Forgot to chill daffodil bulbs

5 years ago

I bought some potted daffodils last spring and never got around to planting them in the fall. I brought them in, cleaned them up and dried them but then left them in a paper bag in a room that averages 55-60°F. It is April in NY, and I just remembered them. Took a peek and they are sprouting. They were never properly chilled, so what do I do with them?

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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

5 years ago

Well, you can plant them and see what happens or throw them out. Nothing else to be done. Even if they don’t flower they might next year if they’ve been in the ground.

If you get more potted daffs skip the cleaning, drying and waiting till fall. Just plant them into the garden as soon as the flowers fade. Don’t even wait for the leaves to die.

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Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
of course.. you would need to harden them off before planting in cold spring z5 soil ... its not days soil temps.. its night temps ..

in my z5 MI .... after a week of 70s day.. and 50 at night ... this week we are back down in the 30s at night ... that means the soil will lose all the heat it started to build up ...\

agree.. you have nothing to lose.. just plant them ... else.. you will probably forget to plant them in fall again .. lol ...

ken
Lee Foster (NE Zone 5/6) thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years ago
If you can dig in the garden, you can plant them. Spring bulbs are immune to cold soils and once the flowers have gone over, there is no need to harden anything off.
Lee Foster (NE Zone 5/6) thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
5 years ago
Agree. Just stick them out in the garden after flowering. And since they’re already sprouting they’d be dead by fall, even if you did remember to plant them.
Lee Foster (NE Zone 5/6) thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
Lee Foster (NE Zone 5/6)
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks all. I will plant them and see what happens. Better than the trash, and hopefully they will flower next year.

I always just bite off more than I can chew, gardenwise lol. Too busy collecting clearance plants in the fall and then trying to figure out where to plant or protect them over winter. It is now or never!
Lee Foster (NE Zone 5/6)
Original Author
5 years ago
Ok.. now that I'm thinking of planting them I realize why I didn't plant the Potted daffodils when I got them. It seems wrong to to bury the growing part..won't it rot? If the top of my bulb needs to be 2 inches down, that means 2 inches of stem below the ground. The potted daffodils were at the surface of the soil. And now I am worried the growing tips of these (about an inch and a half) will likewise rot. Am I mistaken, do I just bury it?
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
5 years ago
Plant them so the tips are just poking out.