Roosterlorn said:Now, one thing that I do when I store established bulbs in a cool room is to give each pot about 8 ounces of cold water per gallon size somewhere around mid term like mid January......... But I'm not making this recommendation to you and your Uchida, Mary, unless Rick concurs because he knows a whole lot more about Uchida and species needs than I do.
I hadn't thought about the bulb's internal clock reprogramming. If the Uchida has already had a full year or more to reprogram in your climate, Mary Stella, than watering once as Lorn suggests would be fine.
If not, then I think the bulb is apt to sprout at 50°F prematurely for Alaska's very long winters. So I think no water is best to hopefully prevent this*. If the bulb starts to grow and poke above the soil too early, then you will need to start watering it and bring it to the brightest window you have. If it were me, I'd rather have a somewhat dehydrated, unsprouted bulb in the spring, than one I would need to have to grow inside. But that's up to you. Sometimes growing something green like that when it is still winter out is fun. If you are up for that, then I would take the chance and water as Lorn says. If the bulb stays dormant, that would be optimal, and if it starts growing, you'll have greenery in the winter.
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*Being single, I have the luxury of lots of room in my fridge. All summer, I have empty boxes that take up the extra space! But in the winter, I stratify seeds and overwinter certain questionably winter hardy plants in my refrigerator. When I do this with plants, and I think the pots have become bone dry in the fridge, I will seal them up in a ziplock freezer bag for the rest of the duration, rather than guessing how much water I should add. I even do this with cactus.
