Please check my post in the Bulbs forum for info! Here is a link that might be useful: Advanced Exchange: My bulbs now for your plants/bulbs...

Plant them now and make certain you put a handful of bone meal in each hole. They may or may not bloom next year but you should see leaves. Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Perennials

Oh, don't worry, you'll like spring bulbs :). Once planted, they require almost no care and most are so indescribably beautiful. Yes, plant them now, but you can keep planting until the ground freezes. Even after that you can pour water on the ground to defrost, then plant. Summer bulbs, like dahlias, take a bit more effort but are also very rewarding. One other thing: pay attention to heights and bloom times (and to a lesser extent, sun requirements, although you can often get away with sun-lovers under deciduous trees). Try to put together combos that bloom at the same time- like scilla and Tete a Tete daffodils (one of my favorites). More advice, since you asked :). Plant early-spring, late-winter bulbs like dwarf iris, giant crocus, chinodoxa, galanthus (snowdrops), eranthus (winter buttercup) etc. These little flowers are so dratted cheery at the end of winter, they just lift your heart. Especially since you may not be used to harsher winters. Also, beware of invasive spreaders like Ornithogalum (Star of Bethlehem), ipheon, and to a lesser extent, muscari. You can't get rid of them. Have fun!

Hi there, I am about to plant the 19 rhizomes I ordered from Cooley's website and I have been wondering to myself about the success as well. I live in Washington DC so I have good old clay soil, which I amend with Bumper Crop anytime I plant something new. The website sells a "Spring and Fall combo" of fertilizers---one to apply in each season---but I am puzzled: NEITHER has the formulation which the planting instructions from the bulb shipment suggests to use! Should I assume that the ones they sell are sufficient, or should I also buy another (Anderson's is the only brand I can find with that specific nitrogen count)? Sorry if I went off-topic; first time poster, be patient! : )