As long as your soil isn't frozen, get them in asap. If it is, then pot them up, keep them safe with bubblewrap round the pot, then plant them out.

You wont see flowers on them now until late winter early spring of next year.

Hello and welcome to GOY Lijemc

But they are delight and pleasure to have in the garden in Spring

Thank-you Spritzhenry, Moon growe and Scotkat.

In the green means that the bulbs are in leaf (rather than dormant and no leaf/stalks/flowers), so they should flower this spring if you just rec'd the Aconites. You are supposed to put them out in the garden ASAP - when not frozen.

I'd be very surprised if they flowered Kildermorie Galanthus sold 'in the green' flower the following year. Actually I am not sure this is a good way to buy any bulb - though I know it is done regularly - digging them up when they are 'in the green' means that the roots between the bulb and soil are severed. Given that bulbs grow next years flower as a bud inside the bulb I think this is an odd practice.

Modern RHS advice is to plant freshly dug bulbs, if available rather than 'in the green'.
Most woodland bulbs evolved to escape the dryness and lack of sunlight found in woodland areas. They did not develop a 'skin' for want of a better word to protect themselves from drought. Thus when dug up they immediately begin to desiccate (dry out). This means that those bulbs sold in packets and stored in G/Cs and Shops are basically dead or at best dying.
Best practice then is fresh bulbs, then as growing plants in pots, but if only available in the green then that is better than dried up bulbs.
This applies to Aconites, Snowdrops and Fritillaria meleagris. Not sure about Erythroniums though. I have bought those as dried bulbs and they grew ok, as did Trilliums.
Also, if the Aconites set seed then sow the seeds as soon as they will easily come off the plants, even if they are still green. They germinate better that way.

Grown in pots is how we buy our snowdrops Owdb from the SRGC's Early Bulbs display and talks.

At £250 per bulb???????

Ah no... maybe £5 per bulb! If I'm not looking when Bulba shops :-) Did you see the piece on the BBC website today about galanthomania?

I am also not sure if this is the best way to buy bulbs, but I rec'd an email just a day or so before this question:

"A lovely collection of bulbs in the green featuring our most loved spring flowers! Brighten up the last weeks of winter with bluebells, snowdrops and aconites and buy 'in the green' for instant colour in the garden. Bulbs in the green come with ready grown foliage, roots and may already be flowering."

http://www.bloomingdirect.com/offers/In-The-Green-Collection-x-150-Bulbs-Offer.html?utm_source=INGBulbs1201&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=Banner

From the above I would assume that the bulbs are in seedling trays and sent out like that, so you could get them flowering this year???

Hi Kilmourie there is no indication of this on the website! Given that snowdrops are already blooming I would have my doubts!

Agree with kildermorie ... makes sense with planting cycles, ie the plant is supplied ready to flower, grow etc shortly after planting. This shortens the ordering to flowering time, and gardening businesses are catching up on this, all the time. Customers want flowers this season, not next season. The difficulty with receiving plants in this immediate-plant-out-for-flowers-now situation, is the weather. So order for planting immediately, with the weather in mind!

Thank-you for all your comments. It's the first time I've bought bulbs in this way -thought I would just try something different and they did make it sound like they would flower straightaway. But reading all your comments, I don't think I will buy bulbs in this way again. I ordered them online and didn't pay too much attention to when they would be delivered or to what the weather would be like. I will pot them up and place bubble wrap around them as Spritzhenry suggested. I have learnt my lesson!

I'm sure you will still enjoy them flowering when it happens Lijemc