My bulbs are sprouting and it is still winter in my area. What do I do?

If they grow now, they will get killed when the weather turns cold again. They are growing, though... so I don't know if I should water them or leave them alone. Is there any way to make them wait until spring comes? We have had unseasonably warm weather this year, but it will definitely get cold and snow again before true spring comes.





If it matters, they are mostly daffodils.

My bulbs are sprouting and it is still winter in my area. What do I do?
This very same thing happened in my zone-5 garden two years ago. I had a pretty heavy mulch on, plus the oak tree leaves that fall in the winter, and they still came up. The daffodils came back FULL FORCE the next year (daffys are forever) A few of my irises and i was surprized to notice some of the crocuses were missing too! (could have been chipmunks or something, tho..?) were missing though, after that. Then when i had finally raked the mulch off, i had sort of mold under where it had been.........Hey have you ever grown a FRITTILARIA? Really stunning in the spring,( gets tons of comments and questions ), nothing else like it in spring, very very reliable, and they help repel chipmunks and moles and things because the bulb in the ground smells like an onion. This onion smell is only extremely faint when you stand next to the flower, though. Not bad at all.


Another hint for daffys--you are supposed to leave the foliage on until it yellows, as you probably know. However it lays all over the ground and looks funky by then. You can roll the strappy leaves up, and tie them into sort of ball looking shapes with either bread bag twisters or ribbons. It kind of looks cute, definately neater anyway. Plus, when the foliage finally DOES turn yellow, you can just snip it off in one piece. But don't worry about daffys, you couldn't get rid of them if you tried.
Reply:Mulch mulch mulch! I like doing winter composting too- throw some warm poo on top to cook through the mulch and it feeds the bulbs in the spring. I wouldn't water them though- the melting snow is already watering them and you don't want to rot the bulb.





And good call Tigerlily- Periennal All Stars is a fanTAStic book- a total must have!!
Reply:putting lots of mulch on top is one way to slow it down and protect them from the cold (and warmth)-it's been really warm here too(quebec) and i'm hoping it's not going to cause the same thing..

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