It might help: plant them later.

Personally, I'm cautious about the 'put them in the fridge' routine. I know that bulbs I've fridged have tended to be somewhat dehydrated - they feel rubbery/flabby. It's either a problem with my vegie bin - or the whole process of fridging.

Conversely - those I've had in mesh containers hanging in a cool place and planted at the far end of autumn usually come up and flower.

My soil is a medium-clay, reasonably well-amended (is there ever 'enough' compost???) and tends to the acid side of the pH spectrum. Obviously, being in a zone 9 version, my frosts are light, but my rainfall is around 50" a year with a lot of that falling over winter. Rot is rarely a problem.

One other possible, for in protected containers, is to plant at a more shallow level than usual. The bulbs may well break into small bulblets at the end of the season but you will be able to see if they come into leaf-flower from less depth. (If the soil isn't too sticky they'll probably put out droppers and pull themselves down to a decent depth anyway.)

In the bed where they do well - what's the in winter drainage like at about 6" compared with the areas where the bulbs are rotting? If it is a surplus of water then interplanting with annuals for spring can help to open the soil and draw off any seasonal excess. The tulips may just be a bit more sensitive than the daffs - and lilies tolerate quite a lot of moisture, too.

Thanks, Vetivert8. It is unusually warm for October, so I may wait and plant them late, as you advise. May I ask how deeply you usually plant your tulips? I think I remember someone on this forum recommending 6 inches deep, as opposed to whatever the nurseries usually recommend. Maybe I'll go shallower than the 6 inches. I didn't know about lilies tolerating more moisture. Will try again. The ones that are doing well (which are boring to me!) are planted right next to the lilies...so they are getting the same moisture...however, I bet I planted them shallower, because I planted them at least 4 years ago, before I was advised to plant them deeper! :0) Phyl

I says stick with the Darwin's if you want the tulips to come back & also multiply. Parrots never come back for me or any other Tulips except the Darwins. I can only speak of in ground planting. Plant the Darwin's in early Oct to late Oct or even late Sept depending on how early it freezes by you. You can try just a little sand below the bulb for the drainage if needed. I plant between 5 to 6" deep in my amended clay soil. Usually about 5" in clay soil. After you have the bulbs in the ground put a little bulb food on top of the soil & work it into the top 2" of soil & water good. Keep bulbs watered until your first freeze. Tulips are heavy feeders & they like soil that is on the slightly acid side. I have alkaline soil so I have to give them some acid liquid fertilizer once they come up in the spring. I also use bonemeal in early spring & in fall instead of the bulb food some years. After Tulips are done flowering give them another helping of bulb food & the last time to apply the fertilizer is in Oct for the fall feeding. Keep them as dry as you can during summer but that is not a problem for me. Also if you spray fertilize you can skip the bulb food after they flower & just spray the foliage with liquid fertilizer. Remember to let the leaves turn completely yellow to almost a brown for a total of close to 8 weeks. Once they brown though they are done for sure. I have bulbs that multiply quickly using the method I told you & never loose any Tulips since I switched over to only Darwins.

Mamoo,
I know about Darwins and their hybrids (Triumph & Impression) being the more perennial ones. I'm aware the others don't usually return...although I am perplexed as to why the only tulips which keep returning for me are NOT Darwins!
Thanks for your input...but I think I pretty much do everything you've suggested.
The only OTHER thing I was thinking about lastnight is....
MAYBE the ROPEL I have sprayed/dunked them in hasn't dried out enough before I've planted them. I'm going to be careful with that this time!
:0) Phyl

I've never had luck planting tulips kept out all winter in exposed containers -- tried one year with whiskey barrels and all I got was mushy tulip bulbs in the soil :(. The wind and cold weather seems to get to them. What I've read here is that people put the tulips of containers in cold frames or in the ground for the winter or in unheated garages that don't totally freeze solid.

Tulips I treat as annuals (except the species ones). Tulips need a dry summer (no irrigation or watering) so they are difficult to get to rebloom. Old House Gardens has some excellent information on getting tulips to bloom again (mostly using older heirloom varieties).

