Do you need to refrigerate daffodil, tulip bulbs before forcing them indoors?
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Photo copyright by Connie Oswald Stofko
I got this question from reader Trudy Stern:
“I have a daffodil question: Should I keep them in the deep freeze for awhile before I force them indoors in January or February? Tulips? Any special tips? I am looking forward to having some bulb beauty in my house throughout the winter.”
I thought this was a question many readers might be interested in, so I contacted Jeff Thompson, director of horticulture at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.
Each year the Botanical Gardens does a lavish Spring Flower Show that takes place before tulips and daffodils and other spring bulbs are blooming outdoors in Western New York. They force hundreds of bulbs to to bloom indoors for the show, so they know what they’re doing.
The bulbs need a cold period, but you don’t want to freeze the bulbs, Thompson said. Put them in your refrigerator, not your freezer.
Place the bulbs in an opaque plastic bag that is open at the top and put the bag in the crisper drawer. That will do two things: keep your bulbs from drying out and protect them from the light that pours in every time you open the door.
The bag has to be open so you have some air circulation. If the bulbs get moist, mildew and fungi could grow and kill the bulbs, Thompson said.
A paper bag will also work when storing bulbs in the refrigerator, as David Clark, horticulturist and national garden speaker, told us this fall. But make sure you don’t store bulbs in your refrigerator if you have apples in there. Apples release ethylene gas, which can kill the embryonic flower inside the bulb. See more tips on planting spring bulbs in your garden here.
After the bulbs have been in the refrigerator for a few weeks, plant them in pots, water them, and place the pots back in the refrigerator. Don’t water them again while they are in the refrigerator.
“What you’re trying to do is to trick them and make them believe they’ve gone through winter,” Thompson explained.
About three or four weeks before you want the plants to grow and bloom, take the pots out of the refrigerator, put them in a warm area, give them light and water them.
The Botanical Gardens staff has had some bulbs all potted up and in the cooler since Nov. 25 in preparation for the Spring Flower Show that won’t be held until March. The reader who asked the question wants to have them bloom in January or February. If you haven’t already started refrigerating your bulbs, you might be able to shorten your simulated winter and still get results, Thompson said.
Thompson noted that you might find potted paperwhites, hyacinths and narcissus in the stores now. Those have already been cold tempered by the growers, so you don’t have to refrigerate them.
Auxilio! En el mes de marzo puse mis bulbos en el refrigerador (seguí todas las indicaciones) hoy los saqué (8 de julio) y no sé qué hacer. Ya debo plantarlos? O los vuelvo a meter al refrigerador?
Yes, you can get spring flowers that were sold as gifts to bloom again. See great information in this previous article.
I bought some blooming tulips one and two months ago for inside the house. The blooms died off quickly and I let the leaves dry up to enrich the bulbs to be planted again. I haven’t watered them so as to not rot the bulbs. Is there still a chance I can force bloom them again?
Hi Lithia, this article talks about forcing bulbs to bloom inside during the winter. Daffodils and hyacinths are already blooming outside now in Western New York. The time to plant spring bulbs is autumn, not spring. I’m not sure what you’re trying to do at this point. You can contact the Master Gardeners in your area for more details on how to proceed. I hope that helps.
I was told to put my bulbs in the freezer. Now I find and read No Do Nit Freeze. What can I do or is it to late? Theyve been in the freezer 5days now
Hi Angela, tulips survive in Western New York where the ground freezes, so cold shouldn’t be a problem for you. However, some plants need a cold winter to do well, so your warm soil might be a problem. Check with the Florida Extension Service in your area. I hope that helps.
I live in Florida and got beautiful tulips as a gift. We do get a few frost nights but not sure if the bulbs will survive in the ground here. Any suggestions ?
Beckie, you should contact Cornell Cooperative Extension in your county. See contact information here. I hope that helps!
I live in upstate NY where it gets very cold. Can I put my bulbs in paper sacks and cover them with burlap & keep them in a large 30 gallon picnic cooler in my (unheated) shed over the winter? Then 4 weeks before our last frost I would like to plant them in layers (called lasagna planting I believe) in a pot to come up in the Spring? I should not water them until putting them in pots correct?
Thank you!
Renee, the temperatures have been below freezing here in Western New York, especially at night, so you don’t want your bulbs in an unheated garage or they will freeze. As it says in the article, you want to refrigerate the bulbs for a few weeks. Follow the instructions in the article about potting them so you can force them inside. Yes, you can plant them outside in spring. They may or may not not do well outside in coming years after forcing them.
I would like to pot my tulips that have been in ” my very ” cold garage, for the last week ? If so, ” Should I keep them there for several months ? ” And then put them in a outside in the Spring ?
Lo siento. Mi espanol es muy mal. Se communica con Master Gardeners. Mira aqui: https://cals.cornell.edu/cornell-cooperative-extension/local-offices
Auxilio! En el mes de marzo puse mis bulbos en el refrigerador (seguí todas las indicaciones) hoy los saqué (8 de julio) y no sé qué hacer. Ya debo plantarlos? O los vuelvo a meter al refrigerador?
Yes, you can get spring flowers that were sold as gifts to bloom again. See great information in this previous article.
I bought some blooming tulips one and two months ago for inside the house. The blooms died off quickly and I let the leaves dry up to enrich the bulbs to be planted again. I haven’t watered them so as to not rot the bulbs. Is there still a chance I can force bloom them again?
Hi Lithia, this article talks about forcing bulbs to bloom inside during the winter. Daffodils and hyacinths are already blooming outside now in Western New York. The time to plant spring bulbs is autumn, not spring. I’m not sure what you’re trying to do at this point. You can contact the Master Gardeners in your area for more details on how to proceed. I hope that helps.
I was told to put my bulbs in the freezer. Now I find and read No Do Nit Freeze. What can I do or is it to late? Theyve been in the freezer 5days now
Hi Angela, tulips survive in Western New York where the ground freezes, so cold shouldn’t be a problem for you. However, some plants need a cold winter to do well, so your warm soil might be a problem. Check with the Florida Extension Service in your area. I hope that helps.
I live in Florida and got beautiful tulips as a gift. We do get a few frost nights but not sure if the bulbs will survive in the ground here. Any suggestions ?
Beckie, you should contact Cornell Cooperative Extension in your county. See contact information here. I hope that helps!
I live in upstate NY where it gets very cold. Can I put my bulbs in paper sacks and cover them with burlap & keep them in a large 30 gallon picnic cooler in my (unheated) shed over the winter? Then 4 weeks before our last frost I would like to plant them in layers (called lasagna planting I believe) in a pot to come up in the Spring? I should not water them until putting them in pots correct?
Thank you!
Renee, the temperatures have been below freezing here in Western New York, especially at night, so you don’t want your bulbs in an unheated garage or they will freeze. As it says in the article, you want to refrigerate the bulbs for a few weeks. Follow the instructions in the article about potting them so you can force them inside. Yes, you can plant them outside in spring. They may or may not not do well outside in coming years after forcing them.
I would like to pot my tulips that have been in ” my very ” cold garage, for the last week ? If so, ” Should I keep them there for several months ? ” And then put them in a outside in the Spring ?
THANK YOU — all information is helpful!
All good advice. Great idea in forcing some too.