Too late to plant tulip bulbs

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Hi gardening Mumsnetters, can you advise me please?

I ordered a load of tulip bulbs in the hope of planting them at the front of my house, next to the path, to cheer up myself and other people if this Covid madness was to continue into Spring (which it obviously now will).

I managed to plant half of them at the end of November, then time got away from me, and I still have the other half to plant. If I was able to plant them this weekend, is that too late - will they just die?

I expect the solid ground will be an issue, but I was wondering if I could pour warm water over the area beforehand to loosen it up? Probably clutching at straws here, but any advice gratefully received, thanks.

I'm confused, is the ground actually frozen? If the bulbs are still in ok condition and you can dig the soil, I'd get them in as soon as you can. Would pots be an option?

Well, we are currently having a heavy frost each morning which tends to linger all day, so I assume the ground will be quite solid? I haven’t actually tried digging it.

The bulbs look in perfect condition, but I don’t know whether they will have enough time to undergo whatever changes are needed in order to come up in the Spring, or whether I should store them and plant them in November instead.

Pots aren’t really an option for the location where I want to plant them.

Try! What’s the worse that can happen? They don’t come up and you are no worse off (Disclaimer: I have no gardening skills 😂)

It’s fine. Plant them. They will come up a little later than usual that’s all.

I often plant bulns late
(looks at bag of bulbs sitting on side, not even in shed, which have been there since October)

They always come up. Not as amazgin as the ones planted in time, but they come up.
I was going to plant mine today, but frozen, frozen tomorrow too, but Monday should be warmer, and after all this time 2 days won't matter.

You might as well plant them otherwise they’ll go to waste. They don’t mind the cold, they’re more likely to be ruined by the wet. So I’d just put them in the cold ground without wetting it first.

Have the bulbs been kept in a warm house until now, or in a cold shed/outside? If kept inside, I'd put them in your fridge for a few days, to let them know its winter. If already kept cold, just plant them now.

I only planted the last of my daffodil and tulips bulbs last week, and they are already coming up! Unless you are in Scotland/highlands I'd be suprised if the ground is frozen solid! Best of luck.

It's not too late for tulips, they'll just be a bit later than others planted in November. Get them in asap! They need the cold, so you need to get them in before the ground starts warming up again in spring.

I planted my last ones the day after Boxing Day. Did some daffodils I found in the shed too, I'm less hopeful about them but they might be ok.

I was you last year! Mine did great www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gardening/3783134-Can-I-plant-bulbs-today-London

I have this issue too. I just bought some pots, filled with soil and planted the bulbs in the pots instead.

Thanks so much everyone, really helpful replies. I didn't want to waste the money and plant them if they wouldn't come up but I am reassured that they probably will.

Love the idea to put them in the fridge too - have done so! And I'll check the weather to see if it will warm up here in the next couple of days. Also noted re not making ground too wet.