mycatnola
Full Member
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat May 23, 2015 4:59 pm

planting bulbs in containers

I live in Oklahoma zone7a anyway I have some bulbs that I plant in a container I put them in the garage so thay would not freeze anyway I went out there to check on my other bulbs that I planted and I notice that in one pot thay were allreadly coming up out of the soil is that going to hurt the chance of them blooming next spring

Susan W
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1858
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:46 pm
Location: Memphis, TN

I'm a bit confused, nothing unusual! Did you plant bulbs in containers for outdoor bloom in spring? Or for forcing to have blooms inside in winter? What size are the containers? What variety of bulbs showing life above ground now?

Most bulbs need some cold for a couple of months before sending up new growth and blooms. If they haven't gotten their cold fix, may not bloom.
I'm playing with some crocus in smaller (5" pots), potted and in frig for about 6 weeks, hoping for indoor cheer in Jan.

HoneyBerry
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Posts: 1216
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State

I have a short answer and a long answer to this. I only have time right now for the short answer. I will try to give you the long answer later.
The short answer is that the warm garage has tricked the bulbs into thinking that it is spring. Ideally, bulbs need to overwinter underground through cold temps in order to bloom properly in the spring. It is not a good time to plant your bulbs outdoors if they are sprouting. You could try to save them by keeping them indoors in the pot and letting them continue to grow indoors, but not in the garage. They will need light and warmth. Growing bulbs indoors is possible but requires a special process. Even if you do it right, they may not flower at all because the bulbs did not overwinter properly with cold temperatures.



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