Frozen bulbs

[CSmith]

i was given frozen bulbs which have now thawed. Tulips, Calla Lillies, Amarylis. Will they grow? And is it recommended to freeze them? I have only ever kept them in a dark, cool place.

thanks.

[dottie]

I am no bulb expert, but I would go ahead and plant them at the normal bulb-planting time. My guess is that, depending on where you live, some of these bulbs probably freeze in the ground at some time or another anyway. I have never heard of freezing bulbs for storage, but I have stored and planted bulbs in all kinds of extreme circumstances, and they pull through fine. I have a bucket of spider lily bulbs someone gave me a year ago, and I never had time to plant them. They stayed in a bucket outside, immersed in rain water and sometimes snow until I took them into the greenhouse. They are still in the bucket - without ice and snow - and I noticed that they are all sprouting green leaves. They will be planted soon. Bulbs are tough and resilient, so unless you have hundreds of bulbs to plant that would require lots of space and time, I would go ahead and plant them and see what happens. Then you will be ready to answer the question with your expert knowledge the next time it comes up in a forum or a conversation.

[Blueleaf]

I mostly plant perennials but love to plant bulbs as annuals. In the subtropic climate of New Orleans almost all bulbs require at least six weeks of refrigeration. It takes up space in the refrigerator but it is well worth it. I buy the bulbs, mostly tulips, wrap them up nicely to protect them and place them at the top of the frige. You don't want them to freeze so the top is the best place. Bulbs like paperwhites and amaryllis are said by some not to require the cold period but I have found that they do better when they have a cool period. After 2-3 months I plant them the first week of January on a cold day. Not every day in January will be cold in New Orleans. I plant them on a cold day because you don't want the bulbs to warm up too quickly. In March and April and sometime into May my garden is filled with all kinds of color from about 150 bulbs, tulips, paperwhites, hyacinths, and daffodils.