My guess is the onset of very warm weather too soon.

Sorry to hear this, I feel for you, they are a huge investment. My guess would also be that they did not get cold enough this year and were brought on by too much warmth too soon. A few of my French Blends are blooming very short also but the bulk of my crop were in crates and so had their bulbs colder than if they were in the ground here so I am hoping for a good crop, so far they are looking like they are going to deliver. Can you sell any of your shorts to local florists for foam arrangements? Good luck, I hope you have a better growing season coming up. Kat

Thanks for the replies. Thankfully I have been able to sell some of the ones that made it 10'' to 12'' tall. The French tulips certainly didn't make it over 25 inches like last year though. Maybe it will be better next year. I guess that is just how farming goes.