I planted my bulbs from november at the earliest on through the first week of january. Zone 8b. Nothing was pre-chilled (not by me). I see lots of anecdotal discussion on how late they can be planted and still see blooms but just trying to figure out something more concrete. I realize there are a lot of variables. I'm fine with few to no blooms this first season, if it comes to that. The important thing is I got them in the ground. All my bulbs seem to be sprouting fine. The november-planted ones are a good 6-8 inches out of the ground. I dug up a couple I planted early this month and they all have roots and shoots. I'm actually pretty amazed that bulbs I ordered in bulk seem to be doing so well.
I think seeing blooms depends more on how much chill time they get rather than when they were planted. 4-6 weeks is usually recommended, but with daffs that depends on the cultivar (some require less chill time than others). If the varieties you planted were recommended for growing in the south, they should bloom fine this year.
"...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi
Most daffs require a minimum chill time, but that varies from variety to variety. Trumpets typically require more, jonquilla types less, and tazettas often require very little chill time.
"...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi
Ok gotcha. Guess that explains why trumpets are said to be less succesful the further south you go. Well, I planted probably equal quantities of trumpets and jonquils. So we'll see what happens. The good news is I've uncovered several to check their progress and I've only found one or two modly bulbs out of several hundred I planted. All the rest are sprouting.
