Am I too late?

[ladybird69]

I have some tulip bulbs that I want to put in a pot. Is it still ok to plant them or have I left it too late? And if I leave them in the pot will they come back Year after year or do they die off after one year? Thanks for any advice

They come back year after year so you could plant them and see what happens? They’re meant to be in by the end of November, so you’re only a couple of weeks late. Someone more expert than me may have advice to encourage them to grow!

Tulips dont always come back the next year. So if they fail it is not that you have done anything wrong. For naturalising, they need to go in almost twice as deep as the instructions. Possibly, next year they may come up blind, but just leave them in until the foliage dies back and, hopefully the following year you will have a good display. I once found daffodils in the garage in January. I planted them out and had a really good late display. A lot of times it is the wetness that kills tulips and that can happen even when planted at the correct time. I would a put 2 inches of Horticultural Grit underneath them. I do this, but it is even more important with a late planting.

I'm forever planting things late and it's usually fine. With tulips I find that I need to lift and dry the bulbs after flowering, or they rot.
Anyway, you really have nothing to lose since you already have the bulbs and if you don't plant them then you definitely won't get flowers!

So long as the bulbs aren't mouldy or squashy they will be absolutely fine.
In fact tulips are better planted a bit later ie into Nov/Dec as it helps to avoid the risk of tulip fire virus. Daffodils need to go in earlier (Sept/Oct) as they need longer to form a good root system. Good quality bulbs are unlikely to come up blind (ie with no flowers) the first year after planting as they are full of energy from the previous season. They might be poor in subsequent years though!

Oh great thanks for all your replies and advice. I’m planting in a pot so along with grit and proper bulb fibre and burying them deep I’ll also wrap pot with bubble wrap whilst it’s cold. Thanks they are peony tulips and I just fell in love with them fingers crossed they’ll come up in the spring