Bulb clearance

I've found a ton of bulbs at Home Depot for 50% off. They all seem good and firm. Anything in particular I need to worry about if I buy these?

well if it was me, i would worry about where to plant them lol. good find. for sales only i wish i lived closer to those stores.

Smiln32 you really have to think what you are buying. I personally think there should a plant before date on all bulbs. I bet you wouldnt buy food items cos it's goin cheap.

what are you thinking of buying and i'll give you an honest opinion

My Home Depot is selling them for 99 cents, all named varieties. Many of the bulbs have green shoots already. I got in the ground as much as I could yesterday.

The word now is "bought" as in past tense. I bought so many, I have no idea how or where I'll plant them all. They're still firm and some with green starting to stick out of the top of the bulb. I bought named Tulips, Daffodils, Dwarf Irises, Alliums, Crocuses and 4-5 others I can't think of right now. Plus, at a special discount, I also bought some unknowns (the labels were torn off). I planted 125 or so in the ground and another 50-60 in pots. Plus, I gave over 700 tulip bulbs to a lady who will pot them up for a church function. I still have a wagon full to plant, though. It was over 70 degrees today, so it was great to get out and get my hands dirty.

70 degrees.....lil whimper. It's 22 degrees here and I have over a foot of snow in the yard, and that's after the dogs have stomped it all down hard. Otherwise it would be more like 2 feet.

Smilin, I don't feel so bad now since you have many more than me! It's rather funny! Really, I think this is an addiction and I'm thinking of going back to see what is left!

There almost giving away spring flowering bulbs up here. We have to plant those find of things in Sept & Oct. Sometimes we get a few days in Nov. Ground gets a little hard to dig.
Bernie

Q. how do you you guys expect your bulbs to grow roots if the ground is frozen?

why not put the money into a charity box instead of the stores till? it'll do better than lettting bulbs die or rot in the ground. remember the store manager is trying to regain some money from ordering too many bulbs

They are fantastic in the spring when planted in the fall before the ground freezes. Planted any other time they won't even bloom!
Bernie

Mark,

You don't understand the growing season here. The ground never freezes here...or at least rarely ever does. I dug up the ground with a shovel just like I do in July. Tulips have to be forced to bloom down here and they are mostly treated as annuals (some come up several years, but not a lot), so I don't plant gobs of them. I planted over 200 daffodils like this last year and they ALL bloomed. As for the comment about putting money into a charity box, I'd like to point out that I have given away over 800 flower bulbs so far this season (church, neighbors, friends). The store manager regained some of his money, yes, and a lot of people will benefit from my generosity, too. I actually WANT the store manager to regain some of his money so he will keep buying flower bulbs. :)

Bernie,

My folks planted some last year in late Nov/early Dec and they'd had a hard freeze and many of theirs came up just fine. The ground wasn't too hard to dig, though, and maybe that made a difference. They're zone 6.

Once in a great while you can plant them here in Nov or Dec. Most times ground is froze by early Nov. It will freeze down about 5 feet. All water lines are installed at 8 feet down to prevent freezing. It will thaw out again in early April. Tulips and such will pop right up and bloom soon after. Once they are planted they keep coming back for years! Lillies and Iris also retun ever year. They are usually dug and divided every 4 years or so. Some lillies grow wild just from someone dumping dirt from a building site or something. Also birds will sread seeds of some and they end up in a road ditch or fenceline. We have one patch in our dich and a couple in our farmstead grove.
Bernie

I have one of those half whiskey barrel filled with dirt on side of the house. Dirt is not frozen even though it was 9 degrees this morning. I could load that up with bulbs but last year the squirrels ate two thirds of them. It was suggested that I should sprinkle used kitty litter on top to discourage them. Anyone ever try that?

no but placing a .22 behind their ears works everytime

I sprinkle pepper on them when I plant them. I also plant them 2" deeper than called for (8" instead of 6"). One year after I planted them and filled them in with dirt for about 4 inches, I then laid a piece of hardware cloth on top and finished filling in the dirt. That stops the squirrels from digging them up but doesn't stop the bulbs from coming up. The hardware cloth was 1/2" I think. I just read that if you can get bulbs planted this month, then they should bloom this spring, but no later.
Winn-Dixie (a local supermarket chain in the south) had a rack of bulbs last year and this year, but hardly sold any. I went by the other day and asked if they were going to place them on sale and the produce manager said she had not received word to reduce them yet. But she is checking and I will get the answer Tuesday. I bought a table and 4 chairs for the deck that had been very expensive originally for 75% off from Winn-Dixie, so I am trying again. My husband is embarressed to go in there because of my bargaining......

