Despite Sunday's chill, some of spring's brightest and most fragrant flowers put on a good show indoors for Easter. It won't be long until they are flowering in local gardens, too.

“Our biggest sellers are the tulips, hyacinths and daffodils. Around Easter time we get over 200 tulips and 200 hyacinths, and daffodils, we only get about 90,” said Liz Kletzli, floral manager at the Cranberry Shop 'n Save, 1197 Freedom Road.

Kletzli said if there are leftover Easter plants, sometimes the store waits until the leaves dry and then sells the bulbs in bags.

She said most of the potted Easter plants are for gifts, and only about 30 percent end up in gardens.

“Many people don't know that you can replant them,” Kletzli said.

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Daffodils, hyacinths and tulips are the most successful for replanting, according to Butler County Master Gardener Mary Reefer of Franklin Township.

“The ones that are really difficult to rehabilitate are Easter lilies and the hydrangeas,” Reefer said.

She said lilies and hydrangeas usually bloom outdoors in July. For Easter, they are forced to bloom early which saps their energy.

“They are brought into bloom in man-made circumstances,” said Butler County Master Gardener Lisa Bernardo of Gibsonia.

Although some people plant Easter lilies outside, Bernardo has not had success doing that. When Kletzli tried planting Easter hydrangeas, she didn't have any luck either.

“Put them in a place where you can see them and enjoy them,” Bernardo said. “Water them so that the soil is wet.”

Reefer said if the decorative foil remains around the pot the water wicks back up into the soil, which becomes soggy. Because plants like well-drained soil, she recommends cutting a hole in the foil and putting the plant on a saucer. Excess water can drain into the saucer.

Once the flowers finish blooming, Bernardo said, “Cut the flowers from the stems. Then you can take the pots with the bulbs outside and remove the foil. You can put the pots on the ground in a protected area and you want to keep them moist.”

“After a few weeks, those greens will turn yellow. When the greens have turned yellow, you will cut the leaves down to the level of the dirt. The greens feed the bulbs so you don't want to prematurely trim the leaves,” Bernardo said.

Finally, it's time to plant them.

Bernardo said, “You can plant the bulbs in a sunny location, and you can put a little bulb fertilizer around them, if you like, and they will bloom next year.”

“You can plant them in May or June because they will still have the cold period of the coming winter that they need to bloom in the spring,” she said.

“Any of the bulbs that normally bloom in the spring, you have a very high chance that they'll come back,” Reefer said.

She said another option is to let all the greenery die and then store the bulbs in a garage and plant them in the fall.

Reefer said azaleas received in pots at Easter can go in the ground, too.

“Keep in mind, they can get large near a house,” she said. “They will need watered almost daily.”

“Azaleas and especially the bulbs are native to our climate which means they can tolerate the droughts we have, the rainy weather, the winter. They are hardy, meaning they are very forgiving of Mother Nature. Mother Nature can be very nasty in Western Pennsylvania,” Reefer said.

Bernardo recommends reading the tags on azaleas from grocery stores or florists at Easter. Some are not intended for gardens.

After blooming, Bernardo said azaleas prefer a sunny location. Even if they do not bloom again, they are attractive as green plants in container garden arrangements.

Bernardo said Easter hydrangeas usually are not grown for replanting. However, in a container garden she said they might bloom all summer with a little fertilizer.

“Enjoy what's been given to you and give it a try to plant them outside and see if you have any luck for the coming year,” Bernardo said.

“Live your life guilt free. If you don't want to save the bulbs, that's completely fine. Put them in your compost pile or the garbage. They'll be recycled. They're just some bulbs,” she said. “Or give them to somebody who would replant them.”

Bernardo said some churches and schools accept them. Master Gardeners have community gardens and welcome bulbs.

“They'll plant them in the Butler County gardens they are maintaining,” Bernardo said.

For more information about donating bulbs to the Butler County Master Gardeners, call their Greenline at 724-287-4761, Ext. 229.