Expert: Kenneth Joergensen - 7/13/2004

Question
Thanks for the great info Kenneth! I will only plant a few for myself and will be selling the others to people in other states. So my directions to them would be?....
1. Plant when soil is 40 degrees consistantly. 2. Put in Fridg until then.

I did accidentally order pre cooled from one place and early ship for my own pre cooling from another! I can see this will be easy for the out of state people who will buy, but what about for me?...

1. Is just a baggie with holes in the fridge ok for 2 months?

I love Jonquills- they will match so well in color too!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Lisa

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Followup To
Question -
Hi, thanks for volunteering! I'm going to try my hand at selling Spring bulbs this Fall, as the Summer bulbs went really well! I love to grow them and have had great success, but have not tried the ones you plant in Winter. I'm mostly interested in selling Tulips, and Daffodils. Here are my questions, please:

- People will buy from other states (I'm in FL), when are they supposed to plant- at what tempurature?

-Can they be started indoors like Spring and Summer bloomers?

- I can't believe we are all to plant something in the Winter- why is that? So they won't bloom right away?

-Can you suggest some shorter bulbs that will bloom with Tulips? I have Shirlry, Queen of the Night and Greenland ordered.

Thank you again- any advice will be appreciated!
Lisa
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Answer -
Spring flowering bulbs are not easy to grow in florida. the reason is that they need to be pre-cooled. To flower, tulips, daffodils, etc need a vernalization (cooling) period of 15-18 weeks during which the soil temperatures must be consistently below 40 deg F. This is not easy in florida, and almost impossible in southern florida.

To offset this, pre-cooling is normally done. Pre-cooling involves storing the bulbs in the fridge for 3 months and then bring them to the soil planting site. Plant immediately at the coldest time of the year. This will allow the cold chain to continue and the tulips will bloom shortly after.

Growers today provide pre-cooled bulbs which they had in cold storage since May. You buy and store them in the fridge until december/january when they are planted. You can also buy your own bulbs in september and store them in the fridge. Count on minimum 15-18 weeks from cooling start until planting.

If tulips are planted in warm soil they may end up with very short stems, flowers which last a few days only or no flower at all. Tulips planted in cool soil will have longer stems, flower longer and do better.

For the tulips you have listed, I would recommend jonquils (late flowering daffodils). They generally do great in your area as they do not need much cooling and they love the heat. They are 12-14" tall and come with 2-4 flowers per stem. They are a seperate class of daffodils. They should flower around the same time as the late flowering tulips you have listed.

Answer
For yourself and other receivers in warm season areas, ship pre-cooled bulbs or ship so early that they can pre-cool. Give them instructions to pre-cool for 15-18 weeks and plant during the coldest month of the year. Have the soil preparred and take bulbs directly to the planting site. Note that while bulbs are being "pre-cooled" by the grower, the bulbs should still be kept in the fridge until january when you plant. Sometimes the precooling provided by growers is only "partial" e.g. they will do some and you do the rest. Always keep bulbs in the fridge when you receive them until you plant them.

For gardeners in cooler areas (USDA gardening zones 3-7) there is no reason to precool bulbs. They should purchase the bulbs and plant them after the soil cools in fall. The cold winters will do the vernalization needed. The planting time is still critical, however, as planting in warm soil can spoil the bulbs. As a general guideline for these gardeners would be to store the bulbs cool (fridge in onion sack is ideal) until after first night frost. Then plant. Usually this would be mid october through late november on most of the US East Coast except the very northern states which may need to plant late september. Waiting until first frost is a very good guideline.

The storage in the fridge is really only needed to preserve the bulbs. Left at room temperatures or higher, bulbs tend to dehydrate and can be attacked by mold/fungus. Kept cool and dry is optimal and therefore if you ship to northern gardeners in july/august make sure they store cool and dry (not because of vernalization, but because of quality of bulbs). Southern gardeners should put them in the fridge, too, but that is also to start the vernatlization (cooling) requirement that the bulbs have.

You can use preforated plastic bags if you like, but onion sacks are ideal.

If you store bulbs in the fridge, make sure you keep ripening fruit and cut flowers out. Both emit ethylene which can sterilize the bulbs (prevent them from flowering).