From the '5' the writer is in a northern zone and for that area its too late to think to force tulips. This should be started in early September if you wish to see flower at this time. Tulips require 14 to 15 weeks of cool to set roots. Between now and when spring erupts its less than 10 weeks and by that time the tulips will be blooming outside in our gardens.

Organic, did the seller of the bulbs understand that you wanted to "force" these bulbs for flowering at a particular date? Ordninarily bulbs are bought in the fall...and the seller is advised the nature of 'forcing' is wanted. They then sell you the type of bulb that is more in line with how you are bringing them to bloom. In other words, for forcing, they would sell you a bulb that forces well. Normal bulbs require 14 to 15 weeks of cooling. Your pre-chilled then must only be required to 'fill in' the remaining weeks. The refrigerator then is the only place at this time you can hope for continuing the cooling process. Just subtract the number of weeks in the fridge from the rquired 14. If your bulbs were given a pre-cooling of ....say 8 weeks, then you would be required to finish the remaining 6 in the fridge. They need a temperature of between 35�F and 50�F...so the fridge is the ideal place. Be sure though to not put them into a crisper with other fruit. Plus, these are living plants...bulbs. They must be given a medium to grow their roots in and they must be kept damp. When they do acquire roots, then they are brought out to the sunshine which will target the production of bloom. Into each pot, 3 hyacinths can be planted; 6 tulips in the other. Put the bulb with the flat side toward the outer edge of the pot...this will produce the initial leaves pointing out..the first leaves will grow outward then from its neighbors. If you are using clay potting, be sure to soak it overnight before placing soil into it. Fill each pot loosely with potting soil; the tops of the bulbs should be even with the rim. Don't compress them, just open the soil, place the bulb in. Then water. As the soil settles you can then add more soil but leave room for future watering. The pot must drain. Label each pot so that you know who's who and when you planted it. It does appear if you can give it the cooling required, your end of May date might just be possible. Delaying of bloom is brought about by denying sunlight, withdrawing so much water and otherwise put the bulb back in time to come to bloom. I hope the guests appreciate how you have brought so much flowering into the day. If it works, you can then boast how you made it happen. Good luck....but please, if you do make this happen, don't do what other parents have done...named their children some dopey name like May, or Flower, or Tulip....or Hope or Charity........

It will help to know specifically where you live. Here in my Deep South Zone 7 I must chill my tulips for 8 to 10 weeks before planting. They need this process if they are to bloom. The sprouts are not great, but in the end, they won't hurt anything. Go on and plant the hyacinths in the ground as soon as you can. (I always count out the 8 to 10 weeks on my calendar from the day I put the tulips into the fridge. That way I don't forget when to plant them.) Keep the tulip bulbs away from fruit. The ethylene gas the fruits emit will kill the tulip bloooms.

Well, the answer is yes -- sort of. You can refridgerate the tulip bulbs now, but they'll need 12-15 weeks of cold storage before you can force them. Also, it's so late in the season that you'll need to pot them up before putting them into cold storage. (I'm potting up the last of my tulips that have been in cold storage since November this weekend.) Hyacinth bulbs can be kept unpotted longer than tulips; these you may be able to just chill and then plant up and force. Chances are that you don't have enough room in the fridge for a bunch of pots, so you may want to put the potted bulbs outside for now if you have a balcony; weather in our area will be mostly above freezing for a while, and they can withstand short periods of slightly below freezing temps (high 20s) at night. Good luck.