Tulips

Buy them now and get them planted or keep in a cool place for a month and then plant.

They can be planted as late as november.december, but now should be ok, although i would leave it later so they arent sitting in soil possibly rotting if wet weather. Also planting later means anyy digging you do now, your less likely to put a spade through the clump.
Buying them now and keeping them somewhere cool is an ideal as the favourites sell out quicker!

Snap! ish

Cheers, good job i brought 3 bags this afternoon then.

Same with me with Alliums although i use a wholesaler the nursery uses! Cheaper and more for money! shh!

If tulips are planted too early, they are prone to a virus called tulip fire. They should be planted Oct/Nov time (this is according to Gardners world top tips :0)))

And the deeper tulips are planted, the better they grow! Alan Titchmarsh recommended 10 ins deep.

As said elsewhere, different gardeners have different opinions. I am not familiar with the information provided by Treacle but I like to get my bulbs in the ground as soon as possible.
Consider the bulbs that have been in the garden for several years. They are already in the ground and dormant now - I am sure that they don't know whether they have just been planted or not.

Usual advice is to plant daffodils in August - all the rest can wait till September or October/November. Daffodils start putting out new roots in August, believe it or not...

Hi Bamboo that advice does not indicate that you can't plant tulips in August though...

too right - I was studiously avoiding that one, moongrower! Can't be bothered to check - I've always planted them in September, unless I've been running late

thank you for all the great answers. i think i will hang on a little while longer so i dont manage to manage to put a spade through them as nicky 08 pointed out. thanks again everyone