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jasonoski

To late to plant tulips?

jasonoski
17 years ago

I bought a bunch of tulip bulbs last fall and never got them planted. Is is too late for me to get them in the ground and have them grow and flower this year?

They were stored in the dark part of my basement at about 45 degrees since October. Any idea if they are still alive?

Unfortunately, I know nothing about bulb care yet. New to gardening and just trying to spruce up my new home. I'm in Milwaukee, WI Thanks!

Comments (4)

  • Judy_B_ON
    17 years ago

    They may not bloom this year, but worth planting to see if they come up next year. You only have your time wasted if it turns out they are dead and it doesn't take much time to plant tulips.

  • karen_w
    17 years ago

    Ditto Judy's answer. Given a choice of plant or throw out, I'd plant. They MIGHT bloom at some point, or some fraction of them might bloom. Better than nothing. K.

  • will_2006
    17 years ago

    Been there done that. I planted them in the spring about this time of year. Did get some leaves and no blooms. The next year I did have a few that made it, and with blooms. However they where not strong tulips, the following year they where fine.
    reg

  • seil zone 6b MI
    17 years ago

    I put a reply on the thread with "lilies" in the title but I have a great story about planting tulips to share. I have had a very dear friend for 35 years who is not a gardener. She tries half heartedly but really has no interest or patience. When she first got married and moved into her first home she decided she was going to be very domestic and plant a garden. Never having seen a bulb in her life she bought a big bag of tulip bulbs at a garden center, brought them home and planted a big patch on either side of her back door. Spring came and nothing happened. She was very disappointed and decided gardening was not her thing. To everyones surprise green leaves began poking up from the patches in July. By August she had 2 lovely tulip displays. None of her gardening friends could figure out what had taken them so long to come up and bloom until she told us she had done everthing the instructions had said and had planted them all with the pointy root part facing down. Yep, she had planted them all upside down! Those were some pretty tough tulips to have managed to find their way to the surface and bloom even in the heat of summer. We still laugh with her about to this day.

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