If you are reading this post now, in late January, the answer is ‘not yet’, for tulips at least. Originally published in November 2016, ‘When is too late to plant spring bulbs?’ has become one of my most read posts of the last eight years. For the next few weeks I am pinning it to the top of my blog in the hopes it will encourage a few more readers to rescue forgotten brown bags filled with bulbs, and to give them the gift of life. Displays like one below are still possible if you make haste.
The Watch House, November 17th 2016
I am late with everything this year: late going on holiday, late preparing for Christmas and late planting my spring bulbs. As someone who prefers to be perennially prepared and eternally early, this is an unsettling state of affairs. But, am I too late to be nurturing my narcissi or interring my tulips? Certainly not.
As with most things in life and gardening, the thought of being late is very much worse than the reality. As a general rule, bulbs that flower in the early part of the year should be safely secreted in the ground at least six weeks before there’s any risk of the soil becoming frozen (an increasingly unusual occurence in the South of England). However most display an amazing degree of tolerance when it comes to being planted late, even if this is delayed until the New Year. As long as the ground can be dug and is not waterlogged, there is a good chance your bulbs will put on a respectable show.
Narcissi are noted for preferring to be planted in late summer or early autumn. To be certain of top quality blooms, this is sound advice. Daffodil bulbs like time to establish themselves whilst the soil is still warm. They tend to produce roots even if kept in their packets and are then prone to dehydrating. Check to make sure bulbs are plump and firm before going to the trouble of planting, otherwise you could be wasting your time. Don’t worry if they have started to sprout, but take care to ensure the growing tips are not damaged when you handle them. Planted later in the year daffodil bulbs will almost certainly bloom later, and some may come up ‘blind’, flowering the following season. Small, weakened bulbs will clump-up more slowly, although they should eventually recover.
On the flip side, warm, damp conditions can encourage fungus and disease problems in early-planted bulbs. This is especially troublesome for tulips. Whether in the ground or in pots, tulips should be planted after the weather turns cold. This will slow down or stop the development of nasty afflictions such as Tulip Fire, which causes unsightly brown spots on tulip foliage and flowers. I never plant tulip bulbs before November, unless they are in pots combined with narcissi. Planting in clean, sterilised compost reduces the likelihood of disease arising, and is fairly low risk. With cold weather frequently not arriving in the UK until December, the planting window for tulips is long and holding off should not delay flowering. On a recent edition of Gardeners’ Question Time, Bunny Guinness suggested that planting tulips as late as January or February, whilst not ‘text book’, can still result in a reasonable display. I have waited until as late as early March and still enjoyed flowers a couple of months later: bulbs have a clever habit of catching up with one another as soon as spring arrives.
Those gardeners brave enough to leave it late to buy their bulbs are often rewarded with some great deals. In November most merchants are keen to sell off excess stock at discounted prices, even though it’s perfectly viable. In fact the bulbs will be probably be in better shape than any purchased early and then stored at home. If you’re not precious about buying specific varieties then you’d do well to hold your nerve until the merchants lose theirs.
If, like me, you have purchased bulbs and simply haven’t had time to plant them, I’d offer three pieces of advice – keep them cool, dry and dark. Warmth and moisture, whilst essential for initiating growth, are the enemies of dormant bulbs. Store them carefully in paper bags or well ventilated cardboard boxes, but never in sealed containers or plastic bags where they will sweat. Place the packages somewhere with good ventilation, preferably not in a closed cupboard. I go as far as to place my bulbs in a tray, arranged in a single layer, near a dehumidifier. This guarantees they don’t get damp. I check the bulbs every week and remove any that are showing signs of going soft or mouldy. These will soon contaminate the whole lot, and can smell pretty rancid in the process: the fragrance of festering fritillarias is something one should only encounter once in a lifetime! Exposure to bright light will also stimulate growth, even in the absence of food and water (bulbs are preloaded with both), so find a hiding place that’s nice and dark.
Even if you find a packet of tulips, daffodils or hyacinths hiding at the back of the garden shed after the Christmas sherry and New Year fizz has worn off, it’s still worth taking a chance. Bulbs are survivors by design, packed with energy to sustain them through good times and bad. If they bloom and grow it will be a pleasant surprise, and if they don’t, you can always start again, a bit earlier, next year.
