;) I went with the gypsy but then also got bags of blue, purple and violet! I was thinking of doing the same as you have planned but maybe actually bringing them in and forcing the bulbs... The scent might be too much though.

Your plan should work. Are you sure of the temps? 50 and above will be too warm but the 40's would be perfect. The only problem might be they will begin to sprout much earlier in the garage and might be too far ahead of outdoor conditions.

My plan is to pot up the bulbs and bury them in mulch outside. I try to keep them close to the house foundation, the mulch stays drier and doesn't become a block of ice. It's not the freezing temps that worry me, it's not being able to bring the bulbs in when I want to start growing them indoors.
Good luck, I think any of your pansy choices will look great... I'm leaning towards the orange!

Thanks Kato_b, do you think just keeping the pots mulched close to the house will be enough protection? I agree with your thoughts that they will sprout earlier in the garage, so I like the idea of mulching them in outside and close to the house for protection. I think I will try that and test it for myself. Thanks for the vote on the orange pansies...lol

Yes, I think you'll find that your garage is just too warm, even at 40 degrees, they'd be up and blooming weeks before you want them to.

However, the "plan b" of potting them up and putting outside in a sheltered spot under mulch should work, as long as it's really deep, heavy mulch. Or even dig the pots right into the ground, then mulch.

I also try to fill the pots to the rim with soil, it keeps water from sitting there and freezing/thawing... a real bulb killer. Freezing won't kill the bulb, it's a sudden freeze that seems to do damage.

Digging the pots into the ground is a good idea, but in my case I want to be able to get to them during the winter to bring in and force.... maybe I should do the garage thing myself, I'm just not sure if the temp is too high or not.

One other question. I have a an unattached garden shed that is basically a few degrees warmer than the outside temperature in winter. So it can drop to single digit temps on our coldest days even in there. I always assumed that that was too cold for bulbs, being out of the protective environment of the soil. True?

My answer to that is I don't know..... I used to keep potted late planted bulbs in an unheated garage and sometimes they did well and sometimes not. Low temps were probably in the teens maybe lower and the pots had no protection around them. Maybe I killed them by taking them out too early and freeze-thawing them to death, maybe they got too cold. If I remember correctly tulips were more likely to survive than daffs.... I never tried hyacinths this way.

This would be a good time for a bulb expert to chime in :)

I pot up bulbs I get on sale in late fall, and keep them in my cold cellar, which never quite freezes. Then when they are growing a couple of inches, I bring them upstairs and enjoy the flowers. An unheated garage might be okay too, as long as it doesn't get freezing cold until AFTER the bulbs have rooted well. This can happen if you purchase and plant the bulbs very late (November-December). I have some lovely 'Firelights' hyacinths blooming now that I bought on sale last fall. Unusual colour and very pretty, sort of a peachy pink.

I'm in Kokomo, about 1 hour north of Indy. Aren't Hyacinths hardy in zone 5?

I planted some in the ground, maybe 3 feet from the house. Most of them seem to have survived for a few years. Am I just lucky? They are not in a raised bed. They do have mulch and are slightly elevated (drain a little in our heavy clay soil).

I know Hyacinths are hardy in Michigan, they seem to like to peek out in the snow and add color early in the year.