Flower bulbs are often best kept in a sheltered and well-tempered storage location. Given the right conditions, this gives them the power they need to put into healthy, beautifully flowering plants next spring.
Flower bulbs should be stored in a dry and dark place
Why should flower bulbs be stored?
Can't I just buy the flower bulbs at the right planting time or leave them in the ground for the new season? Although this is also possible, there are good reasons for storing the flower bulbs indoors in a controlled manner:
Store newly purchased flower bulbs
Flower bulbs are often available for purchase at a time that is not suitable for planting. If the bulbs of spring flowering bulbs are already on sale in June, you should buy them at that time and store them in the best possible conditions. By the time you buy the bulbs later in the year, when they have been lying in the bright and warm shop for months, the bulbs may already have lost vitality. Proper storage at home keeps the strength in the bulb, giving you hope for strong, flowering plants.
Store dug up flower bulbs
In the case of non-hardy summer flower bulbs such as gladioli or dahlias, it goes without saying that you have to dig them up and store them at moderate temperatures over the winter in order to be able to enjoy their flowering next year.
But even with spring bloomers such as crocus, hyacinth or tulip, it makes sense to dig up the bulbs after flowering and store them until they are planted again later in the year. On the one hand, flower bulbs in the garden soil run the risk of being eaten by garden dwellers such as mice. The main reason, however, is that the bulbs lose vigor in the garden soil over the summer. Already in the second year, spring bloomers sprout only hesitantly. However, flower bulbs that have been stored in a cool place over the summer will produce magnificent flowers again even after they have been planted again.
The right storage conditions for flower bulbs
The following conditions are optimal for storing flower bulbs of any kind:
- dry: protected from rain, no high humidity
- cool: 5-15 °C
- airy: no stagnant moisture
- dark: protected from light in a box or a windowless storage room
A cool cellar offers everything your flower bulbs could wish for. Carefully brush off dried-on soil, sort out dried-up or rotten bulbs and place the healthy bulbs next to each other in a wooden box, for example (they should not touch each other, as this increases the risk of mold). The box is then placed in the selected storage room for spring-flowering plants until autumn, and for summer-flowering plants over the winter.
The refrigerator is not suitable for storing flower bulbs. On the one hand, the temperature is too low, which could cause the onions to sprout too early. On the other hand, the air cannot circulate in the refrigerator and there is high humidity, which makes the flower bulbs susceptible to mould.
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
- as a free PDF file to print out yourself