Unfortunate Flowers

[thedeere]

Ya know, sometimes I just can't win (emo, emo emo). I had grand plans of getting like 450 flower bulbs planted before the dirt became a solid block of nasty permafrost, but only actually achieved 330 of them. I claim extenuating circumstances due to technical difficulties and driven rain, I did keep trying until the ground froze sufficiently to

Comments

[altivo]

You can do this. Try several large pots, plant the bulbs at the recommended depth, and then chill the pots. You can do that in a refrigerator, or by burying the pots in a hole lined with straw, or just by putting them in an unheated garage or attic space. For most spring bulbs, a chill of five to six weeks is sufficient. Then they can be brought in to a sunny spot, watered lightly just to keep the soil damp, and they will usually bloom. After the blossoms die back, they can be transplanted outdoors for the next season.

I've done this several times with daffodils and tulips, and had excellent results. The chill should ideally be just above freezing and not below.

[thedeere]

Alright, you definitely give me some hope. I'll get another bag of dirt and expand this to another pot also, and will store them in the garage with covers to prevent the cats from considering them indoor plumbing. I've since been sorting through the bulbs and the mortality rate isn't as bad as I'd feared (though there are a couple, including one of the 2 Aliums), and I've successfully stored plants in the garage before without them freezing out.

And yeah, they're primarily daffodils and tulips. :) I got most the more extravagant items (big weird purple things, little cute white things, medium sized round blue things plus more daffies and tulips, already planted.) Think I'll set up 2 big pots plus 2 small ones, one of the smalls for 3 hyacinths and one for the remaining Alium.

[thedeere]

Addendum, I have located a couple extra pots and got 2 more bags of dirt. :) I'll get these things put together, and hopefully it'll be enough to get 'em through the winter.