Categories: Bulbs, Container gardening, Flowers, Plants, Practical Advice, Uncategorized
Perfect timing! Thank you so much for the advice. I was just beginning to fret that as I haven’t yet managed to plant all the bulbs I’d bought, the garden at my ‘new’ house would continue to be devoid of spring colour. What a relief! I will get planting this weekend.
This weekend will be just fine. Look after your bulbs, and they will reward you with a great display in spring 🙂
Going to plant 6kg of daffodils tomorrow any thing is better than the bin wish me luck
If it makes you feel any better, we planted quite a few daffs and tulips at the weekend. The bulbs were in perfect condition, so apart from being late they should flower satisfactorily. With daffs it’s a case of them making roots ASAP. A mild winter should help. Fingers crossed Marie! 🤞🏻
I planted snowdrops this year. Quite excited to see the display next spring – I’m hoping for a pleasing contrast to the blue glory-of-the-snow.
Last year, my daffs got smothered by strawberries, a situation which will have to be remedied next spring.
Indeed! Did you plant your snowdrops ‘in the green’? I’ve always had better results that way, and hope to plant more this coming spring.
‘In the green’?
When they are still in leaf, after flowering!
I planted daffodils last year when they were in the green. (Their homesite was being demolished). They have not produced leaves yet, while my neighbors’ daffodils are almost ready to bloom. Do you think they will come up later, next year, or not at all?
Hello Angela. I don’t think you need to worry yet. Transplanted bulbs take a while to settle back into their natural rhythm. Planting in the green, at just the moment daffodils are building themselves up for the next season, will have been a temporary set back. You should expect them to be a little later and a little weaker this year.
With regard to your neighbour’s daffodils, there are varieties that will start blooming in December and those that won’t be flowering until May. This is perfectly normal so don’t drive yourself mad comparing as it’s unlikely you are growing the same ones. If you fancy Christmas daffodils then seek out N. ‘Rijnfeld’s Early Sensation’ or N. ‘Cedric Morris’. Dan
I have a bunch of bulbs that arrived in winter when it was snowing outside. We live in New England in the United States and I have never planted many bulbs. I have some that say they bloom early to late summer others bloom late spring early summer and some mid to late spring. I know the spring ones are already coming up for the neighbors. I did receive a Dutch classic garden collection with iris tulips Fabiola alliums windflowers daffodils and crocuses. I’m not sure if I should just put them in the basement with the dehumidifier in a cool spot and wait till fall or plant them.
Plant them Kim. They might not do a lot at this stage, but they certainly won’t survive until fall as they’ll use up their food reserves and shrivel away long before then. Get them in the ground and if you only get leaves or stunted growth they might flower next spring once they adjusted. Dan
No then, they were plain bulbs, planted in September.
Lovely colourful and cheerful pictures with a much needed promise of spring to come. One year in Yorkshire I went out on Boxing Day, scraped off 4 inches of frosted soil then planted my tulip bulbs deeply, they flowered away and banished my guilt at their ill treatment. You are right, bulbs are survivors and I bet yours will flourish, too.
Thanks for this post as it has reminded me to plant my tulips very soon…only just taken the geraniums out of the pots where I need to plant them,
Ok I feel guilty now ! Not quite guilty enough to get my wellies on and plant those bulbs right now, but they have definitely moved up my ‘To Do’ list ! Why do I hate bulb planting so much ? Wish I knew! Thanks for an informative post.
[…] it, I will fill the dish with the remaining tulip bulbs or perhaps the Fritillaria. The Frustrated Gardener tells me I still have […]
Just bought 200 Eranthis hyemalis at a price I simply couldn’t resist. Put them overnight in a bowl of water and planted them afterwards. Very curious about what will happen…
Hmmm. They ought to be in flower by now, so I suspect they may come up a little stunted, like they’ve been woken up with a start! Let me know what happens. Dan.
3 x Hmmm…
Last year the winter aconites didn’t turn out to be a great success. So you guess I should have learnt a little lesson by now. But surely, this year, all recently planted 50 Tulipa clusiana won’t let me down, will they ? Feeling rather optimistic and proud I “saved” those bulbs from the garbage bin 🙂
You should be fine with those. They are pretty little tulips with a very long history. I think those aconites were planted just a shade (or two) too late, but December / Jan is perfectly manageable for tulips.
I was given a mixture of bulbs, gladiolus, acidanthea, brodiaea, Allie and oxalis. Unfortunately I had an accident in November and couldn’t get into the garden until now. Is it too late to plant them? .
