Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Getting a jump on summer bulb planting
Get a jump on summer bulb planting! Karen is an expert at Gertens Garden Center in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota and shares some great info. Oh, and I share some too!
You can purchase bulbs from local garden centers or maybe you dug up your gladiolus, cannas, your dahlias or your tuberous begonias last Fall and want to get started. PS, as Karen says, if you get it a little be wrong, don’t worry, the plants know what to do!
Clean up the bulbs, check for any mushy parts and toss those. Divide your bulbs, making sure there’s at least one eye per division.
Use either a potting soil mix or a 50/50 mix of peat moss and perlite or vermiculite.
For tuberous Begonias, plant them hollow side up at the same level as the soil mix. For canna rhizomes, make sure the eyes are looking up at you! Bury them so the upper half of the rhizome is just peeking above the soil surface. Dahlias prefer to be planted in a pot with the eye buried an inch BELOW the soil surface.
If you saved your caladiums, good for you, those guys are spendy but stunning! Plant the caladium tuber with knobby side up in small pots. Cover tubers with 1 to 2 inches of soil.
MOISTEN the soil and move them to a warm location. Once they sprout, get them to the light! A sunny window is great or artificial light is fine too. Keep the soil moist but not wet.
In late Spring, get those babies in the ground outside.
Here is the 2023 Caladium of the Year! Heart to Heart Scarlet Flame. Another Proven Winners plant.
