A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 tulip question

ok, i bought some tulip bulbs that ended up with the most beautiful blooms. the blooms are gone and the foliage is fading. what do i do next to have them bloom next year. i know that i have to refrigerate them eventually because it doesn't get cold enough here. but what do i do in the meantime?

Jiffymouse, in your zone, tulips don't save very well..

If it were me, I would be sure to mark where they are planted and wait till the foliage dies back then dig them up and store (do not let bulbs touch each other unil they have dryed well) them in a cool dry, dark place until next fall then replant (or/then refrigerate to create a winter for them). am I making any sense here

actually makes good sense, 'cause i put them in pots instead of the ground. i knew they wouldn't bloom again without an artificial winter. thanks

Jiffy, I'm in the same zone as you and my tulips actually bloomed without being in the fridge! I wasn't sure if it would work so I planted half in the fall and saved another set to spend winter in the cooler. I'm planting my refrigerated bulbs this weekend (they've only been in there 6-7 weeks). I'm not sure if they will come back next year on their own so I might do the same type of test. We did have a couple of days of really cold weather, dropped into the low 30s, over Christmas so maybe that helped them out. We don't always get that good of a frost so maybe it won't work every year. I'm just rambling on now but thought I'd let you know that it is possible for us.....