Salvaging Crocosmia

[toutleloo]

Hello.
I found a 5 gal bucket of Crocosmia bulbs that were dug up and thrown out. They were ending a bloom cycle when they were trashed as there were still blossoms. I had to cut off all the vegetation. Should I store them and replant them at another time of year or should I go ahead and pot them now? I am in zones 7-8.

Thanx in advance for the help.
Jai

[backyardgardener]

If I had the bulbs, I would just plant them in your garden.

[thanrose]

Since these were trashed, you'll need to inspect them. Let's say they were insect infested. You would see some damage to the corms, I'd expect. Or if they were mushy and soft from some sort of fungus, or if they were left in a hot bucket at the curb for too long and some of the corms were actually cooked, or maybe they just got wet.

Any of those things could prevent them from blossoming again. You might have to dust for fungus, or just remove the ones that are badly damaged. I'd also let them air dry for a bit, maybe a few days sheltered from the sun.

If you plant them after that, you might see some early fall growth that will be killed in a frost. It might be better to wait until late winter in that case.

Whenever you plant them, consider adding bone meal to the soil. Most flowering bulb plants need the extra calcium to nourish the bulb or corm or rhizome so it can bloom again.

One other word of caution: they may not bloom the first year.

That said, I highly encourage you to work out when you will plant these, and I hope they are beautiful and rewarding for you.