Expert: Kenneth Joergensen - 8/12/2006

Question
Hi,
 I live in Maryland and am revamping my yard.  I have several lily (Stargazer) that have already bloomed this year and the stems are dying away.  I dug the bulbs up today and don't want to replant them right away, how can I store them for any extended period of time?
 I also am digging up quite a few "four o'clock" flowers (that's what we call them anyway - not sure of the correct name but they bloom in the afternoon/evening) that have overgrown my flowerbed.  I didn't realize the size of the root or bulb on them, they're huge.  How can I store these until I find another place to plant them?  I currently have them in Ziploc bags but I doubt that will do.

Answer
Store stargazer lilies in ventilated bags (onion sacks) in cool rooms out of the sun. Make sure the roots are wrapped in moist (damp, not wet) newspaper, or put the bulbs in bags of barely moist peatmoss sphagnum. The material must be damp, not wet/soaked. If the roots are allowed to dry out, the bulb will die. If kept too wet, the bulb will rot.

Zip lock bags are not a good idea due to fact that it will easily rot bulbs. Good ventiation, but moisture around the bulbs/roots are preferred. I know this sounds difficult, but if you follow above, you should be fine. Check the material (sphagnum/newspaper) every few weeks to re-wet it if necersssary. The cooler you keep the bulbs the better (above freezing).



Four-O'clock-flowers (Mirabilis jalapa) also called beauty of the night or marvel of peru are flowers which grow from tuber like structures which remind you of bulbs.

They are only hardy to zones 10-11 (deep south) but can be grown as far north as southern maryland (coastal regions) if given protection during the winter (mulch well with deep layer of material in late fall).

You can also lift, wash water from the roots and store dry and cool (but always frost free) for the winter. Next spring, soak in a bucket of water for 15 minutes and plant any that does not show signs of rotting. Plant outdoors after last chance of frost.