Potted plant help, please

January 15, 2022 4:25 AM

I left some potted daffodils outside on my terrace and to my surprise they're sprouting. (I am pretty ignorant about plants). There are green shoots several centimetres long! Temperatures in the last weeks have varied between -5 degrees Centigrade (at night) and +10 degrees, with occasional light snowfall. There could be colder spells coming, though. What do I do with them? Will it kill them to stay outside? Do I bring them into the unseasonally warm apartment?
posted by Omnomnom to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

They are cold hardy and will likely be fine if you do nothing. If you want them to bloom later, leave them outside. If you bring them inside, they will shoot up and bloom indoors, which some people do on purpose.
posted by Knicke at 5:17 AM on January 15, 2022 [6 favorites]

Back in the 1980s, I bought some daffodils from a greenhouse in February. I think it was understood they were an early blooming variety. Eventually, they were planted, and continued to grow and bloom in Feb for several years. This was Connecticut, not too far from NYC, with temps similar to what you describe.

So I think its possible they will do fine.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:23 AM on January 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

We have daffodils in our yard and they typically start to sprout after the first winter "warm spell" and then get snowed on a few times. they've always been fine and continue to spread.
posted by noloveforned at 6:01 AM on January 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's possible they be fine through the rest of winter and will bloom outside if you leave them out.

But if like much of the USA you are having one of the warmest winters ever, and can reasonably expect heavy snows and sustained cold still to come, that will kill the shoots, reduce or prevent blooming, and even possibly kill the bulbs if they are in a small pot and well above the ground. Plants in pots are much more susceptible than plants in the ground.

If you bring them in and let them bloom now, they will be fine to bloom again next spring, and that's what I'd probably do here in Illinois.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:24 AM on January 15, 2022

Stratification is a process used to encourage seeds to germinate by simulating the change of seasons. Going from cold to slightly-less-cold signals the seeds to sprout; going from cold to warm will prompt them to bloom. I've been seeing some unseasonal blooms in my own garden this winter after a sharp cold snap gave way to rain and a little sun. I would trust the plants to know what they're doing.
posted by SPrintF at 7:40 AM on January 15, 2022

Here's a guide to forcing bulbs indoors - what Knicke was referencing.
posted by jocelmeow at 9:40 AM on January 15, 2022

You can also pack dead leaves around the pots, or dig holes and bury the pots at ground level, to insulate them some. They can lose some leafage while sprouting and still bloom. It depends on how cold and dessicating your winters are.

Insulating them would possibly have postponed their sprouting until later in spring, because they'd be insulated from warm snaps as well as cold ones. Next year!
posted by clew at 2:25 PM on January 15, 2022