Learn How To Plant, Grow and Care for Tulips

When to Plant Tulip Bulbs?

• To achieve optimum flowering results, it is important to plant your tulip bulbs at the right time. The best time to plant tulip bulbs is in the fall, from September to November, depending on your location. In colder climates, plant your bulbs in September or October. In warmer climates, plant them in December.
• When buying bulbs, choose firm bulbs that show no signs of mold. Select the largest ones. The larger the tulip bulb, the stronger stems and bigger flowers will be produced.

Where to Plant Tulip Bulbs?

• Most tulips are winter hardy and can be grown in USDA Zones 3-8.
• Tulips are easily grown in fertile, neutral to slightly acidic, well-drained soils in full sun. In warm climates, some afternoon shade can help to prolong bloom. Most Tulips dislike excessively wet conditions, except a few botanical tulips such as Tulipa sprengeri, T. sylvestris, and T. tarda which prefer a more moisture-retentive soil with partial shade.
• Tall tulip varieties should be sheltered from strong winds.
• Versatile, tulips are perfect for beds and borders where they can be beautifully combined with annuals and perennials, rock gardens, containers, or window boxes. For the best visual impact, plant your tulips in groups (at least 6 bulbs).
• In addition to their garden uses, tulips are as important as cut flowers. For the longest-lasting flowers, cut tulips when the flower has color and is just about to open.

How to Plant Tulip Bulbs?

• Dig over the soil to loosen it, at least twelve inches deep (30 cm), and fork in plenty of organic matter to improve soil structure and drainage.
• Plant your tulip bulbs with the top or pointy end up.
• A general rule for planting depth is to plant the bulbs at a depth at least three times the height of the bulb, about 6-8 in. deep (15-20 cm). Plant bulbs 3-6 in. deep (7-15 cm) in clay soils. Not planting bulbs deeply enough results in poor rooting. The bulbs will emerge unevenly and produce short spindly plants. Planting too deeply, however, can result in rotting and late emergence.
• Space your tulip bulbs about 4 to 6 inches apart (10-15 cm). In containers, place the tulips on the potting compost so that they almost touch.
• Water immediately after planting and keep them moist until the rains come. Keep the soil moist during the growing season. Continue watering for three weeks or so after blooming time – then stop watering.

Several planting techniques can be used for flower bulbs.

• One is to lay out the bulbs evenly over the location being planted. It would be advisable to start by laying out the bulbs at the proper distance apart to prevent unwelcome surprises when you come to the end of the border. Before the bulbs are laid out, the soil should be thoroughly loosened to a depth of 10 inches (25 cm). Next, you can plant the bulbs, and they can easily root.
• The easiest planting method uses a raised planting bed. After laying out the flower bulbs, cover them with a layer of soil about 4-6 inches (10 to 15 cm) thick. After planting, the planted area should be evenly raked and then possibly mulched with organic material 1-2 inches (2 to 5 cm) thick. This will keep the soil from drying out, freezing, or panning.
• If you want a more natural look, it would be best to scatter the bulbs and plant them where they fall.
• You could also plant flower bulbs in the grass. A piece of sod can be lifted for planting each cluster of bulbs. After positioning them, replace the sod. Once the sod has been tamped down properly, the planting location will be invisible after a few days.
• Layered (lasagne) planting extends flowering by planting bulbs with successive flowering periods in layers. The flower bulbs that will bloom last are planted at the deepest level, and the earliest to bloom in the spring will be planted closest to the surface. This method can be applied when planting directly in the soil or in pots and containers.

Tulip Bulbs Care

After bloom care

• Remove the faded blooms after flowering to keep your tulips from investing so much energy in the production of seedheads instead of new bulbs (unless desired for naturalizing). If you are growing botanical tulips, some can be grown from seed, so you may wish to leave seedheads until they have ripened.
• Do not remove the foliage until it withers – about 4-6 weeks after blooming. During this period, they store energy in the bulbs for next year’s bloom. Cutting off the foliage before it has died back naturally may prevent the bulbs from storing enough energy. As a result, your tulips may not bloom next spring.

Feeding

• Perennial bulbs like those of tulips extract a lot of nutrients from the soil, so these bulbs will need supplementary fertilizing. During the growing season, inorganic fertilizers are the best choice since they contain the exact proportions and concentrations of nutrients. They also dissolve easily, so that plants can absorb them more efficiently.
• Inorganic fertilizers should be used only during the growing season; applied at other times, they will leach out of the soil and be wasted. Also, be careful not to apply too much inorganic fertilizer; excessively rapid growth results in weak plants that are then more vulnerable to diseases and pests. Applying too much fertilizer can also burn plants.
• Flower bulbs being used for perennial displays and for naturalizing in borders and beneath shrubs will benefit from a weekly application of a potassium-rich liquid fertilizer just as their noses become visible in spring. Feeding can be stopped once leaves begin to yellow and die back.

Propagating

Tulips can be propagated by seed or offsets.

• By seed: collect seeds and sow in spring in pots or trays of loam-based compost. Lightly cover the seed with sieved compost, and finish with a 1/4 in. (1/2 cm) layer of horticultural grit. Seeds need chilling to germinate, so leave the container outdoors. Seedlings appear in spring, but do not expect tulip flowers before 3 to 4 years.
• By offsets: these are small daughter bulbs that naturally form around the main bulb. They can be detached when lifting plants and stored dry over the summer. Replant offsets in autumn at least 8 in. deep (20cm). Small offsets may take 3 to 4 years to reach flowering size.

Encourage your tulips to come back and rebloom next spring

Many tulips often fail to flower in their second year when left in the ground. A few tulips like the Darwin hybrids and Kaufmanniana cultivars are known to reliably rebloom, so are worth leaving in the ground.

Lifting, drying, and storing tulip bulbs over summer can improve reflowering. This simulates conditions in wild, where tulips have a warm dry summer’s rest.

• Lift bulbs once the foliage turns yellow (about six weeks after flowering).
• Clean soil from bulbs, and discard any that show signs of damage or disease.
• Allow bulbs to dry thoroughly.
• Store bulbs in trays or net/paper bags in a warm, dark, well-ventilated place at 65-68°F (18-20°C).
• Replant bulbs in the fall.

Pest and Diseases

• Tulips contain toxic glycosides, making them deer or rodent-resistant. They are toxic to dogs, to cats, and to horses.
• All tulip parts may cause severe discomfort following ingestion and may cause an allergic skin reaction. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling.
• Tulips may suffer from pests and diseases. Keep an eye out for aphids, slugs, tulip fire, or grey mold.
• Soil-borne pathogens and other living organisms can hinder the growth process of flower bulbs. By selecting the right planting material, choosing the right planting location, and providing proper care, you will get more pleasure from your flower bulbs. If, for example, you have planted perennial bulbs in a damp or shady location and you notice brown tips on a leaf during flowering, the culprit could very well be Botrytis. It would thus be advisable to cut such a leaf away before neighboring plants could be infected.