Bulbs are Sprouting Too Early! - Knowledgebase Question

Hillsboro, OR
Avatar for Sarah_M_Bied
Question by Sarah_M_Bied
December 9, 1997
I planted several containers with bulbs in eary October, and placed the containers on my tiny porch. Today I saw that the bulbs are already sprouting leaves! Is this normal?


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Answer from NGA
December 9, 1997
I hate it when that happens! Mine are doing the same thing! Rest assured that they will be fine. When the weather gets more winter-like they'll stop growing and wait until it gets slightly warmer to put on more growth. Bulbs are used to really cold temperatures and have something like anti-freeze in the tissues. I've even had green sprouts poking out of several inches of snow. If you want to avoid this in the future you should plant your bulbs in containers as usual and then sink the containers into the soil in the garden. The soil will keep the bulbs and roots cooler than they'd be if they were just sitting out on the deck. If you're forcing bulbs for indoor bloom, keep them in darkness to keep them from sprouting prematurely.

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