growing tulips?

Question

i want to grow some tulips inside during the winter. So i dug some up from my garden. Since its still fall i know they need to freeze before they can grow. So what should i do to start them growing?

Answer 1

Tulips need 10-13 weeks of chilling which can be in your produce bin in your refrig-but make sure you don't have any apples in there because they emit a gas called something the enthelyne which causes the bulbs not to root or bloom., Take them out and plant in shallow bowl with a little bulb food in them--at least that's the way you force blooms with paperwhites, and you can put them in water - but you don't entirely cover the bulb with H2o.

Answer 2

Plant your tulip bulbs in a flower pot. The best soil mix for forcing bulbs contains equal parts of soil, spaghnum moss, and perlite or vermiculite. Water thoroughly until water emerges from the holes at the bottom of the pots. Let excess water drain out.
Chill or set in the cold...
40 degrees is ideal... for at least 12 to 15 weeks. You can chill them longer.

Don't let the bulbs freeze, & make sure that the soil doesn't dry out. It should be slightly moist, but not wet.

After the chilling period, bring your pots in & gradually warm them up. After they start growing shoots, place them in a warm, sunny window to encourage them to bloom.
http://www.gardenersnet.com/hplants/hp6.htm

For chilling, any cold, dark area can serve as a storage area--a cool cellar, garage, outdoor shed, an old refrigerator--where the pots will not freeze. Additional watering may be necessary for these pots so check them occasionally.
The pots are ready to bring in to force when the bulbs' roots are growing through the drainage hole in the pot, & a good root mass has formed in the pot. Upon bringing a pot of bulbs indoors to force, water well, and expose to cool temperatures (between 40-50 degrees F) & low light for about a week. When active growth begins, you can move the pots to a warmer location that receives good sunlight and an area where night temperatures are about 60 degrees F (flowers will last longer at lower temperatures). Keep pots well watered.
http://www.uvm.edu/extension/publications/oh/oh46.htm

P.S. For the initial chilling period, you can also trench the pots in a pit approximately as deep as the containers. Cover with loose, dried leaves, straw or spaghnum moss. Here's a chart of the length of cold chilling needed for tulips & other bulbs:
http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/forcebulbs.html

Good Luck! Hope this is helpful.

Answer 3

NO! Do NOT freeze them. They need chilling, yes. But no freezing. Put them in the refrigerator with no fresh fruit or veggies around (in a separate bin) and leave them for 12 weeks. Then plant.

Answer 4

Put them in a bag of compost, then put in the bottom of the fridge

Answer 5

I think you want a faq I wrote many years ago:
http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/showthread.php?p=294443

Answer 6

try throwing them in your freezer or the veggie drawer in your fridge for a couple of weeks, that should do.