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Expert: Long Island Gardener - 4/8/2008


Question
I received daffodil bulbs last October and forgot to plant them.  They have been sitting in my garage through the winter.  Should I plant them now or wait till the fall and if I wait, where should i keep them over the summer?  I'm in zone 7, too.
Thanks, S

Answer
Do NOT wait another day with these -- your odds of ever getting a bloom out of these dive by the hour, my friend.

It happens all the time -- flower-lovers buy their Bulbs, wait for the right time to put them in the ground, then run out of time.  You think you're the only one with a bag or two or ten of Daffodils sitting on the shelf waiting to be planted?  All I can say, sir, is Welcome to the Club!

But that changes nothing.  This is not something we get to vote on.  Time waits for no gardener.  You can fudge the schedule -- in fact this is necessary when you buy Bulbs south of the Equator border, off season, and have to adjust them to bloom a full season in the other direction.  It's a difficult task.  Yours is difficult, too.  Don't make it impossible by making these sit around for the Autumn of 2008.  Put them in a pot with moist soil and sand (LOTS of sand) and refrigerator 2 months, then bring outside and hope for the best.  They'll need time to break dormancy, and you do not have time.

Good luck and if you need more details or have other questions let me know.  Thanks for writing.

L.I.G.

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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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