It sometimes takes awhile for the bulbs to get the message that it is okay to bloom now, if they are sending up some scapes no matter how small; properly taken care of they will bloom for you. I have a couple right now that are doing the same thing. For some reason, some are slower than others. As for your dried up dirt: if your bulbs are still plump and not dried out and shrivelled and dead; give them a good watering and bring them out for a day or two to see how they manage. Bulbs are storage units basically, and do not need as much water as many people think. They are pretty forgiving, so give it a go! You can tell easier at room temperature because they will start to peep through in a couple of days or so.

Those of you that can grow them in the ground are so lucky! I know that would be so much better and healthier for the roots, and for the bulbs. I'm paranoid to just bring mine outdoors for the warmer months... seeing the damage that the Narcissus Bulb Fly can cause has made me seriously consider simply leaving them indoors under lights to grow. I know the advantage of bringing them out would be great... I'm still sort of torn over this. I think there are a lot of differences between the individual varieties, and I think they each deserve to be watched, and records kept. Some seem to offset easily and profusely, and others only grow one baby at a time. My large Minerva only has one baby, but it's almost as large as she is! Other bulbs have grown several babies, though they seem to remain small and grow slower. Once I'm able to find all of the necessary ingredients to mix a bulk batch of my medium, I'd like to re-pot quite a few of my bulbs into larger clay pots. Several have outgrown their current containers, and others need to be separated from their offspring. I have learned one good piece of advice to remember when re-potting... always remove as much of the old soil from the roots as possible... if you don't, it can create a separate layer from the new soil, and the root ball may not absorb enough water or drain properly. In essence, ALL the soil should be changed out for new so that it all moistens and drains evenly.

I had to move several after the storm, they were in full sun and not liking it. One of them I know has been there for at least 2 years. It blooms every year. Didn't have a single root on it. I planted it in another spot, it's sending up new leaves. The bulb was nice and healthy, none of the others were without roots. I'm not sure what's up with it but will just let it be. Tally HO!

Here's an update for those considering attempting overwintering. The bulbs blooming on the left side of the bed we're dug and stored loose and dry in my basement. I replanted them in mid April and they are blooming now in mid to late May. The bulbs on the right side were left in the ground all winter, mulched with about a foot thick layer of leaves and then covered by black plastic. The survival rate seems very good. They have better leaf development than the bulbs that were stored in my basement. A few a beginning to send up scapes but it looks like most of them will bloom several weeks after the basement stored bulbs. I feel like this experiment with overwintering was a great success and I plan to leave a lot of them in the ground next winter again. Improvements I might implement would be to plant them in a raised bed for better drainage and to use clear plastic or maybe a glass cold frame instead of black in order to get the sun to heat the leaves rather than just heating the plastic sheeting itself.