It’s early March and your tulip bulbs already have sent green shoots out of the ground. But what if this unseasonably mild weather doesn’t last?

David Elliott, operational assistant manager at Earl May Nursery & Garden Center, 3200 Iowa, recommends adding mulch around the base of the plant. If freezing temperatures return, the bulb may not bloom this year. The bad news: No spring color. The good news: The bulb should bloom again next year.

It’s possible to prevent foliage damage by covering the plants, he says, but be sure to use a bucket or a cover that hovers above the plant on a cage or stakes to avoid breakage.

The International Bulb Society recommends doing nothing to protect spring-flowering bulbs. The plants are tough and usually can take what Mother Nature dishes out. “A short freeze won’t do lasting damage to young bulb shoots and buds, though it may ‘burn’ already open blossoms,” the society says.