Woodspirit..., you tell him, from a husband in NYC, married to a sharp and frugal shopper as well, that he ought to be PROUD ;~) After all, we work hard for our money. We ought to make others work hard to get it from us.

Adam.

Well, he is only embarressed because he is too shy to be a bargainer himself. However, he was thrilled with the deal. And they look great and look brand new after one summer of use.
Have I ever told you how much I miss NYC, even though I moved away in 1954? I would give anything to visit one time just to see it through an adult's eyes.....

WoodSpirit ~~~

This is a magical, magnificent place.

I was born here. Lived out of the country for 12 years, then returned. I have been back now for nearly ten years and can't any longer imagine living anywhere else.

If you haven't been here since 1954, PLEASE..., you owe it to yourself to see what we've done ;~)

This is a strong, durable city. Wounds heal.

Adam.

Looks like a trip to Home Depot is on the TODO List this week!! Thanks Smilin' for the info!!!

"eyes"

Thanks, smiln32! Even up here in NJ we can still plant spring bulbs until the ground freezes too hard to dig. Lots of time for the bulbs to get their winter-chill time in. Will check out the Home store.

the root growth period is probably more important that the period they get chilled.

They simply HAVE to get into the ground this month or it's too late to get them to bloom this year..

Even if they don't bloom this year, will they bloom next year? I like to think a little longer term than just the next season. I'm fine with them not blooming this year unless they'll just die in the ground. Otherwise, I'm going to have to pot them up and/or give some away.

Mark ~~~

Can you help clear up a little confusion for me?

I have been under the impresion that the root growth period and the cool period, while two separate phases in cultivation, overlap very substantially.

In general (if such a thing can be said), at what temperature would root growth pretty much cease and strictly cooling (hibernation?), set in?

I have seen in books and on instruction seets "below 45F" for cooling. Does root growth stop at this temperature?

I imagine this is an impossible question to answer with precision as different plants probably have different requirements..., but...,

Can you give it a go?

Thanks.

Adam.

Yes, smilin' most bulbs will bloom next year if you don't get them into the ground this year. But remember, a lot of tulips and not truly perennial, so I wouldn't try to hold them over to another year. I think the Darwins and the Species are true perennials, if I remember correctly..

Ok...thanks for the help. Tulips, at least from what I've heard from folks down here, are pretty much annuals. Some varieties carry over a couple of years, but most will rot in the ground over the winter as it never gets cold enough to really freeze the ground much.

Root growth begins in nature, and bulbs in the garden planted in previous years, during August or before. During this time the roots develope in the base plate and then penetrate the soil to their maximum length. These roots dont branch and dont regrow once broken unlike herbaceous roots.

During this time the flower is primed in the bulb. The actual flower is set as the bulb dies back in late spring. The bulbs kept out of the ground during this crucial root growth time will very often abort the flower as it will take too much energy to grow it properly.

I would think root growth stops soon after perennials die back and ceases altogether when the first frosts arrive. I think all bulbs have a body clock that tells them how many weeks they have been cold for. snowdrops only need a couple of months while tulips need 4 or more.

after the flower has faded in late spring the bulb ha only 6 weeks to build up the bulb and make a new flower. When I lift my snowdrops in April to divide them the bulb is very soft and easily damaged.

those bulbs planted now dont have the time or the energy to grow a good enogh root system when the ground warms up and make a new flower by the time the leaves turn yellow.

It can take years for bulbs to recover from the stress of lying on a shelf in a garden centre drying out in the unnatural atmoshpere and suffer molds attacking them when planted and try and save itself by producing leaves yet not having the resources left in the bulb.

sorry for the delay in replying I'm not watching this thread anymore. I was told you were looking for me.