I plant mine in the ground. In the fall, I dig them up, let them dry out on the deck for a few days. Be careful with the temps, frost will kill the exposed tubers. Once dry I clean as much dirt off as possible, and store them on an old table in the basement. In the spring I will divide them. I look for a clump that will have at least two eyes, and cut or break it off the main tuber. Once you see the mass of roots and tubers, you will know what each eye looks like. A lot of times the eyes will be barely attached and I can break it off by hand, by gently bending it back and forth. This is only my experience, others may say I'm out of my mind!

PS I got lots of rain in Stark County over the weekend, I hope you got some also! I've got some green foilage with red blooms, president maybe. Let me know if you want to trade. Something took my wyoming this year.

I might take some. I'll trade you for some Wyoming's.

We got jipped on rain. Every storm veers north or south it seems. We did get about .76 inches in my rain gauge the other morning though so maybe the tide is turning.

Thanks BTW for the info. Do you start yours early indoors??

I don't start mine indoors. I try to plant them between May 15th and Memorial day. Last year I think they were all in full bloom by now. This year they are sporadic. A couple are in full bloom, while others aren't even showing signs of blooming. I blame the weather.
E-mail me in the fall to set up the trade!

I've heard that but you'd think with the heat they'd be blooming sooner.

The bizarre spring slowed everything down this year. It went from being cool and comfortable to being hot and miserable. It looks like you got rain last night. We got drenched!

My rain gauge in south Akron this morning (after all day yesterday and till 7 this morning) showed 2.2 inches of rain. The airport (CAK) reported 1.4 inches just through midnight but another storm came through Akron around 2:15 AM and probably dumped another half inch.

I put mine in water and use the hose to clean them and devide them. You can see exactly where you want to devide that way. I also will be interested in trading whenever anyone is ready. I am in Florida so devide mine at all times. I have lots of Richard Wallace that I need to thin out and a few Wintzer's Colossal.