My 2018 spring-bulb planting delayed through a fluey cold: 1st wave started 2 days after Flu-jab in mid-Oct, then almost continuous nose blowing/eye-watering/left side sinus & ear ache until mid Jan; after 3rd wave started on Xmas Eve, subsided.
So today I’m going out to plant all bulbs. It’s a gorgeous morning with temps in low teens expect by early pm here in East Yorks. Being on chalk Wolds I don’t have waterlogged soil to worry about. I’m nor sure how all will fare if we get that ‘blast from the east’ as we did this time last year, after a false too early spring.
what if I wasn’t at home and forgotten daffodils and gladiolus bulbs are here waiting to be planted but it’s the beginning of June ???Should I plant them NOW ?????
Hi Lili. Before I answer that, are you in the UK or elsewhere?
It is the middle of May and we did not put the spring bulbs that we bought in the ground. Can we put them in the ground now so the can root and then Blume next year. We live in Kansas
I doubt very much that it would be worthwhile. You’d be better off buying new bulbs in autumn and planting them then. Spring bulbs should be dying down now so they won’t make any growth this late in the spring. Dan
Thank you SO much for your blog. I stumbled across it quite by chance & it’s really helped me! I have 250 bulbs all sitting in the shed at my church garden that never got planted last October. The council had a free bulb giveaway which I couldn’t resist! Unfortunately, my mum got sick so I was caring for her & not able to plant them. Reading your blog has encouraged me to go ahead and put them in.
My pleasure! Nothing to be lost by planting them now. Winter hasn’t really kicked in yet anyway. Your bulbs might flower a little later but you’ll get flowers. Meanwhile I hope your mum is on the road to recovery. Dan
I have had three pots with all the tulip bulbs dug out by squirrels (I think). Glad it might not be too late to get some more in.
You should be fine with tulips planted now. Perhaps put chicken wire over your pots or keep them in a shed or garage until the first shoots appear. Once they are rooted and growing they will be less easy for the squirrels to pull out. Dan
I bought all my bulbs and then the wet just went on and on. Our garden, clay, has been uncharacteristically waterlogged. Had to walk on the grass eventually to get the leaves into the last garden bin of December and it completely churned it up. The borders were just too soggy. But this has given me hope that I can pop the bulbs in now. As things are a little drier, I think I will give it a shot.
I am in the Uk and have just been given some spring bulbs, Daffs, tulips and crocuses should I plant them anyway and hope they flower next year or should I store them until the autumn?
Thank you for these tips and encouragement. We’ve just had our first frost and woke this am to first snow and then it melted away. I guess I’ll give these boxes of bulbs a try. I’m kicking myself for not doing it a few weeks ago when it was warmer! At least now I’ll be cold but hopeful.
If I don’t plant daffodils or tulips this year. Can I store til next year and how do you store?
Hi Cathy. No you absolutely can’t. They will be shrivelled and dead by next autumn. If you can, plant them now and even if they don’t flower very well they will be able to recharge their batteries for another year.
Another question, Bulbs are planted in pots but I read on line last night they could freeze in pots. Ok so I moved to the patio after reading this. Do I need to leave on patio or where should I keep them from now until blooming time. I did put two small containers in the garage by window. I live in the Dallas area. Help again!
Hi Cathy and Dan, I’m so pleased I found this site and this question. It’s exactly what I have been wanting to ask someone and today decided to resolve one way or the other. My September-bought bulbs will be going in today (or maybe tomorrow …). Thank you!
We recently had our garden relandscaped, goodness me site clearance was tiring but thankfully we had a skip from a local business to make the process that little bit easier! Highly recommend if you ever need one – https://www.jarvismetal.co.uk/skip-hire.
I am so excited to get back out in the garden this week and start planting! My garden is normally full of snowdrops this time of year but unfortunately, they all got removed in the process of digging up the back garden. I am so thankful I found your blog page, it’s wonderful! The bulbs will be planted this weekend 🙂
Adore this thread – and as a serial offender I refer to it often!
I’ll be planting on Saturday (6th February) i ahead of a couple of days of expected snow starting on Sunday…
Hopefully just cold enough to chill my tulips, yet not too late for some flowers later on this season!
I’ll be sure to post an update and offer some hope (or otherwise..) to fellow offenders in years to come …
Yes, please do! I reckon you’ll be fine planting tulips in early February. You might get flowers slightly later but they’ll be just as lovely. An update would be good. I’m sure others would benefit from your experience. Dan.
