Help! I have to dig up all my bulbs!

8 years ago

I have to dig up all the bulbs in the front garden before mid-April (basement is leaking - foundation issues - and all the front landscaping has to be removed). I live in SW Ontario so some of the bulbs (crocus, snowdrops) will be done but the tulips, daffodils, mini irises, hyacinth and paperwhites likely won't have all bloomed by the deadline.

Green tips are starting to show for many of them as we are currently in a warm spell but it could still snow again. If the ground is thawed enough, should I try to dig them up now and put them in pots?
Or should I wait until they get bigger? I have a LOT of bulbs so this is going to take quite a few days of work. I hate the thought machines driving over them or even being dug up by a backhoe and lost in mounds of dirt.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Featured Answer

June E

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

how long will it take until the work is finished and they could be back in the ground? Could you take enough dirt with them and then put them back in in a couple of weeks? You might be shocked by how much the bulbs can take since they have all their main nutrition with them. I live in Atlanta where I have to plant new bulbs every year because they just rot. I plant about 400+. I love them. I was pretty crazy in the fall and had them chilled and sent to me in December instead. I JUST put them in two weeks ago. They were sitting in my garage for 7 or 8 weeks and just two weeks in they are thriving and already 2-5 inches up out of the ground.

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Comments (7)

Nicky Charles
Original Author
8 years ago
I can probably get them back in the ground in within a few weeks after the mid-April repair. Do you think I should dig them up now or wait until closer to the date? I don't want to dig too soon but I don't want to run out of time either...
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June E
8 years ago
Best guess would wait as long as possible to take them out and then put them back as quickly as you can, or putting them directly in pots might be the best idea so you can enjoy them and they can still complete their cycle. You're so lucky they come back!
posierosie_zone7a
8 years ago
I have dug up many bulbs and repositioned. My guidance is they can sometimes be like an upside question mark where the bulb is not directly under the foliage. I take a big shovel and go several inches out from the foliage to avoid slicing the bulb. I go down the entire blade of the shovel and do the same thing as I continue on around. I end up with a hunk of dirt with roots showing through. If not transplanting immediately, I would suggest a pot or all together in tubs.
a1an
8 years ago
Interesting read....wouldn't the OP need to dig deeper/deeper to at least get the roots as well. So when he puts them back in the ground, there is roots and leaves...to green and store back energy?

And or RP last post, just dump them as pots for a home for 2018
posierosie_zone7a
8 years ago
Good point. Absolutely he should get as much as the rootball as possible. That's why I said to dig down all the way with a big shovel - in my garden, that is sufficient to capture the root ball as it's not as big as you might think. I can see that in fluffier soils people might plant their bulbs deeper or the rootball might spread out more.

The point of taking out a big chunk of soil is to keep as much of the roots intact and help them not dry out during processing into pot their short term holding places.

I have used cardboard boxes to hold plants for swaps, etc. They work pretty well for about a month and are dirt cheap. Might be useful if you run out of pots for a stop gap.
a1an
8 years ago
I guess it's going to down to the OP soil....especially this time of the year. ie, most of my soil is still wet, Between the snow, snow melt and then the rains....

in some area, it's wet and dense. Digging out to get the roots might entail a backhoe ;-)