Sunday, May 17, 2015

How Do They Know?

The weather's finally warmed up here and there's no more danger of frost, so today I planted the canna bulbs I'd dug up last fall.

Ever since a co-worker gave me a couple of bulbs from her garden seven years ago I've been following the same routine.  After the first fall frost kills the plant leaves, I cut the dead foliage off just above the soil level, dig the bulbs up, shake off as much dirt as possible, then put the bulbs in an old recycling bin. I carry the bin down to the basement (which is the coolest and darkest place in the house), where I stash it on top of the freezer.

During the winter I do nothing to or for the bulbs.  Every spring when I bring them outside I find out that somehow they knew it was time to get growing:

See the sprouts?

5 comments:

  1. I'm pretty sure my mom has some of these!

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  2. amazing how they keep coming back! I've never done that.

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    Replies
    1. Kathy I thought you would like this blog http://whenweedswhisper.blogspot.ca/2015/05/weeding-is-harvesting.html?m=1

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  3. That happened to me in Illinois with amaryllis. I kept the bulbs in the basement crawl space. I forgot about them and found them when they were already starting to grow a stem. Nature is amazing!

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  4. My dad had a beautiful bed of cannas. Mostly red. We called them his cannons. I always forgot to dig them up.

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