Should I put my Iris & Tulip bulbs in the freezer

daisy86, Mar 24, 12:47am
until they are ready to plant!I've just got some new bulbs and was wondering if a few months in the freezer would imitate the hard northern winter.

stevee6, Mar 24, 1:05am
Fridge, not freezer. Eight weeks works well. Only the wee reticulata iris need chilling - the rest are fine.

daisy86, Mar 24, 2:58am
Thanks for your advice Steve, much appreciated.

quanto64, Mar 24, 6:41am
We live in auckland.My wife puts her tulip bulbs in the fridge (yes fridge NOT freezer) every autumn. they are there now and will be there for about three months.She always has stunning displays.They will grow without it, but seem to do so much better with a bit of cold.But good bedding mix is essential for good growth as well, once they are planted.

macandrosie, Mar 25, 8:13am
Do you get any frosts in Auckland! If so then they shouldn't need refrigerating

daisy86, Apr 28, 1:42pm
Macandrosie - we get the occasional frost but I don't recall any really good hard ones in recent years.

The bulbs are happy with the beer and wine in the fridge at the moment and I've got them tagged to plant out around the end of May.