Q: I recently divided tulip bulbs which my mother originally planted. My father told me I could keep the extra bulbs, so they are currently in my basement spread out on newspaper. Is it too hot to plant them now? If I plant them now, what will happen?

A: You can keep them in cardboard boxes filled with crumpled newspaper in your basement as long as it’s cool there. However, if you decide to plant them now, put them in the soil four inches deep with well drained soil as far as four inches beneath them and you’ll be fine.