WOW! I am so glad that I am not the only one! LOL! I bought some tulip bulbs last fall, and I was going to plant them in containers. However, I never got round to doing that. I left the bulbs in the unheated (but insulated) garage, which was in the mid 30's to low 40's during winter. About a month ago, I planted the bulbs in some containers, and now they are sprouting very well in the garage! My questions are: 1. When will it be safe to take the containers outside? It can still go to low 30's here at night. 2. How likely are they going to bloom this year, given that the bulbs were chilled in the garage? I am quite surprised by how well they are sprouting! Thanks!

I don't know where the trader is from - no zone info next to her name, Sue, so I don't know where the bulbs are coming from. Many of our daffs in our area bloomed out very early in March, when we had that first warm spell up north. I don't think the crawl space is humid. I would have thought that if it was, I would have had problems already from storing the dahlias, cannas, and amaryllis bulbs from storing them there. As I said, I've not lost a single one. I lay them either on an old beach towel or a card board box lid in a single layer. I'm not sure that hanging them in the garage would be a great idea. I'd get the air movement, but it gets so darn humid in the garage. If I had the time to plant them now, I guess I wouldn't be asking this question. I'm playing catch up from the last two springs and summers due to my Father's illness and subsequent death, and last year, my surgery, cancer scare, treatments, etc. This spring, there is just SO much to do. If I can get the bulbs, I hate to turn them down. Waiting till fall to plant them will buy me some time to make changes in the beds and even make more room for them. Thanks for your responses. Linda

I would go ahead and plant them. IF you don't, you will definitely lose them altogether. If possible, plant them in dappled shade under a deciduous tree. They'll have a better chance of surviving long enough to ripen the foliage this summer. If they come up next year, you won the bet. They may or may not bloom then, but should the next year. Be sure to water carefully after you plant them in good soil.

Oh flora - NO buttercups?! (Lucky you!) Freesias are fine in a silty or somewhat sandy soil and don't mind some clay content so long as they aren't waterlogged over winter while they're coming into leaf. However - if you bought the big florists' varieties with the coloured flowers you must provide frost shelter unless you're in zone 9b or above. And some stem supports would be useful, too, because they can be tall and heavy and flop outrageously while they're flaunting. If you're growing the little yellow-blotched white ones with the pleasant scent - they're hardy and sturdy in 9a for sure. The Ranunculus with the big flowers like turbans need a deep soil and excellent drainage - and plenty of matured compost. They're a greedy flower - just like their pesky pasture relations. (Only the best manure patches for Them.) They have a mass of fine-hair roots out of all proportion to their scrawny little claws. 'Deep soil' means either a raised bed of 18" high, or digging down and loosening for at least 18". Protect your amended soil and topsoil if you need to do this. Scoop it out onto a sheet of plastic while you are loosening up the next layer down using a strong gardening fork. Just push the fork into it and wriggle it to break up the stiff soil. Then put the top soil back, add any amendments, and water it to settle the soil and get the soil life going again after the upheaval. Do not mix the two different soil layers. The top one is where most of the food and soil life are found. For fertiliser you can use one part superphosphate, one part blood and bone, and a spritz of sulphate of potash mixed through that amended soil before planting. Think in tablespoons - not poundweights - about an ounce of the mixed up brew scattered dry over a square yard and lightly forked through the top few inches before you plant your Ranunculus claws.