landscapers gave me tulips after blooming over

by green earth
(st. louis, mo)

I was walking around downtown Clayton this afternoon when I saw a few landscapers were digging up tulips. They told me that they were throwing away the tulip plants (along with the bulbs). I asked them whether I could take some home with me. They gave some to me, and told me to cut the stems and leaves off and bury the bulbs in the ground. ***I cut off the leaves and stems, which were still green, and stored them in plastic bags in the garage.*** After reading some information about planting tulips on the internet tonight, I feel confused and I'm not sure what to do. My questions are:
1. Can I still plant the bulbs in the ground now?
2. Can they survive and bloom next year if I bury them in the ground now?
3. If I store them, should I wash the bulbs from the soil that is still stuck to the bulbs, and then let them dry, and then store them in a cool, dark, and dry place?
4. Will they be able to have enough nutrients to give me flowers next year?

I'm sorry for not being able to give you an image of the leaves or stems, because my husband and I have already shreaded them and put them in the compost bin.

Please help!

Thanks!

Doug says cutting off the leaves was your first mistake. The second is thinking you can store them and have them live.

Get them into the ground. They might live, they might not. As for blooms, when the leaves were cut off, the source of nutrients for the bulbs to produce a flower was removed. So some of the larger bulbs *might* produce a flower but most will not. You'll be fortunate to have them all live, never mind bloom.