Bulbs need room to bloom

By Walter Reeves

For the AJC

Q: If I dig up my gladiolus now, should I store them until spring or replant immediately? — James Gordon

Enlarge photo

Walter Reeves Gladiolus blooms will be better if competing cormels are removed each fall.

More Homefinder stories »

• Adams: Home inspection important for buyers
• Walter Reeves: Choose the right loropetalum
• Walter Reeves: Coffee plants don't grow in Georgia
• Son's hunt for man cave leads to Douglasville community
• Life at Sun City Peachtree ‘tremendously fun'

A: Gladiolus corms (bulbs) are usually winter-hardy if left in the ground, but it’s a good idea to dig them up every couple of years.

Otherwise, baby corms (cormels) will sprout alongside the larger ones and will crowd them, reducing blooms and vigor.

Use a spading fork to lift the soil under a clump and examine the dirt closely. You will find a large corm, usually 2 inches in diameter, plus several smaller cormels, ranging from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch across.

The large corms can be planted now in the spot where you want blooms or you can keep them in a cool dry spot and plant in April.

Similarly, plant the cormels in a sunny, out-of-the-way bed so they can grow large enough to bloom in a couple of years. They could likewise be saved until spring planting. Make sure the soil in any bulb planting bed drains quickly.

Gladiolus, daffodil and tulip bulbs are very susceptible to rot in wet soil.

Q: My Mexican petunia is huge and needs to be cut back for the winter. Do I cut it flat to the ground? — Martia Newell, Forsyth County

A: Yes, ruellia will freeze to the ground naturally after the first frost. You can clip stems back to 2 inches high when they turn brown.

Ruellia will resprout from the roots next spring.

Q: What is the best way to remove the left-behinds from a trumpet vine that once grew on my stucco? I’ve tried brushing with a wire brush, which surprisingly doesn’t ruin the stucco, but also isn’t very effective. — Steve Maxwell

A: There is no miracle remover; much of your success will depend on elbow grease.

Before you scrub with a stiff-bristle brush, try softening the tendrils with 
 1/4 cup of tri-sodium phosphate, or TSP, in a gallon of water.

Q: How can I overwinter Dragon Wing begonias? I hate seeing them in the compost pile after the first big freeze. — Susan Martin, Marietta

A: Dragon Wing begonia, Begonia x hybrida, and angel wing begonia, Begonia coccinea are very attractive, cane-forming begonia plants. Like the bedding plant known as wax begonia, cane begonias do not have a tuberous bulb, only a vigorous root system. Thus the whole plants have to be brought indoors for winter. Most gardeners simply lift them from the ground (or window box) and plant them in a pot that’s set before a sunny window. If the plant gets leggy indoors, take 8-inch-long cuttings, strip off all but the top leaves and insert halfway into a pot filled with a moistened 1-to-1 mix of perlite and potting soil. The cuttings will root in four weeks.

Listen to Walter Reeves from 6 to 10 Saturday mornings on NewsTalk 750 WSB-AM. Visit his Web site, www.walterreeves.com, for detailed advice on Georgia gardening.