Winter corm and tuber care

Taking action now will ensure you have blooms next year

It’s time to consider what you’re going to do with your plants such as dahlias, begonias and gladioli. This will very much depend, largely, on what your local climate is like – relatively balmy winters in your area may mean you don’t necessarily have to move dahlias or gladioli – they can simply overwinter in the ground, providing you apply a mulch to protect their roots.

Many gardeners simply don’t lift them, and they return year after year with bold blooms, even if their soil has become quite boggy through extensive rain. Very frosty areas of the UK may see dahlias and gladioli succumb to it, but essentially it’s a risk that you can experiment with – it may be you don’t need to worry at all!

If you want to keep your tender begonias, overwinter them and treat them as perennials, chop down the foliage, bring the pots in to the greenhouse and lift the tubers to dry. Put them dry in paper bags and bring them indoors, keeping them in a cool-ish room until next spring.