If you order from Brent and Becky's, Van Engelen/John Scheepers, Colorblends, Old House Gardens and/or Odyssey Bulbs, placing your order now means that the ONLY things that will prevent you from getting what you ordered are: 1) If they are already sold out--and the website will show that item as "sold out" 2) If there was a crop failure they don't know about yet (to include the bulbs simply not being up to their standards) 3) If the ship (usually from Holland) or the harvest (can be US, Ireland, Holland, all kinds of places) was delayed. Usually a quick email inquiry to any of these guys will get you a nice update and an explanation 4) If they plumb messed up and forgot something in your order--happened with me with one of the above one year, and again, a quick email got me a sincere apology and the situation remedied entirely to my satisfaction. One other thing--have alternate selections in mind, just in case something strange happens and they/you need to substitute something else. In the case of the "forgot" above, I had a wishlist of about three times as many things as I'd actually ordered, so I simply went back to my wishlist and found plenty that was still in stock that I'd love to have. I've had the nasty "out of stock" surprises with: Breck's, Van Bourgondien, Wayside Gardens and Park Seed. I've had less-than-great bulbs (as in not nearly as good as the companies I recommended at the beginning of this post) from Bluestone Perennials and McClure and Zimmerman. White Flower Farm has decent bulbs, but they are ex-pen-siiiive. High Country Gardens is pretty good about keeping their sold out listings up to date on their website, and the bulbs are decent. The same comments apply to all the companies I mentioned that have end-of-season sales. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for, so I stick with my favorite companies for reliable service and reliable bulb quality. I also like to order just as soon as my favorite websites have their new catalogs up. I don't care if they charge my credit card immediately. When I want a rare 17th-century Parrot Tulip bulb that will set me back $20 for ONE bulb, I WANT that bulb, and I don't care if I have to pay in advance. In past years, I have taken advantage of end-of-season sales to get "a few extra things to fill in" after I've planted the first several hundred bulbs. That's when I order things like more crocuses for naturalizing and other small bulbs. And then I curse myself for being so COMPLETELY INSANE because they don't arrive until early December (well, the sales didn't start until Thanksgiving, so...), crawling around on my hands and knees in the mud and snow, with snow or rain coming down from the sky, cold enough to shiver if I wasn't working up a sweat trying to get all the little beasties in the ground before it freezes after nightfall. I won't be doing that this year or next, because I'm going away to get a new degree, and won't be home to see my garden until mid-December (except for maybe a couple of weekend visits in October/November). I will NOT "treat" myself to planting bulbs on Christmas Eve... I will NOT. I will NOT do it. Really. Bottom line--order from the companies I listed, get your order in early, and email the companies if your bulbs don't arrive when they should (according to the company's stated shipping schedule). You shouldn't have any trouble getting what you want that way.

If you use a pail or container that takes about 2 gallons (10L) of potting mix with NO water crystals AND some added grit - and has useful drain holes in the bottom (at least as round as your thumb and 4-5 of them) - then you plant your bulbs about four inches deep and cover them as usual. As far as I can tell, the bulbs don't mind the ground/mix freezing overnight and into the next morning. They will still rise and shine. I've done this with species tulips, early doubles, darwins, and parrots over two or more years. If you have a site that is mostly unfrozen but still chilly - between -5C and about 10C they'll probably prosper. Just, not prolonged freezing over several days or weeks (eek!). (They might. Wouldn't say they couldn't. But I don't actually know that. :-)) )

Tulips need about 14 weeks of near freezing temperatures after about three weeks to grow roots in order to bloom. If you have enough winter left, pot them up. Then put them in a sunny window and keep them moist until you see little white root tips appear at the drainage holes, then move them outside. The pots can freeze, it really won't hurt the tulips. If you don't have enough cold weather left, pop them into your refrigerator for 14 weeks. Remember to water once in a while. Then bring them out to a cool room and watch them bllom. I force daffs, tulips and crocus every year, by potting them up in September, then putting them in my frig once roots show. I have daffs from New Year's on (they only take 11 weeks of cold) and tulips from Ground Hog's Day. This keeps me going until the wintersown stuff has green (besides moss)and I have daffs blooming outside.

Is there a reason why you want to wait til mid-December before you plant? I've been known to plant tulip bulbs very, very late. June. So equal to your December. By then, the bulbs would be showing shoots, and if light was present to the bulbs which patiently waited their turn, then those shoots would be green. A colleague advised me to plant any bulb with green shoots quite shallow, so that the green was above the soil. He said otherwise the shoots would burn. So I did that. Those bulbs were not for my garden and so were not available for me to play with after their flowering. I cannot say how they fared but I would guess that they flowered fine. I think their after-care should have included some protection from the summer sun and heat. If you are not dealing with thousands of bulbs (and I suspect you aren't) maybe you could keep them away from light so that their shoots do not go green. Then you can plant them at the correct depth (about 4 inches).