spring bulbs can be very touchy that way. They generally need the cool fall months to establish their roots so they can burst forth in the Spring. There's an excellent forum on growing bulbs right on this website. The folks there might have some ideas to plant this Spring and get reasonable results.

thanks zen
I will look into another forum for this question. if I have to I will wait til this fall to plant them.
Norma

Norma, I doubt the bulbs will last another year w/o being planted in the ground. The only thing you can do is plant them now, (the tulips and any other spring-blooming bulbs such as daffodils or crocus) asap, even if you have to chip through the ground if it is partly frozen. You can hope for the best, possibly they will bloom this year albeit later than normal. I have heard of people forgetting to plant their bulbs in the fall and sticking them in the ground in spring and having them grow.

As far as the lilies, those can be planted later without any problems. Lilies can be planted spring or fall.

The main issue, I think, is the condition of the bulbs. If any have softened don't bother planting those softened bulbs. Generally, the bulbs should be firm.

veilchen and zen thanks for the tips. they are still good, I kept them dry and cool all winter. I will have to see exactly what I bought but will get the dafs, tulips and crocus' in the ground asap. And I will cross my fingers. lol
Wish me luck
thanks again,
Norma

well it was absolutely beautiful here today so we worked in the yard this afternoon. a bit windy but beautiful still. I got my bulbs our and what do you know about 60 % of them weren't any good. note to self, if you can't plant them in the fall, don't buy them no matter what the cause of deal. lol. I'm hoping the 50 or so I did plant will do something but ended up throughing over 100 away. What a waste, but it was a learning experience non the less so I will chock it up to that. Thank you all for your tips and support.
Norma

Norma, I suspect that 20% of mine didn't survive in the ground over winter, so there you have it! I went a bit overboard last fall and bought oh...1000-1400 bulbs. Created a large bed for them and added some to existing perennial bed up front. Some washed out, some got eaten, I suspect, and some likely rotted for one reason or another. So, I've come to expect losses in the garden from year to year.

BTW, last fall was my first real year with bulbs or major flower gardening of any sort, really....just little things before that.