It’s March the 12th today and I realised that I still have some spring bulbs that didn’t get planted in the fall. I will be planting them tomorrow, hoping to have some flowers from them next year or perhaps later this year.
Well, if they are still firm and unblemished they should survive if planted now, although they may not flower very well. If they get through this spring and build up enough energy (I’d feed them well) they should settle down for the following spring. Dan
Just bought 2 bags of tulip bulbs yesterday as they were on a highly reduced price. I was hoping they will be fine a bloom later in this season. Just googled it and found your useful webpage.
I wish I have found your page before the purchase.
Now I am not sure what to do with 80 sprouted tulip bulbs. Would you recommend to wait till the next season or shall I soak them in water and plant them tomorow? I am in Ireland.
Just plant them. Don’t soak them. You might get some strange flowering behaviour, eg the bulbs trying to flower before the plants develop properly, but feed them afterwards and they might be OK next year or the year after. Keeping them until next year is futile as they’ll wither away. You may also get lucky and have tulips in very late May, which has happened to me before. Good luck!
I wanted to know if I forgot to water the tulip bulbs when planting them is there something I can do to make up for that mistake other than digging back up and watering? Can I just soak the area, will that be enough?
Thanks for this information. I just remembered that I have a whole bunch of daffodil bulbs that I completely forgot to plant. The weather forecast is cold and some snow over the next two weeks. We live near Vancouver, Canada so it won’t get extremely cold. Should I wait for a warmer spell or try to get them in before too much snow?
Hi Leah. Get them in as soon as you can. Cold will not harm the bulbs, it just won’t promote growth. Daffodils generally need that gentle autumn warmth to encourage root formation, but it’s always worth sticking them in and seeing what happens. Plants want to live so they’ll give life their best shot!
Thanks. Merry Christmas!
Thank you this, its exactly the info I was looking for! Temptation got the better of me and I bought a greatly reduced Christmas gift set of daffs today. I’m tempted to go back for the tulips now having read this!
Hi Megan. So long as the bulbs are plump and firm and don’t have long shoots already, it’s worth a go! Good luck 🍀
Hello there, and …..HELP !
I live in Milan. Idisinterred my iris and gladiola bulbs in the autumn in order to thin them. I never ended up replanting them. :((( Now the iris are rather dry but sprouted (the gladiola no.) I replanted some iris 2 weeks ago and they are druing up in the ground (avery few have sprouted.) What shall I do with the others is all hope lost ???
Thank you so much for your time, and Happy Easter-
T. Slark in Milan
Hello and warm greetings to you in beautiful Milan. If in doubt, plant them and see what happens – it cannot do much harm. Gladiolus are fine planted now – with Iris it would very much depend on what sort you have bought. They may not produce flowers for a while, until they have built up their strength again. Good luck and Happy Easter. Dan
How absolutely great to hear from you so quickly ! Thanks for your timely reply, I will do as you suggested and hope for the best. I know nature can triumph over human stupidity !
My very best wishes for a lovely Easter.
Treva in Milan
I bought 200 daffodil bulbs and planted about 50 bulbs in Oct. and then had to have surgery. Two months later my son planted about 50 and It wasn’t until the end of January that the rest were finally planted. They have bloomed beginning in March and are still blooming in May. Do you think they will catch up next year and mostly bloom at the same time? Thank you for your attention.
Hello Jane. Yes, they’ll find their natural rhythm again by next year and bloom at their normal time (albeit weather can always have an impact).
Here’s hoping you are fully recovered now. Best wishes. Dan
Thank you so much Dan. I am trying to get my one acre yard ready so that when I am not able to plant I will still be able to view the beauty each season. It’s just not Spring without Daffodils. I have planted them so that I can look out from every window and see their hopeful yellow beauty. Jane Rudick
Thanks! I am actually not in the UK, so I realise that it’s a whole different set of circumstances. But I bought some late discount bulbs, am relieved it’s not weird to plant them late. My question, which is a warm-climate specific one, is whether it’s okay to chill them in the fridge if they already have shoots. Apparently I could feasibly plant them a month hence here but generally they do benefit from chilling here, but also will that kill their sprout and therefore the bulb and/or likelihood of flowering this year.
Hi Jacqui. I can’t share any first hand experience of this, but bulbs are often held back by chilling, artificially and naturally, and so would not imagine any harm would be done provided the bulbs do not get damp and develop mould. You will not kill a tulip or daffodil at normal refrigeration temperatures. Good luck! Dan