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Potted bulbs sprouting?!?!

greengardener07

15 years ago

I was in the garage/shed yesterday, as it was relatively nice (the winds weren't gusting over 40mph!), just to make a dent in the empty cardboard boxes and recycle them and I realized that I have bulbs in pots in the garage I forgot to plant this fall. Funny thing is, they are sprouting!!!!!

My questions are:

Should I keep them in the garage as is?

Should I put the all the bulbs (pots and all) in the garden bed and cover with mulch to insulate?

Is there another option?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

Donna
15 years ago
It depends on what kind of bulbs they are. If they are spring flowering bulbs (daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, etc.), you need to plant them ASAP. IF your ground isn't frozen, put them in the ground. If it is, pot them up. Chances are you're far enough south that your pots won't need insulating, but again, it depends on what kind of bulbs you have.
vetivert8
15 years ago
If the pots are reasonably large - 10-12" high and across, and you originally used a good-quality mix - check to see if they need water.

The garage is providing a micro-climate, either frost-free, or not too much (you've probably gained a zone or two!) so the bulbs are acting as they would, say, for me, instead of snuggling down to wait out the cold.

My winters are usually wet, with overnight frosts gone before lunchtime except for in frost hollows. If I get an eighth of an inch of ice on the pond I'm complaining! The bulbs are fine with this. The early daffs start flowering late July-early August (your January to February) and the others come along according to their type.

Light and moisture and protection from deep/lasting frost is what you'll be needing to provide.

If the garden bed you have in mind can protect from any deep frost then plunging the larger pots is an option. If you feel you have a 'sacrificial' pot, then it could be worth the experiment, if you're unsure.

If the pots you've found are smaller than 10" across/deep, then potting on is probably in order. You might be amazed by the sheer density of the root mass curled around the inside of the pot. And the extra bulbs you've acquired by natural division. Don't try to separate them (although the bulbs could well break apart from the mass if the soil is particularly dry); put them into a bigger pot which will allow at least four inches of fresh mix below the present roots and enough soil above to completely cover the paler green of the stems. (It seems to improve the stiffness of the stems.) Leave the deeper green sprouts above the new soil. Water once, and after then only enough to maintain even damp but never dripping wet.

When your soil is workable in spring you could plant out and let the bulbs finish the season in the soil.
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Hello, You did the right thing planting potting them up and putting them in the unheated room! I have some tulips wintering in the Fridge right now. To answer you question, is the ground unthawed outside? Are tulips coming up in your area outside? if this is happening then I would say it is the right time to plant outside. Tulips can take some freezing temperatures, Especially when there young, because they are spring flowers. If your ground is unthawed and you know tulips are sprouting in your area, I would go ahead and play the entire pot in the ground ( pot and all ) and just fill the dirt like up to the rim, because Tulips don't really like having there roots disturbed then After the yellow, I would take them out of the pot and pot them in the ground.
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I can't speak about Amaryllis that sprouted and curved in the box, because I've never bought one that had a sprout that far out. Amaryllis send up the bloom first, unlike paperwhites, which start out with leaves and send up the bud when the leaves are tall. What I do in the years when I pot Amaryllis is to put it on a bright windowsill (not direct sun) and rotate the pot daily so the bud grows straight. I'm not sure just how much darkness matters. My mother always put her paperwhites in the dark. I sometimes just set them out in the light to start with. I've never done some both ways the same year to compare. The late Jim Crockett said it didn't matter. I do know that putting hyacinths that are trying to bloom before the stems get long into darkness helps them reach for the light. I've done that, put a flower pot over the little plant that has buds almost in the dirt. Nell
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I'm guessing that bulbs sold at a discount in January are the previous falls leftovers. When you buy bulbs like that you're taking a chance. They ought to have gone in the ground in October (when they were still fresh and unfortunatly still full price), and rooted, then spent the winter slumbering away, then emerging and flowering in the spring. They foliage would die back a few months later and the bulbs would remain dormant until the next fall, when the rooting process would begin all over again. When you buy them late in the season or way out of season, you obviously miss the optimal planting time. The bulbs can be dehydrated and/or mouldy. And waiting until the spring can increase the dehydration and mould. But when they're *really* cheap, sometimes it's worth buying them anyway - even if half of them don't make it you might still be saving a bucket of money. Now you have a couple of choices in what to do. The first would be to plant them in the ground right now. The growth will cease and the bulbs should settle down for the winter - you might still lose some, but I think this is the better option. The second option is to try to force them. They will still need to be kept in a cold place for about 8-12 weeks. A fridge or very cold basement would do, but it must stay between 2-5C. After that cold time has elapsed you can take them out and hope they bloom (they will not bloom without sufficent cold hours). You should not just take them in the house and let them grow - they need a cold period. Whatever option you choose there is a chance they won't bloom if they didn't get enough sun, fertilizer and water while the foliage was growing (growing bulbs properly in a pot is a lot harder than if they are in the ground). If they don't put out any flowers this spring, just plant them in a good permanent location next spring and fertilize them well - they will probably recover enough to bloom the following year. BP
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greengardener07
Original Author
15 years ago
Potting on? You mean planting? Unfortunately, the garden beds are harder than conrete right now.

If we get a warm up, do you think I could get the soil to a workable depth and sink the pots? Then, what portion on the pot I cannot get into the ground, can I just cover with mulch?

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