Bravo melaroma!!! Â;) Way to go! ... getting them in the ground is the key ... (to para-phrase *Paghat-the ratgirl*) the *ephemeral* nature of this hobby is only tip of the fun!!! What would we do if we don't have dirt under our nails to scrub at the end of a fun day?!!! Â;) If you ask any one like us ... fondest memories of childhood ... water & dirt w/our little shovels & diggers of sorts &&& boys & girls both will pick their dump trucks & sand boxes over toy strollers & skates!!! Just for fun & cure for the *garden blues* ... *Trowel & Error* & *Sunflower Houses* ... Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots* by Sharon Lovejoy are little books I picked up ... quick tips & friendly ammunitions against our garden foes + importantly, refreshing drinks for gardeners' soul!!! Â;) A forever *Best Wishes* as you move on in this magical world!!!

Glad corms like some air circulation while in storage. I put mine in single layers on mesh-bottomed flats and store them in something my husband designed to store them, with some breathing space between flats, in an unheated room. I've also stored them in old nylons in the past, single stack down each leg, hung up on a nail. I don't see why you couldn't store them in feedbags, definitely minus the sawdust. You probably should poke holes in those feedbags for air circulation (if they are solid, rather than a woven material that lets some air in) and don't put the corms in really big piles in the bags. Without good air circulation, they are prone to rot, which can spread quickly throughout the pile of corms. I've gotten good performance from tulips at 6" deep, but have never tried 5". I would hesitate to put them on the bottom of your rototilled trench, mostly because then their roots are smack on top of the plow pan and have no good tilled soil to reach down into. I second the spading fork, but it might not lift loose, tilled soil well. A shovel is better for that. The spading fork is great for loosening up solid soil, and for digging bulbs and/or plants in solid soil. LizaLily gave me hers, which proved to be indispensable for digging up hundreds of lilies. Jeanne

Loper is a bit over 4 years old. His nose is actually not nearly so good as that of other beagles I've had. I don't hunt, but I can tell a dog's scent skills even when he smells for scattered kibble. My beagle with the best nose was my beloved Calypso, a female, whom I sometimes let loose in the woods (and she would go berserk). Yes, Kay, Ollioules tends to be early here too. It is usually easy to find, Julia, and not that expensive. As a Darwin Hybrid, it is also tends to be perennial. Only problem with the tulips here is that you have to be religious in using repellent.

Omar They do not come back and bloom beautifully. There are species tulips that do, but the BIg Gorgeous Dutch tulips were grown for 3 years to make this big show. Then, the 1 bulb looks like a head of garlic, with tiny bulbs. Even where the weather if perfect for tulips, the big show is one season. In TX the weather does not stay cold enough, long enough for a pretty bloom. We need to order and chill for 3 months or order pre chilled bulbs. I chill from the first week in Oct until the last week in Dec. Get them in the ground by the 10th of Jan. c