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Gardeners’ Forum: “Unplanted bulbs”

• Unplanted bulbs

  Posted by Nancy on Saturday, November 8, 2003 9:05 AM AST

  Due to an extremely busy schedule and some unexpected events I was unable to get all the bulbs and roots I bought for planting this fall into the ground. Unfortunately, it is too late now and I would like to know if there is a way I can salvage them for planting in the spring? Any ideas out there?

  • re: Unplanted bulbs

    Posted by Beverly on Sunday, November 16, 2003 11:54 AM AST

    Maybe it is not the best idea but I put bulbs in the ground right up until the ground is frozen. As long as the bulb doesn't have to develop a root before freeze up then it should be OK. I would stick them in anyway and see what happens. It would be easier then trying to over winter them some how. I am planting the last of my tulips and anemones today. Wish me luck.

  • re: Unplanted bulbs

    Posted by Sandi on Sunday, November 16, 2003 5:33 PM AST

    Hi. I have the same problem. Only I can't put mine in the ground. It's frozen already & was by the time that I received my bulbs & roots in the mail. I just put the bulbs & lily roots in the fridge today. I expect that they won't survive, but I have to try. Any other advice?

  • re: Unplanted bulbs

    Posted by Pamela Mason on Wednesday, November 19, 2003 12:48 PM AST

    Id try potting up those bulbs and roots and putting them in the fridge, I think - barely moist - to keep them from drying out... that way if they develop some roots, they shouldnt be damaged as much. Plant as soon as you can dig for the bulbs, and for the lilies if they survive, let them start off inside, harden them off, then plant outside if you want early lily blooms.

  • re: Unplanted bulbs

    Posted by kathy on Wednesday, November 19, 2003 2:52 PM AST

    two years ago i didn't get all my daffodil bulbs in the ground in time. i just put the rest in an onion bag (the mesh type), threw them in the cold storage (dry and cool). i planted them last fall on a whim and this spring they came up! i think as long as they don't develop roots they can be stored as long as they are dry and cool (don't freeze them!). my fridge is too damp to store anything, so i just throw them in a ventilated bag in the cold storage in the basement. if you plant them in the spring my friend found out they'll come up, just later than usual, and with shorter lived blooms.

  • re: Unplanted bulbs

    Posted by Melissa on Saturday, November 29, 2003 6:04 PM AST

    I read somewhere that you should never put flowering bulbs in the fridge. Apparently fruit release some type of chemical that will suppress the flowering of bulbs. I would recommend planting the bulbs in pots and keeping the pots outside but somewhat protected from deep freezes. If this is not possible, puting them in cold storage (where fruit is not stored) is probably your best bet. Good luck.

  • re: Unplanted bulbs

    Posted by JEnny on Saturday, December 27, 2003 6:12 PM AST

    I'm in a similar boat, though partly on purpose. I planned to force some bulbs this year, after planting my outside ones in November it probably was. Some sat in the room, some I put in the fridge, & today I potted a bunch of them up. Some in dirt, some in rocks, and what I'm wondering is how cold is too cold. I am currently reading about forcing, but haven't the answer to the temperature part yet. As a slight aside, some bulbs I'd dug up this summer and had neglected - in a tote bag with a handful of dirt, they lay outside from June through October, I put them in a pot since they had sprouts, and today there are buds! They were not really cold for really long, but did get frosted-frozen. Maybe we tend to be too fussy? As for the no-bulbs-in-the-fridge bit, it is only if there are fruits there.Apples will do things to carrots' flavour, in the same fridge, by the way. So if you have forced bulbs, how cold is cold enough and too cold? Jenny

  • re: Unplanted bulbs

    Posted by Michael on Saturday, October 31, 2009 4:17 PM ADT

    Here is what I tried last minter. The weather forcast was -12C I dug a 1ft. deep hole in the garden, labeled the tubers,put them in an onion bag and left them till this spring. Mostly they were good, a couple rotted out, and I put that down to having a very clay soil and a lot of rain (Vancouver area). I feel sure that if I put them in an onion bag, and sand and bury them this winter things will be reasonably O.K.