A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 wintering bulbs

I have some cyclamen & calla lilies, and I am not quite sure how to treat them over the winter. should the cyclamen and callas stay on their pots? should they be in the dark? should they be dry?

Also, how does one go about dividing a bulb?

Thanks!
Connie

I'd also like to know what to do with my bulb plants over the winter.

As for dividing bulbs, whatcha can do is take a sharp clean knife, and just kinda cut the bulb right down the middle. I did this yesterday when i went to my friend's house. She wanted to give me some of her Irises, but the bulbs were too entwined together to separate. Seriously, they were like, one giant ring that the plants were growing out of o.O about as thick as a large sweet potatoe.

But ya, we dug up the entire plant, and sliced the giant bulb into several lil bulbs. We made sure that each bulb had a plant growing out of it though. So i donno if you can do it without a plant growing from it. I also donno how to have bulbs that you can just plant any time sorry lol. I do recommend doing it during middle to late fall though, cuz at that time they're about ready to go into their dormancy period. So it won't hurt as much ^.^

I don't keep my cannas in pots, they are in the ground. However, each fall, I go & clean up my garden area & pull out all the old leaves & such. In the spring, as they are coming up thru the ground, I dig up just the ones I want to move (making sure to get "bulb" or whatever those are called, LOL), and replant them where I want them. They multiply so fast & grow so easy. I don't know much of anything about plants but so far I've had no problems with splitting & replanting my Cannas.