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Hey, I have had tuberoses for about 7 years, but they never bloom! They just keep making babies and babies, and babies!!! How does one get them to stop procreating, and BLOOM???????

Ohmigosh... That's no fun!
I don't know for sure, but I suspect your mistake is leaving too many of those 'babies' on the clump. I bet too much of the bulb's energy is going to support their growth/ foliage instead of being directed toward flower buds.

Okay, no expert here. All I can tell you is how I go about it. No guarantee made.

I'm a procrastinator, so usually I get them planted late. I've gotten them in as early as late May and as late as early July. [huh what?] They seem to bloom at the same time no matter when they are planted; that's late August to early September here.

To plant, I soak them for a couple of hours in tepid water, although I don't think it's vital to do that. I pull out any remnants of dried flower stalks left from the year before. Then I pull off most of the 'babies', leaving just the main bulb and one or two of the largest 'babies'. If the roots are really long, I'll snip off all but 4-5" of the length. Holes get spaced about 7" apart. (I spread my fingers wide apart; the distance between tip of thumb and tip of little finger is my measuring guide.) A teaspoon or so of bulb food goes in each hole, then the bulb gets planted just deep enough to cover its shoulders, leaving the leaf remnants sticking up through the soil surface. Then I soak the bed thoroughly and keep it moist by watering several times a week. (This bed is very well-drained, so it needs that much water. Yours may not if your soil is denser.) I've also grown them successfully in large planter pots.

Before frost, I lift the clump, cut the leaves to a couple of inches, shake off the dirt, spread the clumps to dry them completely in the warm (not hot) autumn sun, then store them all in a paper grocery sack in the basement till summer.

My mom starting growing these in the mid-60s. The divine scent is what hooked us. When I married in 1970, she gave me some of her extras and I've been growing them from succeeding generations of bulbs ever since. I always get flowers with very minimal effort.

I will say though... Mine are the single-flowered variety. I once bought a package of the double-flowered ones from Home Depot. They flopped big time. I think only one bloomed, and as I recall, they didn't produce many new 'babies' like my Old Faithfuls always do. Eventually, they just disappeared. Go figure.

Try discarding some of the extra shoots before planting next year. I hope it works better for you!

well I just learned something. a friend gave me some tuberoses several years ago. They did fine for a couple of years, then pfffff, they didn't come back. I think hers were the old fashioned kind too. I've never bought any since I had no luck with the others.

I think it is remarkable that you have continued to grow tuberoses from an original start from your mom. How cool is that! You grow girl.

ve

This message has been edited. Last edited by: vera ellen,

I have just left them in the pot they grew in for 7 years, put them in the basement, bring them up, water, and start all over with babies, babies, babies1 So, next year I will separate them, leave just one in each pot, and see what happens! Thanks!