Bulbs with sprouts... how to handle before planting

Hi -
Just got bulbs from B and B (Tulips/daffs/hyacinth). Some have sprouts. I'll try to plant within the next few days, but how do i store until then (or, if I can't get them all in right away). We're in for a few mild days. Should I try to sqeeze them into the fridge? Or just leave the side porch which stays fairly cool? Or under the house?

Suggestions?

thx
jo

btw, they are all beautiful!

I too just got some sprouting bulbs from B &B. Mine were Irises and a Lily. But they were fine sitting in a cool spot until I could plant them.

Carol

Note: I only let them sit for a day or two. By then, I felt guilty for not planting them. But they are doing good.

This message was edited Dec 8, 2007 5:51 PM

If the ground is workable PLANT THEM! Just like you normally would.

Thanks to both - I hope to get them all planted within the next coupla days..

I received B&B bulbs on the 6th (Thursday), the evening of the day it started snowing here. I just finished digging trenches for 10 sets of bulbs. I put the extra dirt in containers. I tried to plant them Saturday and Sunday after we had days of freezing rain and ice. One set went in Saturday and one in Sunday. We tried to chip the dirt in the containers loose with a pitchfork, then a hammer and screwdriver, then the back of hammer. My daughter grabbed the metal meat tenderizer before I got it outside. If it does not thaw soon, I will have to throw them out. I am not sure the planted ones were even covered enough to avoid freezing. They had many large chunks of frozen soil tossed on them. I tried to get some containers with potting soil loose so I could get them in the house to defrost and to use that soil - they were frozen to the ground. What a pain. I will not do this again. At least I did not have my heart set on these new bulbs. Most of the week has been in the 20s - with freezing rain. This is not the garden state. It is 21 degrees now - I am still hopefully waiting for around freezing - which will be a heat wave. Two days of predicted above 32 did not make it. Thursday might? Should I have purchased more potting soil for this and kept it in the garage until used? I have done really dumb gardening things before but usually during the false spring in February.

Why not try forcing a bunch of things? You might be able to have blooming tulips in the kitchen instead of the back yard...

I'm planting my B&B bulbs today. :)

I think having potting soil in the garage is always a good idea. :)

I planted mine this past weekend from B&B I only had a few that were sprouting!!

I got almost all my bulbs in -- most of them in large planters, and a few in smaller pots which I'll be forcing outside and then bringing in.
Carol, we are getting one of those false springs right now - mid to high 70's for several days. But still no rain (no, I don't want what you have, but this drought is pretty awful). I hope your bulbs make it and wouldn't be at all surprised if most of them do! Good luck!

Good going G-Jo! I wish I could say the same. Plenty warm enough the last few days, but rainy. They're still saying KY is in a drought though. Not nearly as awful as it is down there! Have you had any rain at all this fall?

carolmo, I'm sorry to hear of your bulb planting experience. Just hope for the best, and I'm sure some will make it. I always feel like I'm rolling the dice when I order late, which I always do because I'm so cheap, lol. But don't be discouraged, there are ways you can deal with the issue in the future. Last year I mulched a bed in a thick layer of mulched leaves in early-mid fall, and although most ground was frozen when I planted, I was able to lift chunks of the frozen mulch off, plant the bulbs in the friable soil, and replace the mulch like a lid. A few years ago I potted up a bunch of bulbs and sat them against the foundation of the house, and completely covered them in mulch. In early April I stuck them in the ground and most did fine.

I suspect that one reason we all love plants is that they are SUCH survivers. Keep your fingers crossed, carolmo!

gemini, I always have pots and planters of bulbs mulched and stacked against my foundations. We never get a real deep freeze and only rarely a hard freeze, and these bulbs always make it. The warmth from the house and the protection of the mulch seems to be sufficient at least here in 7b.

Something I've notices about bulbs, is that if they are rooted, freezing doesn't seem to phase them, but if they haven't rooted yet, they go mushy. Have any of you observed this?

You know, I think you might be right about that. Once the roots are established, they seem to live through anything!

Here's a picture of some of my bulb pots that I uncovered last March, after keeping them potted and heavily mulched for the winter. I'm doing the exact same thing this year, so it's good to have a reminder of how good they looked then!
jo

This AM had much ice on trees; city north of us lost power. We lost power for only a few minutes.

It started raining and got to be 32-33. Some ice was melting. I bundled up and went out again. Now have 7 of 10 batches in, including all that were sprouting. May be able to get the rest in Thursday. Tulips looked good. Some narcissus looked shriveled. One batch of tulips has one foot tall container shaped soil on top - I can chop it up later. Looks really odd. The rest got dirt loosened with claw of hammer.

Never again - maybe. I did see that some really heavy mulch might do the trick for next time. That would sure be easier than what I did. After I broke the ice from the holes I made earlier, I was able to dig in it to place the bulbs. It was the dirt I dug up earlier and removed that was the real problem - freezing rain made it solid. This makes no sense. Dirt below ground could be dug but dirt above ground was solid? Oh well. I am almost done. I keep learning. Carol

You know, timing can be fickle. Same thing could have happened to me (get an ice storm just when my bargan bulbs arrive) - instead, we have balmy but weird 77 degrees in December. Next year, you could have mild weather and we could be frozen.
But, hang in there, Carol -- those little bulbs want to live and will give it their best shot. I bet they'll surprise you come March and April :)
jo
p.s. note to self: be sure to get plenty of mulch and bags of soil ready before ordering from 1/2 price B&B next year.

Carol, your temps sound much better and the rain will help. In spring you'll be enjoying all those blooms and be able to laugh at what we go through for them, lol.

gemini,

I read that the bulbs undergo a chemical change upon rooting that prevents them from freezing and becoming ruined - so I think there is absolute truth to what you say about the rooting.

I think the end-of-season sales are good for southern gardeners. I can plant well into December here without a problem other than freezing hands in the cold dirt. I tried planting some bulbs in Dec. up in Illinois and the ground was frozen...they did not come up.

The weather just isn't working with me here, so its looking like a bulb potting party may be in order. Kentucky can be such fun; heat and humidity typical of the south, and some lovely midwestern style winter weather, LOL. It dipped into the teens the last couple of nights. I have a dark, cold basement that may need to be employed soon!

Done. It was 50 degrees today. Still have snow cover in half of yard. Got last 2 sets in and used soil from 5 gallon pot - finally defrosted. Soil in wheel barrow still solid with ice even with claw hammer. If I ever do this again and if any of these make it, I will dig holes and keep soil for covering in garage. I just hope no one saw me planting in snow and hitting the wheelbarrow soil with the hammer. Oh well, another learning experience. Good luck to us all. Carol

Yea Carol! Fifty degrees - wow, must have felt great after what you've been through. I still think your bulbs made it - keep the faith.
jo

Hi Carol,
I've had the same thing happen to me. I guess we both learned the hard way to dig a hole, plant the bulbs, and cover- all at the same time!!