[MG1]

Bulbs and tubers are pretty resilient. When you buy them, make sure they are meant for our climate. I couldn't be bothered to dig them up. Just leave the plant stalks and everything to naturally die. Leaving them in the ground until they totally die. That extra time allows them to keep growing to the last possible moment. Then they go hibernate (go all dormant). In dead of winter or even after, I just pull up the plants, but only if they pull up easily. My gladiolus when dead, just fall apart. Then, in the spring, they come back up nice and strong. I have gladys that look like they are on steroids. Stalks are solid and not wimpy like the ones that have been around for five plus years. Those I have to dig up. Because they are wimpy and two inches apart. Tubers must have multiplied to the point they are not going to survive. Sharing same nutrients and nobody winning. Those tuber can be replanted further apart the next year. Give the rest away. Anyway...........

Oh, as for Ferncliff, I just drive to Mission to pick them up. Save shipping, plus gives me excuse to drive to that part of the valley. I drive an electric car, so total cost would be like 95¢ to a dollar and a half depending on how I drive.


EDIT: gladiolus are bulbs, not tubers.


BTW, guys, I was never into gardening five years ago. My wife used to do all that. She, like my mother had a green thumb. Me, as black a thumb as a......... my Ridgeline. When my wife passed away, things in the garden started to look really really sad - bordering of gross. An embarrassment for sure. Since I take flowers to my wife everyday, it got costly. Not to mention the times I go to Mountainview Cemetery, where all my relatives and friends are. I used to be scared of insects. Still am, but they are a fact of life. I learned to walk between the garden beds with a stick to avoid spider webs and whatnot. I do, however, enjoy the pollinators, like bees and butterflies. I totally love it when I see ladybugs/ladybirds. They are beneficial insects - aphid lovers. When you see birds and bees in the garden, you know it's a healthy garden. The lavender bush I have attracts so many flying insects. Tiny birds hiding in the bushes. Kind of catch you off guard sometimes.