Bulb Question (new to bulbs)

[grow_my_own]

Hi, Bulb Experts! This is my first time dealing with bulbs, so please bear with me.

I found a bag of assorted hyacinth bulbs in the storage unit. I know I bought them in 2013 with the intention to plant them last fall. They are not dried up and appear pretty much the same as they did when I bought them.

I also have some tulip bulbs I bought this past July with the intent to plant them in October. Needless to say, I never got to them.

If I plant them now, even though it's December, might I still have some blooms in the spring? I am in zone 9A. We will probably get 3-4 snows this winter, the first one possibly in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks in advance for your tips. I read a lot online but prefer the voices of experience that I find here.

 

[thistlebloom]

It's certainly not too late to plant them, but it's hard for me to imagine that unplanted bulbs could survive an entire year and still be viable.
But you have nothing to lose by putting them in the ground, so by all means plant them! Maybe you'll get a wonderful surprise.

 

[journey11]

I'd think as long as the ground is soft, you could go ahead and get them in. I think they go out in Oct. mostly because they need the cold treatment to get them to bloom anyway. I have a bag of hyacinth bulbs in my fridge right now with plans to force them indoors later. The instructions for forcing them said they needed several weeks in the cold fridge to make them bloom. If I'd plant them straight from having bought them kept at room temperature, they said it wouldn't work.

 

[lesa]

You've got nothing to lose by trying! We are always up for an experiment on TEG! Good luck!

 

[journey11]

Vernalizing, that was the word I was thinking of! I'd think you'd still have plenty of time, just a matter of being able to dig before the ground freezes.

 

[Nyboy]

Good luck I have done the same many times. You willn't believe the things I have found in my car. I once found a bag of bulbs that where on clearance under the seat. I planted them they did grow but didn't flower, next year I am sure they will flower.

 

[thistlebloom]

Vernalizing, that was the word I was thinking of! I'd think you'd still have plenty of time, just a matter of being able to dig before the ground freezes.

I didn't think the ground froze in zone 9?

 

[catjac1975]

If your soil can be dug plant them. With your climate they should be fine. I am surprised the old bulbs look fine and did not dry up. I planted my tulips I think in late November. They were a late arriving order. I think they will be fine. I once planted a ton of tulips in February. They were free from our feed store. Our soil is usually frozen solid in Feb. We had a thaw so I dug and threw them in and they bloomed for many years. Hyacinths seem to last forever and multiply.

 

[grow_my_own]

Well, I had a bare root daylily that I forgot about & it sat in a shed, unwatered, untouched for 2 full years. This year, I put it in a pot of soil and watered it & it now has 4 beautiful, lush green fans. I figure if a daylily can survive and still grow, perhaps I can get the bulbs also to grow.

Our ground here doesn't freeze solid, but we do get snow 3 or 4 times a winter here. It's usually not on the ground for more than a few days at a time.

Thank you all for your tips. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm planning to plant the next time it's not raining.

 

[thistlebloom]

Daylilys are tough!

But they don't grow from bulbs.

edit--- That sounded funny, I know you know daylilys aren't bulbs....I just meant that bulbs aren't
as forgiving. But I hope they grow and bloom for you!