Dried snowdrop bulbs from garden centre

[Heidi-Hi]

Hi everyone,

Just bought some dried snowdrop bulbs - bit of a spur of the moment thing - from the garden centre. So I've been reading a bit on the web, and they all say DON'T buy dried bulbs in the autumn from the garden centre, as I won't have much result from them :-(

So... whats my best chances here? Plant them in a shallow terracotta pot (now) and stick them somewhere shady and just forget about them? I'm just wondering that if I plant them straight in the garden, I'm going to 'loose' them and won't really be able to tell if they've done OK or not. Maybe I should wait a bit before I plant them, say October or so?

Any thoughts welcome :-) Many thanks, Heidi

[roitelet]

I would put them in the ground in a clump now and clearly mark where they are. Don't expect much but if a few grow then it is a bonusThe best way to grow them is to buy or cadge some 'in the green' that is just after they have flowered and plant them straight away.

[WendyC]

I think the biggest problem with growing them from dried bulbs is that being small they dry out too much. The same is true for anemone corms. The general advice there is to soak overnight in water. Whether this would also help your snowdrops to get going I don't know as I've never tried. Might be worth as try. I can't see it doing any harm.

[Heidi-Hi]

Thank you, looks like it could go either way! Could have spent my money so much better - doh!!