Unexpected cold snap with lots of bulbs to plant! HELP!!!

I am a newbie to DG, and I've learned a LOT just from reading old threads...I love all the info here! I'm in Kansas (6a, I believe), and have a question about bulb planting.

I've been struck by bulb fever, and while visiting my folks in Massachusetts last week, I grabbed a HUGE pile of clearance spring-flowering bulbs (crocus, tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, etc.) from several stores. Everything still looks very healthy and decent, but I arrived home in Kansas this weekend to find our temps lower than I'd hoped for...I've been working my butt off to cut new beds and plant as many bulbs as possible, and I'm not even half done.

The next two or three days will be mid-40s in the daytime, with overnights between 22-28, but after that, temps will be in the mid/high 50s daytime with overnights in the low/mid 30s for about a week (enough time for me to get everything in the ground, at least). The question is, do I go outside now and try to plant even with the forecast low temps through the weekend, or do I wait until it warms up a bit after Monday? If I do plant now, will watering afterward risk freezing the bulbs? If I'd be better off waiting, should I get the beds cut beforehand (I can handle digging in the cold and wind), or will turning over the soil make it more susceptible to freezing? I must say, the soil here is quite rich...you put things in the ground and they come up with very little effort on my part. I've never fertilized anything, yet each year the blooms are bright and strong.

The bulbs were an outstanding deal (bags of 40 crocus, 14 tulips, and 20 drumstick allium for as little as $1.25 each!), and I have at least 500 bulbs to plant. Being a gardener (admittedly, one who is still learning!) on a limited budget, I can't stand the thought of losing them...I thought this was the perfect opportunity to have amazing flowerbeds, but I didn't count on the weather turning so quickly *sigh* (My first year in Kansas, 2004, temps were in the 60s/70s right through January!)

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Susan in Kansas

You shouldn't have any problem planting as long as the ground itself isn't frozen. I usually plant in Oct/Nov then plant another round after buying more from a Brent & Becky sale in the 1st of December (1/2 off). Once doing this I had to wait for a thaw in early January to plant but the bulbs did ok.

The Brent and Becky sale has started:-) Got an e-mail about it today!

thanks tgg...

Of course the sale started.. I"m broke!

I just went to Brent and Becky's-no mention anywhere of a sale. Is it an early sale for those on the mailing list, (I just re-signed up, just in case) or what. Do you have to type something on the order page to get sale prices? Or has my husband found a new and dastardly way to keep me from buying more bulbs than I can plant?-Diane zone 4

Actually, I don't think it's just for e-mail folks...I do know that the sale prices show up in your cart, not on the page with the plant listing. Try adding something to your cart and check for the 50% off to show up right before the total.

Yeah, I finally tried putting something in my shopping cart- and the 50% showed up there-so I meandered around and really thought about what I might be able to use. It ALWAYS freezes a day or so after Thanksgiving or ARGH just before.

So I was adding things I could treat like paper whites, or bulbs I can force, or at least add to large containers I will protect in the garage-but as I checked out, I noticed I was being charged $18 total shipping and handling (because I live too far west) on what was a $25-$40 order. Yeah, it was really a $50-80 order (and that is how they are figuring out the charge) but I CAN do without some stuff, or order what I really do need somewhere else- for less.

Before that, even at checkout I kept getting ready to check out and deciding I really didn't 'need this or that, or that I had forgotten all about something else, something I really wanted and could use. But I didn't want anything enough to pay the extra handling charge Brent and Becky add to states west of the Mississippi. They probably really do need to add the charge-I just couldn't see paying it to get the the items I really DO need.