbs
  • Voodoo lily
  • Dahlia
  • Elephant ear
  • Crinum lily
  • Tuberous Begonias (not all begonias are tuberous)
  • Gladiolas
  • Caladium
  • Calla lilies
  • Sweet potato vine
Frost Damaged Tender Tropical Plants

Frost Damaged Tender Tropical Plants

When To Dig Up Bulbs

The best time to dig up tropical bulbs for overwintering indoors is in the fall after the first few frosts have turned the leaves brown. This will trigger the plants to go dormant naturally. You can dig up tender bulbs any time that is convenient to you, but you must do it before the ground freezes.

Digging Tubers Before Storing Them For Winter

Digging Tubers Before Storing Them For Winter

I like to wait until a few hard frosts have killed the foliage before I dig up my tender bulbs. You can cut the foliage down to the ground before digging up the bulbs, or you can wait until after you’ve dug up and cleaned the bulbs to remove the foliage.

Cut Foliage Off Plants Before Digging Up Bulbs

Cut Foliage Off Plants Before Digging Up Bulbs

How To Dig Up Bulbs

I prefer to cut most of the foliage off before I dig the bulbs, leaving enough of the stalk to use as a handle if possible. To avoid damaging the bulbs, start digging several inches away from the stems of the plants.

Dig around the entire root ball to loosen it up, and then lift it out of the ground. As you dig up the bulbs, make sure that you keep track of what is what (unless you like surprises).

Digging Up Flower Bulbs In The Fall

Digging Up Flower Bulbs In The Fall

Carefully loosen up the clump of bulbs, removing as much dirt as possible. Cutting off tightly bundled roots will help with this process. You don’t need to cut off all the roots though.

The goal is to loosen up the roots, remove the bulk of the dirt, and separate individual bulbs as much as possible. Tender bulbs could be overwintered as one big clump, but splitting them apart helps prevent rotting.

Discard Any Rotted Bulbs

Discard Any Rotted Bulbs

As you separate the bulbs from the clump, inspect each one and discard any that have signs of rot. Healthy bulbs are firm, not mushy. Remove the remaining foliage before storing bulbs for winter.

Single Bulb Ready To Overwinter

Single Bulb Ready To Overwinter

Storing Bulbs For Winter

To reduce the chance of your tender bulbs rotting or growing moldy over the winter, allow the bulbs to cure (dry out) for several hours or days before overwintering indoors.

To do this, I lay newspaper on the garage floor and then spread my tender bulbs out on the newspaper. The larger the bulb, the longer it should cure. One or two days for small bulbs, three to five days for large bulbs.

Allow Tender Bulbs To Cure Before Overwintering Indoors

Allow Tender Bulbs To Cure Before Overwintering Indoors

How To Store Bulbs For Winter

Once the tender bulbs have cured, it’s time to pack them up. I use cardboard boxes so they are easy to stack in a corner in the basement, but you could use paper bags too.

I would not recommend using any type of plastic container for overwintering tender bulbs, unless it is well ventilated.

You can wrap each bulb in newspaper, or you can pack them in peat moss, coco coir, wood chips (pet bedding works great) or saw dust.

Alternatively, you could use a mixture of vermiculite and perlite for storing bulbs. Whatever medium you choose to use to store your tender bulbs, make sure it is fairly dry before packing.

To prevent rot from spreading between bulbs, try to pack them so that the bulbs aren’t touching each other. Continue to pack the bulbs between layers of packing medium until the box is full.

Don’t forget to label them so you know what you have come spring.

Overwintering Bulbs In Peat Moss

Overwintering Bulbs In Peat Moss

Store tender bulbs in a cool (above freezing) and dark location. You can check them periodically during the winter to make sure there aren’t any signs of mold or rot, and ensure they aren’t drying out.

Storing Bulbs In Peat Moss For Winter

Storing Bulbs In Peat Moss For Winter

Overwintered tropical bulbs can be planted in pots and placed in a sunny room several weeks before they’re planted outside, or they can be planted directly into the garden in the spring after the last frost.

Digging up and overwintering tender bulbs requires a bit of work, but is a great way to save money and get a jump start on the garden in the spring.

Related Products

More Posts About Overwintering Plants

  • How To Overwinter Coleus Plants Indoors
  • How To Overwinter Brugmansia Plants Indoors
  • How To Bring A Plant Out Of Dormancy

Share your favorite method for storing bulbs, or add your tips for overwintering bulbs in the comments below.

Tropical plants like cannas, dahlias, elephant ears and gladiolas are not hardy, and won’t survive the winter outside in cold climates. But these tender summer bulbs can easily be overwintered indoors, and grown again year after year! Learn how to dig them out of your garden in the fall and get them ready for storage. Plus, get tons of tips for storing tender bulbs in pots or packed in boxes for winter.

About Amy Andrychowicz

I live and garden in Minneapolis, MN (zone 4b). My green thumb comes from my parents, and I've been gardening most of my life. I’m a passionate gardener who loves growing everything from vegetables, herbs, and flowers to succulents, tropicals, and houseplants - you name, I've grown it! Read More...

