Ooops! Tulips sprouting in storage!

16 years ago

Last fall I dug up some tulip clumps that needed to be broken up with the intent of sharing them with some friends. After they got packaged they got stowed in an out of sight, out of mind place and I forgot to give them away before the ground froze! So, I figured I would just store them until spring. They are in bags filled with peat moss, in the coolest room in the house.

Well, I spotted something green where there should not be anything green and upon closer examination, there it is. Sprouting tulips. Our ground is still frozen hard with several inches of ice and snow on top. No way to plant them outdoors for at least another month. Is there a way I can stop or at least slow down this sprouting? Is there something I can do for the ones that have not yet sprouted to prevent it?

Thanks sooo much for your help......Kay.

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Comments (9)

Donna
16 years ago
If you don't get them into soil with water and light, they're going to die. Period. Since your ground is frozen, put them in pots now. You live very far north, so maybe tulips bloom year after year for you. Here, and in many parts of the country, they rarely bloom a second year, although the leaves will continue to come up every year. I throw them away and buy new ones each year. You be the judge of what you do with yours.
kayhh
Original Author
16 years ago
O, mine bloom year after year...and multiply each year, which is why I had to divide them.

I have a cold, dark crawl space. Would that be a good place to put the ones that have not sprouted?
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I've moved daffs in bloom, and they never missed a beat. Tulips might be a little more delicate, I just don't know. I have never moved any kind of bulb this late before bloom. My suggestion would be to wait, get the bloom, cut the flowers if they look really stupid where they are, and use them in vases in your home. Then move the bulbs "in the green" to where you want them for next year. Take the big rootball as you thought, and all the foliage, then let nature take its course by letting the foliage die back naturally, nurturing next year's blooms. I know that I have read that you can heal them in, foliage and all, and wait until the foliage is dead and then plant them like you would normally in the fall, I'm just afraid I would forget them or damage them or get them eaten if I left them somewhere in my garden. :~)
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Well, the answer is yes -- sort of. You can refridgerate the tulip bulbs now, but they'll need 12-15 weeks of cold storage before you can force them. Also, it's so late in the season that you'll need to pot them up before putting them into cold storage. (I'm potting up the last of my tulips that have been in cold storage since November this weekend.) Hyacinth bulbs can be kept unpotted longer than tulips; these you may be able to just chill and then plant up and force. Chances are that you don't have enough room in the fridge for a bunch of pots, so you may want to put the potted bulbs outside for now if you have a balcony; weather in our area will be mostly above freezing for a while, and they can withstand short periods of slightly below freezing temps (high 20s) at night. Good luck.
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I think sand is generally a terrible addition to container media. It's fine particle size holds too much water. Coarse perlite is a good way to improve drainage. You mentioned that you use "organic" container medium. Since most container media, with the exception of inorganic hydroponic media, is organic I assume you mean orgnic in the not synthetic sense. Container culture is different from growing in the ground and you will most likely have greater success if you use synthetic fertilizers. I never use commercial potting soil so I can't really tell you how exactly to fix it. Most of the stuff out there is horribly moisture retentive and mucky. you might want to ask on either the container gardening forum or the bulb forum. container drainage info container fertilization I did a search on the bulb forum for tulips and containers amd discovered that many people say not to bother because of rot and overwatering. I don't grow tulips because I would have to refigerate them, but I grow a bunch of different bulbs in containers in Gritty Mix and have never had a rot problem. I think the bulb forum would be your best bet for answers though.
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calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
16 years ago
As donnabaskets explained, they either have to grow or they will die. Unlike seeds which may be kept for years in a dormant state, bulbs can be kept dormant only so long and will either grow, consuming their stored energy as yours are doing, or they will die by just drying up. Al
hopflower
16 years ago
Get them planted now. You will lose them if you don't. They are green now because they are ready to grow.
lilgreenfrog
16 years ago
As a follow up:
I potted up some bulbs that won't tolerate my soil, and they're in my garage (cold, but not entirely dark). One is peeking its head out, and I've been ignoring it, though I do give them a bit of water every week and a half or so. Now it's getting more insistent, and is probably 2 inches above the soil (sorry, NO idea what it is). Shall I bring him inside and let him do his thing? Move him to the back porch? There are other bulbs in the same pot that have not yet woken up...

Thanks!
Lara
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
16 years ago
lilgreenfrog he will not go back to sleep. If you can, remove him from the pot and repot in his own space, in the light. With light he will turn green and grow in his natural shape. Al
lilgreenfrog
16 years ago
Al, Thank you! I think he only has one friend, so he should be extractable. I'm assuming I should keep him outside in the light? I'm worried about the dirt freezing, so I could bring the pot inside if that would be better. I could also ferry it between the garage and back porch; it's a small bulb in a small pot.
Thank you again!

Lara
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
16 years ago
Not knowing what the plant is I think I would keep it on the back porch for now. Al
lilgreenfrog
16 years ago
Will do; thanks!

Lara

Ooops! Tulips sprouting in storage!

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kayhh
Original Author

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Ooops! Tulips sprouting in storage!

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kayhhOriginal Author

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