Sleeping bulbs

[pehe]

I followed your advice and gave the bulbs a hot dry summer bake. In the beginning of September, after a period with low temperature I started watering.
And with good results! Two of the bulbs have gone out of dormancy and new leaves are emerging.

Thanks for your advices.

Poul

[Paul T]

Congratulations, Poul.  I'm glad you sorted it out and got them going.

[johnw]

Any suggestions for an easy method of dealing with Arisaema bulbs for the winter?  Ditto Pinellia. We've taken them out of the old mix but don't care to replant them unless necessary, in which case they'd be kept cold and unwatered.

johnw

[David Shaw]

I recently asked this question for some excess arisaema that I don't want to plant yet. I was advised to store them in pots in dry compost but to be planted out by February/March time.

[Paul T]

John,

I think they would all be fine stored dry.  Some people store their aroids totally dry and without any mix, watching until they start to naturally shoot then planting them.  I know of a few people who realised their Amorphophallus konjac was in flower when they're basement (or office in one case) started to smell like something had died.  The Amorph tuber sitting in the cupboard had shot and flowered without soil or water, just sitting on a shelf.  They're larger tubers and therefore have more moisture stored, but I wouldn't be too worried about storing the Arisaema or Pinellia either.

[pehe]

Here is the latest news about my sleeping bulbs from Malta:

All of them are awake!

The 3 Urginea maritime have leaves and all the narcissus (which I believe is tazetta) are visible above ground.
To reward them I have decided to build a small glasshouse in my greenhouse. I can then give them (and my other heat loving bulbs) a minmum temperature of 10 degrees and some extra light too. When you have this high temperature extra light are needed as the light level in my greenhouse is very poor in the winter as it is isolated with some "bubble plastic" to keep it frost free.

Poul

[Darren]

Good news indeed Poul!

Here's another challenge for all of you - find a way of waking up my tubers of Walleria gracilis. It germinated and grew fine in year one but all tubers have now been fully intact but dormant for 5 years! I've tried hot dry summers, summer watering etc, all with no effect. I almost wish the tubers would rot away rather than torment me like this.

I wondered about trying some ideas such as a VERY warm summer in our 30C incubator at work, smoke treatment etc.

  For info, it is a fascinating winter growing little sprawling climber from South Africa , with prickly leaves & stems and scented flowers. There is a picture in Goldblatt & Mannings Encyclopedia of Cape bulbs.

[Maggi Young]

Darren, it seems others have the same difficulties.... have you seen this post from the pbs archives?.....http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/pbs/2008-October/031812.html
..... it may suggest one answer! 

[Darren]

It does indeed Maggi, thank you!  So a long soak in very warm water is the thing to try. Now, where's the Radox...

I'll try this next autumn.

[Gerry Webster]

Last autumn I obtained a couple of bulbs of Narcissus dubius, potted them in my usual Narcissus mix & placed them in an open plunge.  Neither broke dormancy so I emailed Paul Christian to ask for suggestions. Here is his reply:

"This species, along with serotinus, elegans and viridiflorus, is notorious for this kind of behaviour and can miss a few years at a time. It frequently then appears without leaves and makes flowers!
It is best treated as if it had leafed up and kept very gently moist, just enough to prevent shrivelling, then given its normal summer rest. In autumn I would inundate with tepid water containing weak, high nitrogen fertiliser, then leave to dry out, then repeat. The inundation and drying coupled with nutrients and the inevitable drop in autumn temperatures is often enough to break dormancy in many of these species that are either arid-land plants or which behave as such.
I am a great fan of planting our rather than potting and we grow very very little in pots now."

I'll try this next Autumn.

[anita]

Hi,
As I live in a climate which has seriously hot dry summers I haven't yet had any experience with bulbs suffering extended dormancy but perhaps my observations based on temperatures may assist.
I have Urginia maritima and a range of autumn-winter growing Mediterranean climate species growing in the garden. The dry hot summer rest is much hotter than 30deg C we get at least three weeks where the temperatures are 35deg +. Usually we get cooler intervals of 28 to 30 deg in between a couple of days above 35deg. I guess the point I'm trying to make is for some of these bulbs 30 deg may not be hot enough.
The other thing that I've noticed is that the U. maritima comes up in late summer, often while it is still hot in February 40C + days are not unusual, but I have noticed that U. maritima and some South African species start to move when we move to autumn patterns and the night time temps drop. For example yesterday was 32C and the night was 14C. I wonder if this disparity between days and nights could be some kind of trigger telling the plants that winter rains are not far off and its time to do their thing.
Perhaps in homes and greenhouses the temperature fluctuations are less dramatic and the plants therefore sit tight waiting for nature to tell them its autumn.. i.e. warm days and cool nights.
Cheers Anita

[Gail]

That is interesting thank you.  I've got a Narcissus broussonetii that has slept for two years, I'll have to make sure it gets a bit more heat this summer.