Storing Winter Bulbs

When your winter bulbs have finished flowering and the leaves have died back it is time to dig them up and store them for next year’s season.

Some bulbs, including most of our indigenous bulbs, store very well and will grow successfully the following season. (Results with stored Narcissi are less successful unless you live in the very cold parts of our country.)

Lifting bulbs means they won’t get eaten by moles or inadvertently dug up and thrown onto the compost heap. To store the bulbs: lift them first, shake off any excess soil and then place them in a brown paper packet filled with Starke Ayres organic peat. This helps the winter bulbs to retain essential moisture for next season and protects them against any damage.

If your Narcissi are still flowering, pinch off the faded blooms leaving the stems to die back with the leaves. This allows the nutrients in the leaves to move down to the bulbs and be stored for next year.