How long do you chill, and when do you take them out? I’ve seen recommendations anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks - I usually do 8 weeks.

When you plant, do you put the pots in the sun? Are they thin plastic pots? I think the bulbs still need to avoid excessive warmth until some roots develop, and pots can get warm here, even in winter. It has been years since I put tulips in pots, I put them all in the ground now, but I think I left the pots in the garage until I saw sprouts.

Thanks!!

I usually chill for at least 2 months. Lately it has been 3, I am pretty sure. And I put them right in the pots when they come out of the 'fridge.

I usually put the pots in the shade at first. The last couple of years, the pots haven't been anywhere too hot. I will be extra careful this time, but I don't think that was the issue.

I mean, I've grown them in cut up water bottles before (the larger ones). They used to be so easy!!

I do think it's possible that they weren't in enough shade at first, perhaps. And I will be more careful about that. But, they were fully covered with dirt - I don't think that is a likely culprit either.

some companies arent offering very good bulbs. I had some bad results sometimes.. I do everything the same except no plastic, just paper. No onions or apples in the fridge. I like a potting mix that is half peat moss, half pumice. Then to that I add some scoops of garden soil, a few scoops of sand and a handful of charcoal that I sift from the firebowl ashes. The charcoal helps hold in nutrients. Some potting mixes arent that great even though the bag says theyre the best. In a few months they are already breaking down because its mostly tree bark and branches so it turns to muck. Bulbs need excellent drainage.

After snooping around online a bit, I do think it is possible that my mistake was in wrapping the bulbs too tightly in paper, and then in plastic. (Which I did bc I was paranoid someone would accidentally put an apple or pear in the 'fridge.)

The pages I've seen have specified that they are only supposed to be chilled in paper or cardboard. And some people even just do it in the mesh bags, in their crispers.

I put mine in the cardboard box, and then inside a paper bag - but it's not all wrapped too tightly. I can't put them in the crisper bc I am worried that they will freeze in the back of the drawer. I'm going to put them right near the door. That is a little risky too, but less so I think.

I believe the plastic would be a bad idea and cause rot.

To know if you've had a power outage, freeze a small container of water to the top of container.

Then place a coin on top of the ice. Put the lid on and put in freezer.

If you've had a long power outage the coin will start sinking and won't be at the top anymore.

Melt, repeat and refreeze.

Wow, neat trick about the freezer, gobluedjm!!

I am thinking that what happened was probably more marginal than that, bc the bulbs weren't mushy when I planted them. (Even I would notice that, and I can be dense sometimes.)

However, maybe somehow there was a buildup of some kind of gas within the plastic bag, which killed the bulb but did not cause rot??

Upon reflection, this seems to be the most likely mistake I've made.

Love that coin idea!

Well, they didn't come up this year either. It was a solid 3 months+ in the 'fridge, and they weren't wrapped in plastic over the cardboard box this time either. We didn't put fruit in the 'fridge.

There were a couple warm days, but the pots were not in the sun. I kind of doubt it was that.

Oh well. I will probably keep tinkering. At least I wasted less money this time. Next year I will be more careful about particle size. This year I sort of just dumped them in unscreened perlite. I doubt if they rotted from too much moisture, but I suppose it is possible, and if I am more careful, I can eliminate that as a culprit. Next year I will just do one little pot. This has me stumped, I will say.

Have you dug them up to see what’s going on - i.e. are they there or did they rot?

No, not yet - I will though, and try to figure it out.

I didn't see it mentioned whether these are newly purchased bulbs or you're reusing bulbs year to year. If the later, there's your answer. Many tulip bulbs (these days) perform well in the first growth cycle and poorly in subsequent years, almost as though they were meant to be a one shot wonder; and, if the bulbs you're using in the current year were not cared for properly during the previous growth cycle, it will definitely affect the enthusiasm with which they grow/ bloom in the next.

Al

Good point, Al! Yes, these are new bulbs. A while back, maybe 20 years, I used to grow tulips in pots, and it was very easy then. I didn't even know from particle sizes, and I recall doing it with bagged potting soil that i bought off the shelf. They came up like clockwork. In fact, I don't think I even chilled then. (This was also a time where there were more independent nurseries around, and you could get a decent selection. Now, I pretty much have to mail order.)

So, why it is so much tougher now, I can't understand. Maybe next year, I will even try not chilling a few of them. When I planted them, they seemed just fine. I'd have noticed if they'd been mushy. It's just weird.

Need2SeeGreen, why not do exactly what you used to do 20 years ago?

I was surprised to see that this year you potted the tulips in perlite. The thing with perlite is, it's not a healthy product (its dry dust is very bad for the lungs) so using perlite for anything is not a choice I make lightly.

Of course one has to wear a mask and goggles for all perlite. But, that's probably a good idea for any kind of soil mixing.

However, in my random and semi-desperate online searching for advice, a couple places said something about using a pH neutral medium. Perlite seemed like a decent choice. (Not that I am sure it is neutral. Just, my other realistic choice was bark chips, which I have used before for tulips with poor results.)

I have another project this week, but I will dig out the pots soon and report back.