You can cut the stem with the flower but not the leaves because the leaves provide the nutrients to feed the bulb for next years flower. So I would put them in some potting soil until you can plant them when the ground thaws. Plant the bulb with leaves above the ground and they will ripen and turn brown and fall away when ready. Hope this helps :-) Wendey

If we believe that bulbs do not need fertilizing when first planted, then putting blood meal where the bulb, when it forms its roots, will take up its heavy nitrogen content, and may force it to grow in earnest too early, bringing foliage up while the ground is still in a frost state, I'd say using blood meal is not the thing to do. Whether putting bone meal or another phosphurus adding material to the ground can help....experts say YES...helping the bulb to feed its roots is a way to improve the foliage and flower production. But it is mixed with the soil when first planted...not sprinkled on top. If a squirrel has the intention to dig, nothing short of removing its claws, will prevent it. The chicken wire, if its small enough, but large enough to allow the foliage to come through it, can work if the squirrel has a time to get by it. Sensing the soil there is soft from digging, the wire will move easily with the animals digging and probably only put up a barrier for a short time. Put a preying bird ontop of the ground, he might take a look and run for cover....or he may laugh at the silliness of the planter to think he can be fooled so easy and take a bite out of it as well. A snake of the same intent will probably leave the animal guffawing and rolling on the ground in hysterics. But, what the hey, it can be tried. They sell plastic owls in stores....but move it around, the squirrel might be fooled once.....shame on him..... but fooled twice...shame on you for not thinking of it sooner.

Suggestions for tulips: Suggested Single Late cultivars include: 'Halcro' (vibrant red); 'Queen of Night' (deep dark maroon); 'Renown' (rose-pink); 'Menton' (apricot-pink with inside of poppy red); 'Maureen' (pure white); 'Makeup' (ivory white with red edge); 'Temple of Beauty' salmon-rose); 'Blushing Beauty' (pink with white edges); 'Blue Aimable' (lilac-blue); 'Hocus Pocus' (yellow tipped pink); and 'Black Diamond' (deep dark maroon). In the Single Early category, 'Apricot Beauty' (salmon) is tops. In the Triumph category, excellent choices are 'New Design' (light pink with darker edges). For the different look of Parrot Tulips, try 'Estella Rijnveld' (white streaked with red); 'Orange Favourite' (orange with green blotches, yellow base); 'Texas Gold' (deep yellow, narrow red edge) and 'Flaming Parrot' (yellow flamed with red). In double late tulips (peony flowered), the top performers are 'Angelique' (blush pink) and 'Mount Tacoma' (white). Most Darwin Hybrid tulips will do well in warmer climates with pre-cooling. Try: 'Apeldoorn' (red); 'Golden Apeldoorn' (yellow); 'Big Chief' (rosy-salmon); 'Olympic Flame' (red streaked with yellow); 'Parade' (dark red with black base edged yellow); 'Pink Impression' (pink); and 'Daydream' (orange and yellow). For Lily-Flowered Tulips, good choices include: 'White Triumphator' (white); 'Red Shine' (red); 'Mona Lisa' (red and white); and 'Marilyn' (white streaked rosy-pink). Among botanical tulips, try 'Linifolia' (red); 'Tarda' (yellow and white); 'Saxatilis' (lavender with yellow) and Bakeri 'Lilac Wonder' (violet-pink and yellow). These generally can be grown without pre-cooling and will even naturalize. Also these smaller Tulips "Tulipa greigii" Any daffodil will do well, but you need a separate refrigerator for chilling, because fruits and vegetables will give off gases, that kill the bulbs. I found good information on a forum here for southern climate gardening ie Texas or Georgia. It said to treat them like annuals, but you are zone 9, so you will do better than me in zone 10.

King Alfred daffodils do well - mine have been at it for 25 years. I usually plant spring bulbs the day after Thanksgiving - while everyone else is at the mall. I figure by Thanksgiving we are well past warm spells. So far anything I have planted has done fine. I've never done tulips, but am thinking about a mass container planting this year and throwing them out after they bloom. I'm thinking that being above ground in a pot will give them the winter chill they want. Definitely going to plant cheap tulips for this experiment.