Here is a link that might be useful: OHG - Tips on Getting Tulips to Rebloom

First I have to say, that I do not have experience with tulips in containers. I have always planted mine in the ground. Well drained soil at a depth of 6" depending on the variety.

May I suggest instead of dunking the bulbs in ropel that you use bloodmeal. This is extremely repellent to rodents of all kinds as well as deer. It is dry and comes in a 2 qt container at the nursery. It is completely organic and also is a fantastic food for the bulbs. This is what I will be using this fall. Just sprinkle a bit in the hole before you place the tulip inside.

As for failing tulips from one year to the next it was recently suggested to me by a friend to dig up the bulbs after a few years, and once they have finished flowering and dying back, to split them where they are developing a bulblet. Many of the special bulbs need this kind of help to continue flowering and you may well end up with a bounty of bulbs.

Sedum and Tracyvine,
I appreciate all the help. I'm taking notes, actually. And I saw bloodmeal the same day I purchased the ROPEL.
Wow, digging them up never really occurred to me..that's great. Thanks again everyone. :0) Phyl

above: "I've never had luck planting tulips kept out all winter in exposed containers -- tried one year with whiskey barrels and all I got was mushy tulip bulbs in the soil :(. The wind and cold weather seems to get to them."

It's moisture and not cold. We live in zone 3 and every year have all types of healthy tulips in raised beds and pots.

As for tulips returning each year there is a 'general' rule but not absolute. The smaller amd earlier the tulips bloom, then they are more likely to return. Species tulips, the botanicals usually return....as do early Greigii....when you get into the larger stem tulips then the earlier the better. The Fosteriana (such as the Emperors and Purissimas) are the most dependable....others that are large and especially 'oddballs' will either not return or deteriorate. This includes the lily-shaped, parrots, doubles, verdifloras, etc. We treat the less dependable ones as annuals, dig them up after blooming, compost them and mark the spot for fall planting.

Here's my experience, that might throw a little light on your situation. I garden on clay too. We built this house four years ago, and I immediately began amending soil and digging beds. The first year, I planted tulips (I even paid for the pre-chilled ones. OUch!)in the bed along with snapdragons and pansies and kale. EVERYTHING (like your roses) did extremely well, except the tulips. NOTHING. When I went out there to look for the bulbs and be mad at whatever had dug them and eaten them, I smelled them before I found them. Every last one rotted and putrid. (Nine times out of ten, if something is rotting, it means it has too much water. Number ten usually means bugs or disease.) So...I didn't put any more bulbs in that bed...until last year. I was at a meeting and the favors were daffodil bulbs. I thought, why not? I planted them in the same bed in the same place, and not only did they all come up and bloom, but when I dug them up two weeks ago, they had all multiplied four fold. Why?
I think it's because three years have passed in which I have continued to amend that soil with organic material: chopped leaves, pinestraw, and more composted manure. And, I dig it twice a year to change out the annual material. (This is my one bed I do that.) I have dug a little deeper each time, and now, that soil is so fine and crumbly for over a foot down, you would never ever guess it was nasty clay once upon a time.
The lesson for me, anyway, is that real clay soil must be worked awhile and the amendments must be submitted to earthworms, and the other processes of nature before the drainage is good enough for bulbs. Maybe, maybe, this could be your answer?

Went back to this post only to realize there were more replies I had never seen. Thank you...I haven't even planted them yet, due to warm temps (it has been to almost 80 degrees-very unusual for a place that often has had a snow by now!) and continuous rain for the past week or so.
My husband says he'll help me plant this next week, if it's not raining....still have lilies to plant too!
:0) Phyl

It must be the moisture--I "didn't know any better" when I started planting tulips in containers, and they usually not only bloom the first year, but return for a second year before I pull out the bulbs to put in the ground and see them bloom again in the 4th or 5th year (but seldom the 3rd year--they take time to recover). But I live in a crazy climate here in high desert Northern Nevada, and I understand that it's a lot like tulips' native "whichever-i-stan". It's very dry here, even in winter, and the ground I plant my "spent" tulips in is also baking hot and dry in summer.

Lisa