Rescued tulip bulbs: how viable?

[Ted Shoemaker]

Hello!

I just discovered some tulip bulbs I had left abandoned in the garage all winter in a bucket. I thought I had tossed them out. Some of them are sprouting! Stalks are up to 7 inches long; roots are wispy but moist, and up to 1.5 inches long.

What should I do? (a) Plant them quick. There's still time. (If so, what special care is needed?) (b) Put them in forcing trays. There are not enough roots for anything else. (c) Let the kids dissect them for a biology project. They won't really grow, whether in the ground or a forcing tray. (d) Tell my wife they're onions, and see what her cooking is like next week.

Thank you for all replies!

Ted Shoemaker

Madison, Wisconsin, USA

USDA zone 4/5 AHS heat zone 4/5 Sunset zone 43

[Cereus-validus.....]

Plant them now but don't expect flowers this year.

[escape]

Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend?

[Gardñ]

Ted Shoemaker in news:4249fd10$1_1 @newspeer2.tds.net:

maybe fro awhile: allow only indirect light on the 'blanched' parts that you'd keep above soil level when planted.

hasn't the snow and slush just barely done melting up there?

[Ted Shoemaker]

Not yet. There's still residual snow around. But as I write, the radio says the temp is 57 degrees F, and the forecast is for 70 this afternoon. Not many more days, and the snow will be gone.

Ted Shoemaker