Comments

  1. Karen Martin says

    March 31, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba so our winters are even harsher than yours. I bring in my calli and canna lillies as well as gladiolus. My question is about splitting the canna lily bulbs. How big should they be before I split them and when is the best time?

    The calli lillies have already sprouted. How long before I can plant them indoors? Or should I just wait until the last frost is gone?

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      April 3, 2019 at 8:33 am

      Once your canna bulbs grow large enough where they have two or more tips on them, you can split them. The best time to do that is in early spring before planting. After splitting them, I would recommend allowing them to cure (dry) for a couple of days so that the wounds can callus over before planting them.

      If your bulbs are starting to sprout, then you can pot them up at any time. You could certainly wait, and just plant them into the garden once it’s warm enough. But potting them up now will give them a nice head start. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Susan says

    September 14, 2018 at 11:25 am

    Love all your friendly, knowledge. Thanks for sharing for FREE.. 👨‍🌾
    Going to try the sweet potato vine ‘dry wintering’. Hope I can find some peat moss.
    Enjoy the Fall.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      September 27, 2018 at 9:14 am

      You’re welcome! Good luck overwintering your bulbs. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Emily says

    October 21, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    I was just wondering how I should overwinter some lily bulbs; perfect timing!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      October 28, 2016 at 12:54 pm

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  4. Christine says

    October 16, 2016 at 3:45 pm

    Great tips! I always want to buy tropicals for my zone 5 garden and always pass. I am going to have to treat myself to some next year!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      October 18, 2016 at 5:02 pm

      Yes! Tropical bulbs are great. You just buy them once, overwinter them in the house, and regrow them year after year for free. LOL!

      Reply
  5. Tracy says

    October 3, 2016 at 3:58 pm

    I tried storing bulbs in my basement last year, but they dried out and were no good come spring. My basement does not get cold. With enough packing using paper and dirt, is it possible for them to survive in a garage when temperatures fall below freezing?

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      October 5, 2016 at 4:59 pm

      It sounds like you need to pack the bulbs a bit better so they won’t dry out. Peat moss is a good packing material that will help keep your bulbs from drying out over winter. I definitely wouldn’t recommend storing bulbs in your unheated garage, the below freezing temps will likely kill them.

      Reply
  6. Linda dunning says

    April 15, 2016 at 8:07 am

    I purchased elephant ear bulb & was told to plant flat cut end down, round pointy end up, but nothing has happened in one mo. Is this right?

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      April 16, 2016 at 7:56 pm

      Yes, that is correct. I would carefully dig around the bulb to see if there’s any signs of growth. Maybe you planted it too deep?

      Reply
  7. lori says

    September 28, 2015 at 6:13 am

    This is my first time caring for canna bulbs. So you stated to dig after frost, but then stated it can be done at convenience…can I dig them up before frost if it is more convenient without fear of losing them? Thanks for your help, I am sort of new at this. 😉

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      September 28, 2015 at 8:53 am

      Yes, you sure can dig up bulbs before frost. I can’t bring myself to cut them down when they’re still looking good in the garden, but you can do it anytime you want. Frost helps to trigger the bulbs to go dormant, but it’s not necessary to wait that long before you dig them up and store them.

      Reply
  8. Amy Andrychowicz says

    June 2, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    After I wrote this post, I decided to do some experimenting with the types of containers I used for storing my bulbs.

    Reply
    • Helen Malandrakis says

      November 1, 2014 at 7:56 pm

      Cannas are the only tender bulbs I have. They are planted very close to my house. I do not dig them up, because I do not have the proper storage for them. I cut off the foliage after the freeze, and I mulch them very heavily. They have made it through the winters for at least 4 years, now.

      Reply
      • Amy Andrychowicz says

        November 6, 2014 at 7:31 am

        Wow, that’s wonderful Helen. Glad to hear you found a technique that works for you so you don’t have to store your bulbs. It gets too cold here in MN for me to be able to leave them in the ground over winter, so I’m jealous! 🙂

      • Nikki Gwin says

        October 19, 2016 at 1:50 pm

        Where do you live Helen? And what planting zone? I am 7b and am going to hope for the best.
        🙂 gwingal

      • Helen Malandrakis says

        October 21, 2016 at 7:54 am

        Nikki, I live in Zone 6a. We used to be 5b. As I said, my husband piles about 18 inches to 2 feet of leaves on top of the area where I have the Cannas planted. It’s very close to the house with my garage on one side and front porch behind that area. It’ really not a pretty sight, but I don’t care. It really is not visible from the street because of the plants in front of this area.

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Amy Andrychowicz is the creator and owner of Get Busy Gardening (getbusygardening.com), an author, a blogger, and a passionate gardener.

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Amy Andrychowicz is an author, and the creator of Get Busy Gardening. She is devoted to helping new gardeners learn through guidance, encouragement, and advice that is easy to understand.
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