Question about bulbs

[Donald Gares]

Ok, we purchased a bunch of tulips and daffodils from Brecks and then never got them planted this fall. We are in zone 5 (extreme SE Iowa) where it is currently 6 degrees F and falling with approximately 4 inches of snow on the ground so they are not going in the earth until next spring.

Now what the heck do we do with them over the winter so that we can plant them VERY early next spring and still have them bloom? we do have a small unheated garden building that we could store them in.....wouldn'd that be the same as having them in the cold earth? Of course we could put them in our shop which is normally heated to about

50 degrees F. What do you all recommend?

Thanks a bunch,

Don & Rhonda

[de Fragile Warrior Sports Supp]

Call Brecks and ask them. They should know. It probably happens to lots of folks.

Alternately, I heard the vegetable drawer in the 'fridge is a good place to keep them.

[Dwayne]

I would try to warm the area you were going to plant them in, and dig the holes and get them in the ground. Most bulbs I've bought, dry out within a couple of months and then are no good. Maybe someone else has some better advice for you.

Dwayne

[presley]

One possibility would be to put them in pots, water them just enough to moisten the soil and place them in an area which is close to freezing (like

[Kay Lancaster]

Bet if you stick a good spade in the ground, especially near the house, you can get down 12" pretty easily. (I grew up in Polk Co.). If you don't want to do that, pot them in clay pots, soak the pots well to water, and bury them in insulation (vermiculite, leaves, straw, etc.) in the garage this winter. Bring them in and grow them (this is called "forcing") and then plant the spent bulbs outside ASAP next spring.

See:

next time, you might try a specialty bulb supplier... you can get some really nice bulbs for not much money, and timed for planting.)

Kay

[Lynn]

Get busy,go plant them right now!

as long as you can dig it should be ok..move the snow aside and dig I seen me plant tulips on Christmas morning and they bloomed in the spring. I am in zone 5 as well

[Donald Gares]

Hey, thanks everyone and if it is somewhat warm on Christmas morning we will certainly do that but NOT now at -2 degrees F! :-)

I guess we still don't understand what the difference is between them being cold (frozen) in an unheated building and being frozen in the ground.

Cheers,

Don & Rhonda

[Kay Lancaster]

Air temp does not equal ground temp... there's a big thermal flywheel effect, and soil temps are much more moderate than ground temps. So bulbs in the soil outside don't freeze completely. Bulbs in a pot of soil, with the pot not insulated, will freeze because there's less thermal mass.

[sockiescat]

Kay Lancaster On Wed, 07 Dec 2005 09:47:44 -0600, Donald Gare

[e-mail] wrote: I guess we still don't understand what the difference is between them being cold (frozen) in an unheated building and being frozen in th ground.

Air temp does not equal ground temp... there's a big thermal flywhee effect, and soil temps are much more moderate than ground temps. So bulbs i the soil outside don't freeze completely. Bulbs in a pot of soil, with the po not insulated, will freeze because there's less thermal mass.

the other thing that u can do if u are really stuck and cannot dig you ground is build a wooden box and place it in a more sheltered location lay the bulbs on top of the ground then cover them with a thick laye say 6 to 8 inches of potting soil. then u should also cover them with layer of leaves or mulch. then in spring time replant them. hope thi helps u. good luck, sockiescat

-- sockiescat

[Anthony B]

first caution

Storing the bulbs in the veggie bin of the refridgerator is a BAD idea if one keeps onions and or garlic in there as well... the sulphur compounds emitted by the onions/garlics will infiltrate the bulbs and kill off the plantlets inside of them.

Second caution... reifridgerating bulbs then placing them out in the spring is called forcing and can cause many bulbs to survive but a single season.

Best to do is to store them away in a dark, cool , but not freezing location. there are many ways to do this, from storing them in dry peatmoss to hanging them up in pantyhose.

they should keep till warmer weather

Virgo91967