How To Store Bulbs For Winter

Bulbs are sensitive to winters and you might end up losing your precious tulips, gladiolus, and daffodils especially if they are the tender ones. Storing them over the winter saves them from the frost and you can replant them the next spring to enjoy the bloom. The process is simple and any member of the family can volunteer for the noble task of saving the bulbs. However, you do need to know some basic rules while doing that so that the bulbs are still viable to use after the winter. Lets see how to give your bulbs a safe passage through the winter with our step by step guide below.


  • 1

    Dig them:

    The right time to dig them out is when the foliage of the bulbs start to yellow because of the first wave of the cold. You have to dig them out before the cold arrives. Using a fork and spade, loosen the soil around the bulb and dig it out intact without any cuts or blows to the main section and the stored food. Do this for all the bulbs.

  • 2


    Shake the soil out of the bulb or rinse them with gently with running water. Cut off the excess foliage from the bulbs without damaging the main section. Let them dry outside for a day or two. However make sure they do not freeze in the cold. Discard any diseased ones as they will not be able to endure the winters. Apply pesticide or fungicide powder to the dry bulbs.

  • 3


    Get different containers like paper bag, open crate, or pantyhose for each type of bulbs. Always go for a material that can breathe. Plastic bags cannot do so, avoid them as your bulbs will rot. Fill the containers with a loose storage medium such as peat moss, vermiculite, newspapers, or sawdust . Place the bulbs in the containers in a way that none of them is touching each other. Cover with the filling material and close. Store in a cool dark place like the basement.

Leave a Reply


two + 2 =