If you are transfering them from a container to a planter (just a larger container?) for seasonal interest, you can plant at the same depth, as their long term viability isn't typically a concern. If you are planting directly into the garden, plant at an appropriate depth for that bulb. It won't hurt to bury the foliage at all and this is exactly what happens to bulbs as they grow - all that distance between the bulb and the above ground portion is essentially foliage :-)) And there is no reason to wait to plant them. It is becoming more and more common for spring blooming bulbs to be sold as "starts" in early spring, just the same as you would buy veggie starts. These are generally not forced bulbs (unless the flowers appear very prematurely or out of season). Buy, plant and enjoy!! Great for those of us too busy or too forgetful to plant in fall. Even forced bulb can be planted directly out in the garden after you've enjoyed their bloom indoors. There is no advantage to storing them to plant in fall unless you live in a climate that must prechill your bulbs. Be sure to select alocation in maximum sun, with very well draining soil and allow the foliage to ripen and dry naturally before removing.

Did your tulips ever flower this year? If not, I agree with kato_b that the bulbs may have been defective when you got them. Do not store your containers near apples or keep the bulbs too warm before planting in the fall. Bulbs bought on sale in late fall are often not good candidates for forcing. Buy bulbs for forcing in early Sept. and (if tulips) keep in a cool place until planting the following month. Most other bulbs can be planted (either outdoors or indoors) as soon as you purchase them in Southern Ontario. Buy large, top quality bulbs for forcing.

I have been attempting davidinfl's suggestion of an epsom salt and hot water solution soak, with approximate proportions of 1/3 cup epson salt to perhaps a total of a half-gallon of water. As suggested, I add hot water as my feet become acclimated to the temperature, and as the water loses heat. It has worked well to begin with hot tap water and progressively contribute water from a kettle. Heating the kettle once and setting it nearby is more than sufficient. (Please use caution -- I wasn't thinking and nearly dunked my feet back in after a hot-water addition that would have scalded.) After five days of once-daily soaks, the warts I have do appear to be decreasing in their general appearance. For the sake of experimental disclosure, I want to mention that, months ago, they had been scrubbed with a pumice stone and occasionally dabbed with tea tree oil; however, I had not noted any permanent, visible change as a result of these measures. It is difficult to determine whether the pumice or tea tree oil impacted the warts such that the epsom salts would be more effective. That said, barring any medical problems to which epsom salt would be detrimental (read the box!), this remedy appears to be simple and inexpensive enough to be worth trying before resorting to more invasive methods. Even the "home treatments" at a basic, chain drugstore are a little frightening: the only ones available upon my last trip were home freezing kits, with warnings about potential burning. (Ruled out, as my warts are concealed under the knuckle of a small toe, and I imagine that the skin would be rather sensitive to such an application.) They weren't much better a decade ago, when dancing barefoot left me with dozens of the evil things, one the size of a penny. At the time, there was a brand name solution (no longer for sale, so far as I can tell) that required diligent, daily application. It worked, after many months, but my recent tea tree experiment showed that I seem to lack the discipline to treat them daily. (Unless, of course, treatment involves a hot foot soak and reading time.) If nothing else, davidinfl has suggested a fantastic, realxing nightly ritual, and for that alone, let me recommend it! I will update this thread after another week or two of epsom soaks, hopefully with some result. If the salt is effective, I wonder if it would work well as a regular measure to inhibit future wart growth. Would be a pleasure to volunteer for that experiment. :)

Zaphod42, hindsight is 20/20, of course, but if you decide you want to continue potting in wooden planters, you could try using a liner such as a heavy garbage bag of the most similar size. (I used contractor's bags.) I invented this method for an odd circumstance. A client wanted to use very specific porous decorative pots to house plants that would eventually outgrow their homes on an exposed balcony many stories up in Dowtown Portland. I lined the containers with heavy plastic bags both to protect the roots from drying out in the heat (west exposure) and from suffering in the cold winds during the winter. I also wanted to tidily and as easily as possible transfer the plants to other locations when they had overgrown their welcome. I cut adequate drainage holes in the bottoms of the bags and smooshed--is that a word?--the bags flat against the bottoms of the planters. I folded the sides and taped them with duct tape. I folded the tops of the bags so they hit just at soil level or a bit above to allow for mulching. I used a fast draining material such as gravel in the bottoms. (On the windy balcony, the gravel also stabilized pots that contained tall plants.) I filled the bags with soil, pressing gently against the sides a bit to keep the bags folded between the soil and the pots, and planted as usual. When I was ready for plant removal, I pulled the entire bags from the planters with a bit of careful work. I did this by turning the planters partially on their sides, slipping my hands between the planters and tops of the bags, holding the folds of the bags and pulling and wiggling until the entire packages of soil and roots and bags were free. It helps if a partner holds the bottoms of the planters. Then I moved the bags o' plants to their new locations, carefully slit the bags open, removed roots and soil together and slid them into my planting holes. (A utility knife or old kitchen shears work well for cutting.) You may have to pick a little gravel out of the roots. Some gravel was buried with my plants, but in Portland clay, it's all good. Anyway, just food for thought. You may prefer plastic pots, of course. In my own garden, I long ago surrendered the pretty planters in my baby plant nursery and replaced them with plain ol' black plastic nursery pots. Not nearly as attractive as your wooden planters, but straightforward. However, if you're still feeling decorative and you're game for a little experiment.... :-) Carol