Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils?

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Chris_W
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Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils?

Post by Chris_W »

Hi,

I've always felt that you can plant the spring bulbs like daffodils and tulips just about any time that you had them available, but after a comment from a customer I'm now reading more and more that you should hold on to the bulbs and wait to plant only after the soil temperature is below 60 degrees.

But wait a minute. I've moved bulbs around in the summer before without any trouble, so why would I hold dry bulbs in bags for another month or so before putting them into the ground? All my other bulbs stay out in the ground all summer without the heat bothering them, so why wait for the soil to cool off to add new ones? Or is this just a regional thing, that bulbs don't survive the summer heat in some parts of the country?

Sure is confusing when you start reading all the information out there on the internet. Personally I would think that if the bulbs will survive the summer without any trouble then you should be able to plant whenever you have them available. Am I missing something?
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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by kHT »

Chris, it's my take that new bulbs if planted during the summer don't have active roots systems to get them going or keep them going and they will tend to dry up. I see them in the local stores now so as we cool down it's time to plant here and pray the squirrels don't dig them up as they start burying the walnuts and dig up the bulbs.
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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by viktoria »

If the bulbs you bought have been in cold storage, they may break dormancy if planted while the weather is too warm. I do not know how they are stored, though.

I plant my bulbs when I am done with all other garden work. Usually that is after we have had a killing frost but before the ground freezes, obviously. A nice, mild Indian Summer day is perfect.

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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by Chris_W »

That was the only thing I could think of too, was that if they just came out of cold storage they would want to sprout and might use up too much energy making foliage and trying to flower before it freezes. But I'm just talking about bulbs that are stored dry that you would buy right now. I'm not sure how much more dry they could get if I was to put them in the ground any sooner. The idea of waiting to plant anything seems a little odd to me. I can understand not wanting to dig and move things at certain times, but if bulbs are already out of the ground I don't see why you would need to keep them out any longer.
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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by gamekeeper »

I think it makes very little difference,have tryed both and see no difference.
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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by Chris_W »

Thanks, that's sort of what I think too.
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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by thy »

If they are sprouting, they will just stop when it get colder.
Here in my odd clima I have seen crocus sprouting in the start of August when I dig the ground, but I have never seen a sprout ower ground level in the fall and never have I had any problems with them next spring.
Only problem I have seen is if you forget to plant them before the ground freze and wait to early spring.. they will come up delayed, slim and may not ´come back next spring
But who else will forget to plant a lot of spring bulbs :blush: :blush: :blush:
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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by oldcoot »

Good afternoon my dear Halson Family. OC has always planted his bulbs in the fall, but one year when he was sick, he had to store them over winter, and planted he in the early Spring after the ground un-froze. They were a little late blooming, but they did finally bloom.

Chris knows that Old John, who normally plants his Lilium in the late fall, always planted a second batch in late March after his Iris had finished blooming, so as to have some late bloomers in the Summer.The Good Lord is pretty generous, if you plant them in good dirt and keep them watered (when they need to be - but NOT TO much.Some bulbs like Lilium really don't like wet feet. ) Good luck on yours, OC just had a BUNCH of new King Alfreds planted for him. (Come on Spring -Let's forget Winter)....

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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by isadora »

If I have to divide a clump of daffodils, I do it in early summer just after the leaves have faded, when I can still find them and they are dormant. I put them right back into the ground, I feel they are safer there than in a bag until fall, after all, I just took them out of the ground. They put down roots in late summer or early fall for winter growth, anyway to be ready to come up in January and February (Or December, like this year!).

Tulips, now, that's a different story. Unless I am just moving them around dormant from established clumps. If I buy them, I wait until at least November before I plant them. They WILL start growing too early.

By the way, if you have bulbs you haven't gotten into the ground, and your soil isn't frozen, it isn't too late! You can plant clear up into February. They might come up late the first year, but they will be fine.

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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by jerryshenk »

Late last spring (May - zone 6b), I had a friend give me a shopping bag with some bulbs in it...4 kinds of tulips and some hyacithns. They bag wasn't anything like a "breathable sack", just one of those thin plastic shopping bags. The bulbs were not in really good shape, some were a little damp...not good. I called Whiteflower Farms (the lables said that's where they were from) and explained the situation. They suggested that I just put 'em in the ground right away and throw out any that were mushy. Well, they're starting to poke through the ground. I'll be quite shocked if I they all come up but, it seems like that worked this time.

I also did some daffodils similar to what isadora did except I waited till the leaves were gone (1st week of July). I dug up an 18" square area, spread it out on a tarp and pulled out 80 bulbs. There were very few flowers last spring - too right I'm guessing. I sized them into 3 piles and planted them in 3 2' x 2' areas. I know that separating by size may not give me the most uniform results but, I wanted to see what the difference was in the spring. All three areas are coming up strong. No flowers yet - will be interesting to see if they flower well this year or if they wait a year to strengthen. I have a couple other clumps that need the same treatment this summer.
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Re: Question about when to plant spring bulbs like daffodils

Post by Bob Scott »

I always plant new bulbs in the fall. They will often show themselves in December but don't make much growth till the ground warms in the spring. Some are blooming now and I've also moved a bunch of them in the last week. I didn't divide any!
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