Since you have already potted up the bulbs, you may as well force them. The way I force bulbs is pot them up in moist soil as you have, and put them in my basement in a box, (they need to be dark), near the cold-air intake (they need to be cold but not freze). I give them a look and a little water about once a month until I see sprouts. When the sprouts are about 2 inches (i inch for the crocus)bring them into a warm bright room (not in sunlight). The shoots will green-up and you should have flowers in a couple of weeks. This could take as long as 10 to 12 weeks depending on the varieties. About the bulb in the ground, there is a gradual cooling which causes the bulb to go dormant. When you toss it outside, it's not dormant so it dies.

So, if I understand correctly the bulbs need to be kept from freezing or allowed to gradually get cooler which will put them into dormancy?

Why do you say since I have already potted, they have only been in the pots for a few days, is there something else I could try?

Ideally fall bulbs should be planted in September or October, but it is not uncommon for people living in our zones to plant bulbs in November as long as the ground isn't frozen or if it is, as long as it's not frozen the six inches or so down. Most of my tulips are from clearance bulbs that I bought in October or November and just plunked them into the soil. I think after a few days in the cool but not frozen soil (even if the air temps aren't that great), the bulbs sort of adjust. The ground does eventually freeze, but hopefully by that time the bulbs are adjusted.

I guess it depends on what type of bulbs and how valuable they are to you, since not all the bulbs may survive winter but there are alot of people who buy the bulbs on clearance and just plunk them in. For winter you may want to ensure you shovel snow on top, or even mulch with leaves first.

In spring, however, you will find that these bulbs will come up later than the bulbs already growing in your yard, at least for the first year.

I have also done indoor forcing of bulbs and it worked fairly well. All I did was find a shallow sort of pot (actually, one of those "candy tubs" that candy comes in, plant the bulbs in soil, moisten a bit and put into the fridge for a while. A cold room or cool basement would probably be ideal, since it would save fridge space.

Glen

it is too late to put these bulbs into the ground. I will go ahead with forcing some and trying to keep until spring with the rest.

I will try to post and update from time to time.

Tulips need about three months of "cool" before they will begin to grow. If you have them planted now, you need to refridgerate them somehow.

Where are you, Appletreasure? Is your ground frozen solid all the way down? As Glen said, you can still plant them now. I just threw some back-ordered tulips into the ground yesterday. It was frozen only for about an inch and then easy digging after that.

I've tried bulbs in containers outside over the winter - didn't work at all. The bulbs were mush by spring. I've tried them inside too and they don't grow very well for me.

Anyhow, i would say that if you're stuck with the potted bulbs now, get them into a very cool spot, either the refrigerator or somewhere that's minimally heated.

Good luck!

All spring bulbs needed to be potted and placed in a location where they will be below 45 degrees but will not freeze for a period of 12-15 weeks. During this time they will form roots. After the rooting period they are brought into a warmer environment to force foliage growth and blooming. The rate of growth and bloom can be influenced by temperature and amount of direct sunlight.

Check out www.bulb.com. Click on the 'public' button on the home page and then click on 'spring bulbs'. There is lots of information about forcing bulbs, including a 'bulb forcing timetable' that tells you how long the rooting period and time until bloom is for many spring bulbs.