Marsha, a little clarification would be helpful. By "fall" bulbs, do you mean those typically sold in the fall but bloom in spring? Or those bulbs planted in spring that bloom later in the season, generally from mid to late summer and into the fall? If the first, unless they have been prechilled, you are a bit late. Planting now is better than hanging on to them, as they tend to deteriorate in prolonged storage, but you are unlikely to get blooms from them this season. Green growth, yes - flowers, probably not but they should produce for the following year. In my area, potted spring blooming bulbs are available now in garden centers and nurseries for early planting. These have already gone through a chill period and generally show foliage and even some budding - some snowdrops, crocus and early narcissus are even in bloom. These of course can be planted now if your soil is workable. If the second, it is still too early. Spring is at least 8 weeks away, perhaps longer in your area. Planting summer blooming bulbs in soils that are too cold or possibly too wet from winter is likely to result in rotted bulbs, or if the weather is periodically very mild, some early growth that will be damaged by more cold weather that is sure to come. Mild or unseasonably warm winter weather can be misleading. It may be best to wait for more typical planting times for warm season plants and leave your desire to garden now restricted to tidying, pruning and getting your garden ready for spring. More normal cold weather could resume at any time and undo all your hard work. But getting left over bulbs into the ground is better than letting them go to waste even if you skip this year's flower show. Just make sure your soil is not too wet to be workable.

I am so happy to find this post. I have almost the opposite problem - I live in the hot wet tropics, never cold. I purchased some Crocus (Saffron) corms (was very expensive here so trying to not make mistakes). I put them in my veggie drawer in the refrigerator (all fruits removed from fridge) at 3C/37F. I read that they must have a cold period of at least 15 weeks to have a proper healthy bloom. After being in the fridge less than 3 weeks, each are having a white sprout coming out the top, but no roots. So do: 1. Ignore and wait the 15 weeks (will they starve to death?) or 2. Plant now (they are going in a pot) being very careful not to break the tender shoots and water only once until green shoots emerge from the soil? Thank you so much for the help, Christa

Hi Bette, If you are talking about tall bearded iris rhizomes, they must be in the ground about six weeks before the first hard frost. Otherwise you are better off waiting until spring and buying plants in flower at the nursery if you want blooms. I don't know your climate, but I would imagine it is too late this year. Iris usually bloom the spring after they are planted. Renee

Like the other folks said, as long as the ground is workable, you can plant bulbs. My wife came home with a bag full a couple weekends ago. I just planted them this past Saturday. I had to break through a bit of frost in some areas, but not a big deal for the most part.