I got some forced tulip bulbs for my birthday. I put them under my plant lights but they don't seem to be doing well. The roots when they were given to me were circleing the pot. Now the blooms are shriveling. I wanted to be able to plant them outside later. Is there anyway to salvage them or will the bulbs still be okay for later?

I would plant them out right now...They will likely take a couple of years to recover, though.

Forced bulbs will bloom again, if you're willing to wait. What must be done is to get them back to the normal life pattern. They've been tricked into thinking that blooming time is over. Keep the foliage intact, plant them in a out-of-the-way spot. Care for them with water, sunshine and let them go dormant, even though the ones in the ground are just starting to poke up through the ground. If you are successful in re-establishing their timing, next spring you should see them come up. Do not expect flowers Spring 2005. A year later they will be in synch with the spring and they should flower.
I've done this with tulips, daffodils (not paperwhites), hyacinths and lilies. Any bulb that has been forced in water is a lost cause, but potted bulbs can be saved.

My hyacinth bloomed this year but the blossoms on each stalk were really sparse. What should I do for them?

Is there anyway to get a bulb to recover from being forced in water? Maybe planting it in soil right after it blooms, thus avoiding the rot the water may cause? Anyone out there with any luck with this? ( I have young kids who bring these home every year from school)
Thanks

Bulbs that have been forced in water have to use all the stored growing power from the bulb itself. The is no food for the plant in the water, so there is nothing to store energy from for the blooming plant. It dies, exhausted, and starved.
I supposed it is possible to prevent the starvation with a little compost tea in the water, but that might get a little stinky. Another suggestion would be to get the bulb into some nutrition as soon as the flowers are done, but the leaves are still green.
You can try it, but I have to say I think its a lost cause - I've tried to save water-forced bulbs many times, and Now I just toss them in the compost pile. Maybe somebody else has a trick?