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Bulbs/storing tulip bulbs

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Expert: Long Island Gardener - 2/22/2008


Question
I live in northwest Florida (panhandle) zip 32548. I do not have a dark cool place to put my bulbs until next September.This being my first experience with tulips what is my best coarse of action to keep my bulbs? I received them in a pot as a gift.






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Answer
Assuming they received good treatment after blooming (full sun, removal of spent blooms), you can pop them in the refrigerator, and check them regularly for moisture damage.  DO NOT put them in a plastic bag; it will be a perfect setup for rotting.  Paper is better.

Bulbs

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Long Island Gardener

Expertise

Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.

Experience

Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.

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