For Christmas, my mother gave me some tulip and lily bulbs for my garden.
Everything I’ve read says to plant bulbs in the fall. We are a little past that. Should I wait until next fall? Or can I put them down now?
I’m in central Kentucky (zone 6), so we don’t get too much in the way of hard freezes. For that matter, we’ve probably only had a dozen days of below freezing this year.
Was there packaging? The main thing to look for in the packaging/instructions is if the bulbs have been treated for forcing, which is what I would suspect of bulbs intended to be given as gifts at Christmas. In which case, follow the instructions that came with them.
If they were just loose, they’re probably not treated and you may have to store them until spring. Or start them early (but not “forced-bulb” early…probably around March or so) in a (preferably) unheated but frost-free place (a garage or sun porch), and then transplant them to the garden sometime around or after mid-summer.
If you store them, the preference would be for putting them in bags of moist (but not wet) sphagnum or peat moss in an unheated, dark place (a cellar or something) until the ground’s workable in spring.
If they are not forcing bulbs, in your zone, just plant them in their permanent spot.
Note that tulips need more cold weather than things like daffodils in order to bloom. You may not get blooms every year (and probably not next spring).
I’d plant them now, and water them until (or if) it freezes.
We are only a couple of days past the solstice, and in the early days of the coldest 3months. As a rule Jan and Feb are far colder than Dec. They’ll have plenty of time to send down roots and then sleep.
In the worst case, they’ll be safe and sound until the following year - at least as safe as wherever you would store them!
You have a much better chance of success planting now than if you waited for spring.
Or you could force the bulb - plant in well-draining soil mix in a pot and place somewhere where it gets to 45F or below (an unheated garage is fine), keeping the soil moist but not soggy for several months. Somewhere in March or April bring the pot(s) into warmth and good light and you should get some bloom (after that I’d toss out the bulbs, as their useful life will be over).
He’s Zone 6, so shouldn’t have a problem with the tulips. It’s Zone 7 and below that sometimes doesn’t get cold enough for them. Although the way things are trending…
Thanks for all the advice, gang! Checking the packaging, they are not forcing bulbs, so I think I’ll go ahead and plant them the next day I can get out there with the shovel during daylight.
I just bought my first house this fall, and the previous owners had done nothing with the yard, so… hopefully this will get a little early-season color into the yard to motivate me to do something!