Oh could someone also recommend a website to buy good bulbs for cheaper prices

When you say they turned to mush, what conditions did you plant them in? If you have very cold winters the pots should have been kept under cover until the Spring. In the ground they would have been fine. I would try to find out what went wrong with the last lot before spending money on replacements.

They where in a unheated garage from fall to spring... The winters in VA have warm periods... So I am guess they kept freezing and then thawing. Thence turning them into mush...???

U wanna bet??? It ABSOLUTELY is that warm in winter!!!! AT CERTAIN TIMES it is so warm that bulbs and spring perennials will pop up and start growing only to be killed by snow/frost/freezing temps. This year my irises and canna Lily's were all several weeks late... And about half of my cannas died... So yes it does get that warm in winter :) I have lived here all my life so I know what I am talking about.

Lilies, and especially Cannas, aren't comparable with Tulips, Daffodils or Crocuses. They are not evolved to be early Spring bloomers and are much more likely to be damaged by winter cold if they emerge prematurely. The latter three would be fine in the ground I am sure. They might poke their noses out in mild spells but they are unlikely to be harmed by subsequent cold temperatures unless they are extreme. BTW when you say that the few daffodils which came up are 'all gone now' have you dug down and looked for the bulbs? There would be no foliage to see now even on healthy daffs. Can you tell us what your maximum and minimum winter temps are likely to be?

Well my cannas died so... Yeah I dug around and they were all rotted/mushy

No. Because our winters vary a lot… I would say the high would be around 70° and the low would around 15°

Looking at your historical weather data I don't see anything particularly out of the ordinary that would cause a lot of concern with spring flowering bulbs. As noted by floral, these often produce early foliage growth in mild winter weather that is typically undamaged by subsequent cold. If the bulbs are planted deeply enough, they are undamaged by even severely cold weather. Lilies as well. Cannas are often sold as a summer flowering annual bulb, similar to dahlias, as they tend not to overwinter well in the ground in most areas.

I would expect the problem with the bulbs not showing up and/or blooming well is due to soil conditions. Virtually all types of bulbs require very good drainage. If your soils remain overly wet in winter, that will cause the bulbs to rot and fail to develop in the spring.

btw, you don't need to shout at me :-) I live in a very mild climate that also offers a wide range of temperature conditions in winter, from very warm to bitterly cold and we still successfully grow a huge assortment of spring and summer flowering bulbs. In fact, there are vast acres of commercial fields of spring bulbs (and lilies and iris) nearby that produce bulbs and cut flowers for shipment across the country. It is drainage that is the key, not temperature fluctuations.

I am SO sorry for shouting at u I was just frustrated because I felt like u thought I was lying or something... Where I live we have very heavy clay☹️ We have successfully grown daffodils in a couple of places in my yard… but all my tulips have died within about two years of planting :( I know that they only last like 2-3 years but in that time I would say I only got maybe 35 blooms out of 150 bulbs... So would you recommend amending the soil, or planting the tulips in pots??? I like the idea of the pots because I can move them around the garden. Like I said before last time that failed miserably. Plz help!!! I am sorry for lashing out at u, but I have waited for years to have this garden... and I am so close(!!!) but stuff keeps happening that is keeping that dream from coming true. I also am VERY limited on money so when all those bulbs I had planted didn't come up this year I was devastated... I know to most gardeners bulbs would prob seem like a pretty cheap plant, but to me they r expensive. I appreciate u spending your time to look up about my area and give me advice :) thx SO much!!!

Tulips are not reliably perennial in many areas, particularly the more highly bred varieties. I can't get them to return here apart from a few T praestans and some old fashioned Darwin types. Daffodils on the other hand should keep coming up every year as should crocuses. So as GG said the keys are correct drainage and depth, whether in the ground or in pots.

Bulbs are much easier to grow in the ground than they are in containers, but if you are working with heavy clay, that may be the most viable option. Clay often does not afford the very fast drainage bulbs require, especially over the wet winter months. An alternative might be to construct a raised bed or berm (loose mound of soil) that could accommodate them.

If you do elect to grow your bulbs in containers, you will need a good quality, barky potting soil and a place store them overwinter where the temperatures remain relatively consistently cold (but not freezing) and where they are not exposed to excessive rainfall. The soil only needs to remain barely moist.

ETA: inexpensive spring flowering bulbs are often available in fall at places like the home improvement stores, Walmart and Costco. You wont get the widest selection nor anything too unusual but you will get a good range of spring flowering bulbs for not much $$.

Few bulbs will stand for excessive wetness - that is the nature of bulbs - they are essentially storage organs evolved to go dormant (and usually dry) at certain times in the year - the starchy tubers/corms/bulbs all require decent drainage, even those accustomed to damp meadows such as narcissi and fritillaria. Tulips, by any stretch, require a baking summer sun in sandy soil - they are high altitude plants which grow in poor soils in the Eurasian plateaus of Tien Shan, Armenia, Turkey, Afghanistan. All tulips will struggle in a clay soil so grow them in containers as annuals. Narcissi, muscari, crocus and the usual spring bulbs will do perfectly well in clay as long as they are at least sitting on a small bed of gravel to protect the vulnerable soft basal plate from rotting. Temperature does have some bearing on bulbs, especially regarding winter chill requirements...but in this case, as others have mentioned, drainage is key.

There is also a vast gulf between tender summer bulbs and hardier spring bulbs...growing requirements are not comparable (although again, drainage is crucial).

I am in northern VA with heavy clay as well. I have trouble with tulips, but I attribute that to squirrels/voles and the short-lived nature of tulips. That might not be accurate, but it is all I can think of. My daffodils do just fine. They often start to show very early if we have a warm spell, but as long as the cold returns before they bloom, they are fine and seem to go into a holding pattern until it is actually spring to burst into bloom. Of course, even then, snow is a distinct possibility.

This was taken on my first day of spring break in 2013!

So if I plant them in pots with like 2 parts potting soil to 1 part sand would that work???

As long as the sand is coarse enough. A better approach would be to use a bark based mix (see the 5-1-1 or gritty mix recipes in the Container Gardening forum) or adding something like granite grit or Turface to a high quality potting soil (not Miracle Gro!!).

And if growing the bulbs in containers you must make sure the pots do not freeze over winter, so store them in the garage or a shed or somewhere close to the house where they receive some protection. While bulbs can withstand the coldness of winter soil in the ground, the elevated nature of any container allows for much colder temps in which the bulbs can be damaged.

What bulbs are you thinking of ordering, Teengardener?

Tulips, daffodils, and irises :)