I've bought mine and they will stay in the fridge (no apples - their gas can kill the bud!) for 6-8 weeks before planting. I usually plant about Dec. 1st.

After planting water thoroughly, then not again until growing tips show. I usually put a little fertilizer into the lower soil.

I buy mine as soon as they appear (gets you the best selection too!) and plant usually in November when the temperature gets cold outside. I've waited as long as Dec. if weather and my schedule aren't coopertive. This really does get you nice, uniform, long-stemmed tulips. Other secrets are to buy single late or darwins types only, and plant very deep- 8-10 inches. Also, have the hole dug BEFORE you take them out of the crisper, it only takes a half hour at room temperature to completely undo the work of weeks in the refrigerator- this means you can't temporarily remove them at thanksgiving when you are desperate for space! (That's why you have to wait until the soil temperature outside cools off) Sue

I moved up to the Sac area last fall from coastal So Cal where it does not get cold enough to grow tulips. I was excited at the prospect of being able to grow tulips. I bought a bunch of bulbs in August and Sept when they first appeared at Costco and kept them in the frige until November. As Sue suggests, I prepped the planting area, then took the bulbs out of the frige and planted as quickly as possible. I planted a large bed in front of my house as well as a few pots. The morning after I planted (think it was mid November) we had frost on the grass. So my timing was right. Had great success with doing it this way.
Unfortunately I have moved again and now have to repeat the process at my new house. My frige is full of new bags of bulbs. Hopefully some of the bulbs in the pots will rebloom, but am not holding my breath as I did not dig them up and put them in the frige.
Good luck!
Jan

I live in Carmichael (near Sac, Sunset zone 14) and last year decided to do a little experiment... I didn't pre-chill... my tulips were really short (4-6") and kinda wimpy overall. Some didn't even come up. I had read in Sunset that chilling wasn't mandatory but led to larger blooms and taller stems. My conclusion is that chilling in the fridge is a really good idea in the Sac. area.

A Master Gardener in Napa referring to the Sunset article...
"Remember, too, that there is still time to plant bulbs outside. While most sources recommend chilling bulbs five to six weeks before planting, Sunset magazine and University of California Master Gardeners cooperated on tests in Northern California that showed pre-chilling bulbs in our Bay Area climate made little difference."

Ok, so that was bay area. We get more chilling in Sac. and still my tulips were duds. My hyacinths and crocus did fine, however, and previous years' tulips did fine with chilling. Just to be safe, my crisper drawer is full of tulips for the next several weeks.

Have you ever thought of growing tulips that don't require artificial chilling and, more importantly, actually naturalize (come back year after year WITHOUT being dug up)?

These do: Tulipa bakeri, T. clusiana, T.clusiana chrysantha, T. saxatilis, T. sylvestris, T. tarda.

And they're all available from most good mail-order bulb catalogs.

Joe

For newbies look up the species gardenguru mentions. They are sweet and some remind me of crocuses with their height. The clusianas may be taller.

I neglected to chill Darwins one year and they were fine. I think a lot depends on the prior handling and quality of the bulbs which can't always be decerned from outward appearance. But I still pre-chill. Pug, this is not called forcing. Rather it is the opposite (preventing early roots from forming in our warm winters).

Hi, I live In southern california, This is my first time growing tulips, now they are blooming and I love it. But I am not sure when to dig them up and put into the fridge or do I need to do that. I will really appreciate your follow up. Thank you.

Just a followup... I got much better results this year by pre-chilling my tulip bulbs for 6+ weeks before planting. They were purchased from Capital Nursery (Sunrise) and Emigh Hardware. All 50 or so bulbs came up, most have tall, thick stems and are budding or blooming nicely.

Here's what I planted:

'Barcelona' Triumph tulips (hot pink)- tall and gorgeous
'Angelique' (double, pale pink)- haven't bloomed yet
'Creme Upstar' Double Late- these are a little shorter than their reported 14" for some reason
'Daydream' Darwin Hybrids (starts out bright yellow, then turns a peachy orange!)- gorgeous and tall

I grow a species tulip too (T. saxatalis), but it just doesn't have the wow factor that the others have.

I think 'Daydream' and 'Barcelona' are spectacular tulips for the Sacramento area if properly pre-chilled.

Angela
Carmichael, CA

I live in Southern California and I received a gift of yellow tulips, so I do not know what type they are. It is the middle of May. I trimmed the stems and washed the dirt off the tulip bulbs. Do I put them in the frige now or can I wait until a few weeks before I plant them?
Grace