Q:
Earlier this winter, I received several blooming potted tulips. Can these bulbs be planted in the spring, and will they bloom again? What should I do with them so they flourish properly in the garden?
Gail Moorman, Burlington, CT
A:
Jan Ohms, owner of
John Scheepers, Inc.
, a mail-order nursery in Bantam, Connecticut, replies: In our climate, you could keep the bulbs watered indoors until early spring, then take them out of the pots and plant them in your garden. However, the results would be disappointing. Forcing tulips uses up so much of the bulb’s food source that the bulb is weakened. Tulips that have been forced commercially are usually thrown away, since they are unlikely to bloom, and if they do, the blooms will be small and unimpressive.
You’d have much better luck with forced narcissus, crocus, or grape hyacinth bulbs, which would survive and bloom in your garden with extra feeding, watering, and winter protection.
