My Tulip Bulbs - storage, when to plant

Hi everyone,

I just bought a couple of large bags of tulip bulbs at my local costco. They were very reasonably priced, and they look to be very high quality. They're packed in sawdust filled bags, and look very nice.

I live in the arizona desert, and it's still plenty hot here. I have been keeping the bags of bulbs in the house since i bought them, and it's warm in here during the day - 84 degrees or so when i'm not home and the A/C is set high.

I'm wondering, first, if it's too hot in the house to store them properly - should they be in the fridge for a while? Is the heat going to hurt them?

Secondly, when should I plant them? They are Triumph Tulips, in case that matters...

Thanks for the help!

Reply to
D. Sutton
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Reply to
gregpresley

As greg said, chill the bulbs "at least 6 weeks". Ten to twelve weeks is perferred. A good place to "chill" the bulbs is in the crisper of your refrigerator. Be sure that you check them every few weeks for rot. One bad bulb can spoil a whole bag of bulbs.

Reply to
Bill R

And don't put any fruit (especially apples?) in the fridge. You'll kill the buds.

Cheryl

Reply to
Cheryl Isaak

In mild-winter climates (much of California; in Arizona, pretty much anywhere below the Mogollon Rim), standard tulips have to be forced. It's easy. Give them at least six to eight weeks, or as long as four months, in the least-cold section of the refrigerator (if you can devote your vegetable crisper to them, that's best of all), then plant them out. They should sprout almost immediately and bloom in a small number of weeks.

Reply to
Christopher Green

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