Have to move narcissus NOW

[Richard]

The bulb bed in my front yard has to go to make way for some new hardscaping. The crocus and tulips have all died back and were dug, but I still have a patch of poeticus narcissus that are still green, they are the latest to bloom and the last to die down.

I have to have the bulbs out by this weekend. The area I was planning to move them to will not be ready anytime soon due to the work going on in the yard. Should I even try to save the bulbs, or should I break down and spend a few bucks this fall to replace them? And if I try to save them, how should I treat them until I plant them?

Richard USDA Zone 5 (Southeast Nebraska)

[Sterling]

Once on a trip to England, I saw how the gardeners handled this at the 'Stately Homes'. The Lord and Lady of the Manor were much too refined to have look at the spring bulbs getting yellow and tatty so the gardeners whisked them off - after the blooming was over - and re-planted them in fresh dug rows behind the greenhouses so they would be out of sight and yet still be able to finish their cycle.

They did not want to throw them out and get replacements the next year as these bulbs had 'been on the estate for a hundred years'. Plus they get bigger and multiply.

I would imagine you could pot these up, keeping as much dirt and root as possible around the roots. Or if you had the space, dig a row and 'heel them in' like the 'Stately' gardeners do.

Sterl> The bulb bed in my front yard has to go to make way for some new

[Doug Kanter]

Just put them in a big pot and pay close attention to that pot. Don't let it roast in the sun. After the green dies down, you can either leave the bulbs in the pot (IF you don't let it get roasted or waterlogged), or take the bulbs out, dry them, and store them someplace where the temp is moderate and there's good air circulation. Just like onions, in other words. Then, plant them again in the fall.

[presley]