Hello, I'm in Arlington and I am a true bulbaholic.

We need to chill our tulips, that's for certain. Just put them in you fridge. Veggie bin is lovely. They don't like the gas that apples give off, so at least put them in different bins, to be extra safe, put the apples somewhere else.

Typically, I chill mine from early October until Christmas. Are you just putting yours in now? I'd let them chill until mid January if that's the case.

Those lovely swings of temperature we have in winter, where we could get nice warm 70+ days are not appreciated by tulips. They think it's spring and they aren't ready to bloom. So, we need to make them think they've spent about 3 months in the cool ground. January is our coldest month, so 2 months in the fridge, then a month in the cool ground should do ya!

Don't be tempted to plant earlier than Christmas. Thos ice storms in Feb. won't phase a bud, but will tear up the flowers.

Here's some really good news. Because our soil doesn't freeze, and because they are annuals for us, there's no need to plant them deeply. I just cover the tops of mine. Rarely will a tulip go in deeper than an inch below the top of the soil. That makes is really easy to lift them out after they are donen spring.

I've always chilled the bare bulbs, in paper bags in the veggie drawer. I'm trying pots of tulips in the fridge this year, just to see how they fare.

Eight weeks is minimum for chill; twelve is better. Longer chill = longer stems is my understanding.

Nell

I chill them in the bags they come in (mesh or paper) and this year planted after 8-9 weeks chill. Last year I planted after 6 weeks, and every single tulip bulbs (and hyacinth for that matter) bloomed. I treat them as annuals as well. The added benefit is that we can plant them in huge masses, shoulder to shoulder, without worry of overcrowding, since we dig them up in the spring anyway.

Good luck.

Thanks everyone for these responses!! I really appreciate your advice and am now encouraged put them in cold.. tonight ...until Mid Jan!!

So when I plant them, I am planning to plant them using Miracle-grow soil (2-3inch below ground)...is that enough or do you guys use any tulip-food that enhances this bloom? Do you add any sand/stones for proper draining ...or does Texas/dallas soil doesn't need any special attention to this issue?

Okay, first you need to know that tulips in the deep south are planted as Annuals. This means, they will bloom once, and then we dig them up and discard them. (I know. I know. Repeat after me: They're cheap. :) The reason for this is we don't have anywhere near enough winter chill for them to rebuild their strength to bloom again. The PLANTS will come up year after year, but you will get no blooms (or a pitiful little one just here and there). So, you need to prepare yourself for the throw-away.

Since you will treat them as annuals, there is no need to plant them deeply at all. Your planned 2 to 3 inches will be fine. Also, there is no need to fertilize them. The flower buds are already in the bulbs. They were formed LAST year. If you were planting them as perennials, THEN you would fertilize so that they would form blooms for NEXT year.

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't bother with the miracle gro soil unless your ground is so hard that it's extremely difficult to dig.

I just cover the tops of mine with soil and toss some mulch around. Usually I plant them between pansies...when the pansies droop it's time to water. They do need water once a week if that comes in rain great, but if the soil gets realy dry the won't grow so give them some help.

Since our soil never freezes, there's no need to plant deeply and buring the top of the bulb 3 inches below the surface is deep. If you're taking about digging a 3 in hole, that would just cover the top. You could use your MG soil as a top dressing.

I have never chilled any bulbs and never had any problem with them blooming the next Spring. Maybe it's because it gets very cold here by the end of Nov or Dec. Especially Jan and Feb. are so cold.

DonnaBaskets, you say for those of us in the south to throw them out because they are so cheap...can't I dig up last year's up and chill them now for spring blooms? I'd rather not throw them out. As for the ones I bought this week, they're bare bulb and bagged...are they prechilled or do I need to chill them? Thanks for your advice, Leslie

Well, it's five years late, but msflora asked a very good question. The short answer is perhaps you could, but why on earth would you? Here's why. Bulbs have a yearly life cycle. They come up and bloom and THEN they have to be in the ground and SUN for at least 8 weeks. During this time, the leaves are feeding the bulb and forming next year's bloom inside the bulb. After that has occurred, the leaves turn brown and fall off (this is called ripening) and the bulb goes dormant underground. I suppose it's theoretically possible that IF you caught them at just the right time (which is usually in the spring planting rush) and IF you stored them properly all summer, then chilled them all fall, and THEN planted them again in late winter, you might could get another year's bloom out of them. But my goodness!

Here in the deep south, they (meaning daffodils, etc. not typically tulips) come up again in the fall. The leaves elongate and grow in the winter sun until it's time to bloom and begin the ripening process over again. Up north, the bulbs are getting that all important chill time during the winter. I honestly don't know if the bulbs come up in the fall for them like they do down here. But either way, they have to have the winter chill in order to bloom. That's why we do it in the refrigerator down here.

The bulbs you buy bagged in the store in the fall have NOT been chilled. Take them home and put them into your refrigerator for 6-10 weeks as stated in the advice above.

hello, I brought some tulip bulbs last oct and had them chilling in my fridge via the paperbag method.. i took them out and planted them today feb. 21st.. should my bulbs have grown roots while in the fridge? mine did not.. also.. i did not put them in the window but rather on a desk away from the sun until they sprout to go in the window (I have watered them) will they grow roots? how much should i water them? do i water around the bulbs as so they do not rot?

They will not grow roots when chilled in a paper bag. The 'other way' where they're planted in pots first and lightly watered, they will grow roots. Planted as you have, they should quickly grow roots and a little green shoot appear soon.

thanks so much.. i was worried i they wouldnt grow.. i decided to try this method after buying tulips from home depot last year that were already planted but you only got 3 tulips per pot for $6.. so this year.. i want to have a house full of tulips come spring.. thx for respondng so fast... i know this is an old thread

One more question, I have some late spring double / parrot tulips that are approaching their 16-20 week chill.. should I plant them now? ( and not over chill) or wait until later on in spring? If I plant them now.. does that mean they wont flower until late spring?

They flower on their own timetable. After a certain number of weeks they are just holding. Ground temperature is going to determine the exact bloom time.

I am a bad planner. I just received some nice tulip bulbs (March 1). In zone 10a. I don't think they were pre-chilled. Is there any chance if I plant them now that they will bloom this spring? How about if I chill for 6 weeks and then plant in mid-April? Options?

If you chill for 6 weeks, they'll have short stems, but you'll have blooms if they don't blast in the heat. It's worth a try. I think I would plant them in pots of soil and chill pot and all wrapped in plastic bags.