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How to store my bulbs

rachaelsisleyrachaelsisley Posts: 20
in Problem solving
I received a delivery of a large quantity of tulips. The flower bed I want to put them in is not going to be ready for a couple of months. I do not have a cool dry place to store them in the meantime. Our barn is damp in the autumn. So what do you reckon out of the three following options? a) put them in the barn until November b) plant them into a trug with some compost and then move them in November c) Put them in a neighbour’s garage? Thanks! 

Posts

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Put them in a neighbours garage if it is dry.  How dry is your barn?  I would have thought they would be Ok in there so long as rats can't get at them.
  • rachaelsisleyrachaelsisley Posts: 20
    The windows don’t have panes on them so it is a little open to the elements on the sides. Things do get a bit damp in there in the autumn and winter.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    If you don't have the correct conditions to store them, I'd go for planting in a trug and moving them to their final spot as soon as you can.
    At least that way, you can keep any eye on them and it would be difficult to regulate the conditions in your neighbour's barn.
    I think it will also depend on exactly what Tulips you have purchased as some types are far more picky ( and shorter living ) than others. 
  • rachaelsisleyrachaelsisley Posts: 20
    Thanks! I wonder why they would go mouldy in storage but not in compost. I imagine compost has other microbes to keep it in check?
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    They shouldn't go mouldy in storage if you keep them cool and dry until you are ready to plant.
    I thought you were unable to provide the correct conditions - my apologies for any misunderstanding :)

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    if you get some onion sacks from the greengrocer, you could hang them up in the barn. Better air circulation and harder for the mice to get at them
    Devon.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    Keep frost free and dry-ish.  Keep where can check on them readily.  They should last until November.  I don't know a maximum temperature to avoid, but they may be OK in a kitchen.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I don't know what you mean by a large quantity, but a cool cupboard in your house, if you have one, is ideal. I have an under stair one which is good, but I also have a smaller one which has an outside wall, and that's perfect if I have to store bulbs for any length of time.
    Not a heated room, but a cooler, unheated one would also do. 
    Failing that, the trug, or any container is fine. There's no need to worry if planting in pots in commercial compost either.
    We're fortunate here that tulips can be planted in the ground now without any problem, as the soil's cooler, so no risk of tulip fire. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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