Appearing now in your mailbox, inbox and in stores are fall bulbs. Stately tulips, bright daffodils, yummy garlic and more are, or will be, offered to the garden enthusiast.

Do it! Buy them now, especially garlic which has been a fast seller the last few years. During the pandemic, with the food shortages due to shipping problems, people have been more interested in growing their own food and garlic is an easy and popular crop. Fancy tulips like doubles or fringed, special colours, double or rarer pink daffodils can all sell out quickly.

Don’t, however, plant them yet! No planting until mid to late fall. They are called Fall Bulbs for a reason! They need to go into the ground when days and soils have cooled considerably. If you plant in the heat of summer they will react and start to grow. They will have leaves up by early September, might try to bloom by early October and then will be killed by frost. Waste of money, waste of time.

How to store bulbs until you are ready to plant? Some of the guess work can be eliminated by ordering online from a reputable company, like Veseys, pictured above. We are long time fans of this company but you can get great product from Botanus, Brecks, MacKenzie and Wildwood Express, all are well worth checking out. These companies will ship at an appropriate time for your area and garden zone.

Careful ordering from that massive online website, there are many scams. Just so you know, there is no such thing as a blue tulip, don’t fall for it. If you find bulbs in a garden centre or box store, check them out carefully. Sometimes appropriate storage can be a problem and they have them in a sunny, warm spot. Bulbs should not be budding or actively growing, they should be firm to the touch.

So you got happy and acquired bulbs. What now? Keep them in breathable packaging like paper bags or perforated plastic. Keep them in a cool, dark place. In our modern sealed home this can be a challenge so you can store them in the refrigerator. Keep them away from fruits, which produce ethylene as they ripen which can stimulate your bulbs. If you are going to be storing them for two months or more it maybe be better to individually wrap the bulbs in newspaper, paper towel or brown paper. Where the bulbs touch is where rot it most likely to start. Keep an eye on them to make sure there is not condensation on plastic bags.

When to plant is something I cannot tell you: it’s a weather thing. It is, for us on the Canadian Prairies, usually late September at the earliest. I will be writing more about planting fall bulbs as the planting time draws nearer, sometime around mid-September. Subscribe so that you don’t miss a post.