September is a bulb month for both summer and fall bulbs.

 

September is when you find gardeners digging out tender spring planted, summer flowering bulbs such as gladiolus, dahlias, tuberous begonias, canna and calla lilies. All these tender bulbs/tubers/corms, rhizomes need to be dug up after the first killing frost, have the excess soil carefully shaken from them, have the foliage cut back to within 6 inches from the bulb/tuber/corm/rhizome and then air dried for a few hours.

 

Gladiolus corms are then placed in a cool, frost free location for 3-4 weeks to continue to dry and when they are dry enough the old corm should be able to be twisted off from the new corm. The old corm is tossed out and the new corm is stored in a warm, dry location until next spring when it is planted.

 

Dahlia tubers,and calla and canna rhizomes are placed upside down with the stem hanging down for a couple of weeks in a dry airy frost free place. After it has dried,  the tuber is placed in dry sand or peat moss, and stored in a cool, dry frost free place till next spring. Tuberous begonias are placed in a cool frost free location for a few weeks until the stems dry and fall off, and then they are placed in vermiculite, sawdust, peatmoss or dry sand and stored in a frost free, dry dark place until February when they are re-planted.

 

It is important to label all bulbs with variety name, colour height and what ever other information you may need when it comes time to replanting them again for the next season.

 

Before storing bulbs for the winter sprinkle them with 'Bulb Dust' as this will help in preventing disease or fungus from destroying the bulb and check the dahlia and begonia tubers periodically throughout the winter in case of any disease or fungus so that it can be dealt with quickly. If there is a bit of rot on a begonia or dahlia tuber it can be cut off and the remaining tuber should be fine.

 

September is also the time when all the fall bulbs become available in the garden centre. Fall bulbs are those bulbs that are planted outdoors in September/early October and come up in the spring filling the flowerbeds with colour and fragrance. These bulbs include the many varieties of tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, snowdrops, fritillaria, alliums, and scillia. They are hardy bulbs and can withstand cold winter temperatures and so do not require as much maintenance as the summer bulbs. They can be left in the ground for several seasons before having to be dug up once every few years to be divided. You can tell when they need to be divided because the flowers will be smaller than in previous years due to overcrowding. The bulbs are dug up in early August after the foliage has naturally died back. Gently shake off excess soil and allow bulbs to dry for a few days before separating the tiny bulblets from the large main bulb. Toss out any small bulblets and save bulbs that are 1 inch or larger. Continue to dry them and in September re-plant them.

 

So, whether you are digging up tender spring planted summer flowering bulbs, or planting hardy fall bulbs, September is the month to think about bulbs!