Daffodil
Planting season for daffodils, tulips and other bulbs begins in late October in Louisiana. (NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune archive).
Question: I have ordered several daffodil, narcissus, and Dutch iris bulbs for planting in my garden. They should arrive in the next couple of weeks. However, several of the catalogs talk about "pre-cooling" the bulbs for ten weeks. Is it necessary to pre-cool these bulbs here? - Jim Vincent
Answer: Here in south Louisiana tulip and hyacinth bulbs are the only types that have to be pre-chilled before planting (and we generally find that eight weeks of chilling is sufficient for those bulbs). It will not hurt to refrigerate the daffodil, narcissus and Dutch iris bulbs and plant them later if you like, but it is not necessary. We generally plant spring flowering bulbs that do not require pre-chilling from late October to early December. Tulip and hyacinth bulbs that are chilled in the vegetable bin of a refrigerator for eight weeks are planted in late December or early January after the soil has cooled down.
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